Our wedding was in Granville, Ohio and many of our vendors were out of Granville or Newark. I tried to keep it short & sweet, but I couldn't quite do it. If you have any questions, just post me! Ceremony Location (B-): Denison University This location was perfect for our wedding, but only because of sentimental reasons. Working with the event coordinator was very difficult and communication was nearly non-existent. Luckily, we are both alumni and we able to pull some strings with contacts at the school, which helped somewhat. That said, the location was beautiful and it was really special for us to be married where we met and started dating. I would probably not recommend it unless it has sentimental value, as it did for us. Reception Location (A): Bryn Du Mansion Field House Bryn Du was a lovely location and Bruce, the coordinator, was so fun and easy to work with. I will say that the Field House is a “blank slate.” You have to do a lot of decorating, but Bruce will also let you in several days in advance to set up. Highly recommended. Catering (A+): Cameron Mitchell I can’t say enough good things about Cameron Mitchell. They were a splurge for us (although surprisingly not a lot more than some other caterers we looked at), but well worth it! I don’t know how they did it, but the food was just as delicious as anything served in their restaurants. And Bryn Du doesn’t even have a kitchen! CM set up their own kitchen outside. Not only were the service and food excellent, but they also set up most of our decorations, cut our cake (from an outside vendor) and decorated it with fresh flowers, set up our homemade cookie buffet, etc. FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE. There is absolutely no nickel and diming. The bartender even patched up one of the bridesmaids’ dresses when it split while she was dancing! Photography (A): Studio B, Brianne Howard Brianne was very sweet and easygoing. She was never intrusive and seemed to really listen to what we wanted, rather than just doing her own thing. We haven’t ordered our albums yet, but we were very happy with the proofs. Invites, STDs, etc. (B): Micheal’s (Brides Collection) This is difficult because they invites turned out very cute and we received many compliments. The kits from Micheal’s are super trendy and don’t look cheap or outdated. However, printing them (at least in the quantities I needed) turned out to be a nightmare! I went through two inkjets and a laser and eventually just took them to a professional printer in the end. Needless to say, I think it would have been cheaper to just have them done professionally and much less stressful. DJ (C): DJ Don’s Mobile Music This one is probably my own damn fault. DJ Don was our DJ in college for all Denison parties. Trying to be nostalgic, we decided to book him for our wedding since the entire wedding party was made up of Denison grads, even though we had some doubts about his professionalism. He assured me that most of his business came from weddings and his price reflected that. However, we were not happy with his some of his song choices. He played a lot of hip hop as soon as the dance floor opened, which I think kept many of our more mature guests from getting out on the floor. In general, there were many times when we all kind of looked at each other like, “He’s playing that?!?” In meetings before the wedding, he also tried to push songs on me (for things like cake cutting and entrances) that I thought were just tacky. Dress: A+ (Watters Wtoo & Cincinnati Bridal and Formal) I loved my dress and thought it was a great value. Watters dresses run exactly the same as street sizes, which means you’re not wearing a 16 when you’re really an 8. I think that’s a nice little bonus. I also had a wonderful experience at CB&F (after some not-so-great experiences at places here in C-bus). Highly recommended. Bridesmaids’ Dresses: A (The Limited) I just happened to see these dresses as I was walking past the Limited in the mall. They were the perfect color and very cute. The best part is that we didn’t have to worry about measurements or waiting for them to come in. Each girl (in whatever city she lives in) just went to the store, tried it on and walked out with it. When one BM gained some weight, she was even able to go in later and exchange it for a bigger one. The best part is that all the dresses ended up costing as much as one J. Crew dress! The only reason that I’m not giving this one a “+” is because one BM split her dress down the side at the reception (although this might have something to do with her dancing, not the quality of the dress). Rehearsal Dinner & Room Block: A (Cherry Valley Lodge) Great service, good food, beautiful location. I do think they cheated my in-laws a bit on the alcohol, however. We were supposed to be charged by the drink. However, when the bill came, they were charged by volume of alcohol consumed. The bartender was mixing drinks so stiff that you could barely drink them and now we realize that he was probably doing it to use more alcohol and charge us more money. Other than that, we were very happy with CV. Makeup: A (Chelsey Crago) Chelsey is a freelance Bobbi Brown trained makeup artist. She is also a friend from college. She did an excellent job and was very reasonable. Hair: A (Lisa at Chrysalis Salon) This one is an A, but only if you ask for Lisa. Half of the girls (not including me) had someone else from the salon do their hair and it was pretty bad. Very outdated and prom-ish (zigzag parts, very stiff spiral curls, etc.) Lisa did an excellent job, though, and we received many compliments! String Quartet: Cap City Rockers (A+) I absolutely loved these guys! They play classic rock songs arranged for strings. We used them for the ceremony and the cocktail hour. The music was so beautiful and special, since it meant more to us than classical pieces we had no personal connection to. The bridesmaids walked down to “Strawberry Fields Forever” which was especially lovely. We received SO many compliments on the music. If traditional is more your style, they also play classical music under the name “Musicians Columbus.” Flowers: Flowers on Orchard Lane (A+) Jan’s arrangements were more beautiful than I even imagined and her prices were MUCH lower than those quoted to me at Bloomtastic. I know that lately she has been getting some bad press for possibly having a minimum (which I hope she’ll realize isn’t a good idea), but I think her work is amazing and a great value. She is so knowledgeable about flowers and writes up your quote in front of you while you wait! Car Rental: A (Grace Motorcars) My husband handled this one, so I don’t have a lot to say, but we rented an adorable Smart Car convertible. It was a fun and green alternative to a big fancy car and just suited our style much more. Cakes: A- (Granville Baker) Our “non-wedding” cakes were beautiful and delicious, but this bakery doesn’t do a lot of cakes for wedding and they are a very small scale operation with very weird hours. They are completely closed some days and only open until 11:00 am on others. Therefore, communication was not easy.