We thoroughly enjoyed our wedding in January. Here are the details of any resulting recommendations:
· Venue: Arnold’s. They have a wonderful area that used to be a patio which is now enclosed. This was the perfect size for our party, which was just 37 people (for family reasons, we split our celebration into two and had a second celebration in Washington, DC afterwards). Dinner prices were reasonable, staff were super helpful. They had bags for the kids attending with snacks, a PB&J sandwich, and a coloring book – great to amuse them during the ceremony. There is a stage at the front that we got married on – perfect size for just the bride, groom and officiant. Apparently this space is also popular with rehearsal dinners. As my husband noted, this bar/restaurant is the oldest one in Cincinnati, so offers a lot of history. It just celebrated its 150th anniversary.
· Officiant: Reverend Jerry of Cincinnati Ministers http://www.cincyministers.com. I am not religious so wanted a civil ceremony. Reverend Jerry is a non-denominational minister. The possible scripts on their website provide many options for both religious and civil ceremonies. Completely worth the $150 we paid. (Yes, cheaper than other options we found.)
· Music: Although we live in Washington, DC, my husband is from and used to live in Cincinnati, and then was a fan of the local music scene. He contacted a blue grass band he used to see called Jake Speed and the Freddies – they were so much fun. They opened with a song Jake Speed actually wrote for us. Dancing took place after dinner.
· Hair: Paragon Salon. Very pretty, matching exactly even though all I had was some not-perfect-match photos and verbal description. And the first time I had an up-do that was not painful.
· Hotel: We stayed at Garfield Suites. Lower cost than some other downtown hotels, still convenient to everything, and the suites are really big.