Ohio-Columbus

Vendor Reviews Part 1

I really didn’t post much to this board, but I did like to scan through the reviews and I always found them really helpful, so I just wanted to share mine!  We got married June 9th so have just gotten back from our honeymoon a few days and are finally getting organized!

 The Columbus Athenaeum- A
I’ve read some mixed reviews about the Athenaeum, but I really can’t say enough good things about this venue.  My husband and I have different religious backgrounds, and really don’t practice either of them, so getting married in a church didn’t really make sense for us.  We held our ceremony in the Priory and it was beautiful.  It looks very “churchy” and is a small enough space that it made everything feel very intimate instead of people spread all over in a huge church (it holds 160 guests- we had about 130).  One of the best parts about having both the ceremony and reception at the same venue was that our guests simply had to walk across the hall to get to the reception, and there was no huge time gap in between our ceremony and the beginning of the reception (we served cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while we took our pictures).  We had the reception in the Small Theater, and it looked beautiful.  The great thing about the Small Theater is that it already had a lot of character, so it didn’t need a whole lot as far as decorations go.  We used the Athenaeum provided centerpieces (hurricanes with a charger and candle and votives) and just placed a few things here and there and everything still looked beautiful.  The food was AMAZING.  I have never had a terribly good meal at a wedding before, but we got so many compliments on the dinner (people are still talking about it!).  I think this is a really important piece, because you spend so much money on the meal for your guests and always end up having a mediocre meal that you’ve had at 50 weddings before that.  I special requested macaroni and cheese (I couldn’t help it, I love it :) and it made it a little more personal), and they easily accommodated us and only charged an extra $1/person to have it, which I thought was pretty reasonable since it’s not on their menu at all.  My only complaint about the Athenaeum is that they definitely nickel and dime you for every little thing, but we had a plan and a budget, and just worked within that.  They are also pretty strict on their timelines, so I would definitely recommend choosing vendors who have worked there before.  Our dj had worked at the Athenaeum a ton of times before so we had no problems getting everyone out on time and avoiding any extra fees for being there late, etc.  One more thing to note about the Athenaeum is they do let you bring in your own alcohol, which saved us a TON of money compared to a lot of other venues (it probably balanced out a bit with some of the extras we paid for at the Athenaeum, but in this way we were able to get a lot of what we wanted for a reasonable price).

Gibson Photographics- A++We used Christy for our engagement photos and wedding photos.  We’ve only gotten a preview of our actual wedding photos so far, but our engagement pictures were wonderful and the preview we’ve seen of our wedding photos looks like they will be just as great.  Christy is so easy to work with, and she really does a beautiful job.  I think she is priced right in the middle as far as budget goes, but even if she is a little more than some of the lower budget photographers, she is worth every penny.  We really cannot say enough good things about Christy; just loved her! Big Rock Little Rooster- A++ Another one that I could say so many wonderful things about!  For anyone looking for a budget dress, this is NOT the place to go!  We were definitely on a budget, but my dress was one of the most important things to me, so we cut from other places so that I could spend a little more freely here.  (for example we had no centerpieces other than those provided by the venue, made our own invitations and programs, etc.).  Kristin and the rest of the girls at BRLR are absolutely amazing.  They made everything so special for me, and the experience really could not have been better.  I also purchased my veil and jewelry there after looking for some lower priced things and being unable to find anything, but their accessories were actually better priced than I expected and a little discounted since I had bought my dress there, and were of course, absolutely lovely.

Re: Vendor Reviews Part 1

  • ahhh congrats!!! When I went to the athenaeum and had my initial meeting i said i wanted mac and cheese, and the lady i had treated me like i was an idiot! We endd up cutting our losses with them, but I am glad you had a great day! 
  • Soooo glad to read this! We are getting married at the Athenaeum next April and have loved working with them so far. We just went to a tasting last Thursday and it was DELICIOUS!! I am so glad that you had such a wonderful day and thanks for this very helpful post!!
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