KellyRVT/Swim and Racquet Club

TheBeckmeister

Kelly, I saw that you mentioned the Swim and Racquet Club in an earlier post.  We have a different venue in mind as our top pick so far, but I'm a little concerned because the ceilings are relatively low there... Do you have any info/pictures about the Swim and Racquet Club?  I looked at their website but there wasn't too terribly much there.  I live in VA, so I won't be able to go check it out until I'm back in OH.

Thanks!

KellyRVT

Hey! The ceilings are not low there, it is actually apretty nice set up. The pictures on the website don't do it justice at all.

Pros:
Updated venue
built in bar
fireplace
patios
split level allows different options (gift table, etc. upstairs)
bring in your own caterer and alcohol
only $500 rental
very accommodating staff and you can pretty much do whatever you want
lots of free parking
great location

Cons:
must bring in your own caterer, alcohol, linens, glassware, etc. But, you can contract with your caterer for this
You really do need to rent chairs, they only offer cheap plastic  ones
split level- could be great, but have to do it just right

We ended up going wtih the Clintonville Women's Club because they have an event coordinator who is wonderful ( and I didn't want to deal with renting everything). All of the food is extremely reasonably priced and lots of things are included. We are having 3 passed hor'deavors, sit down dinner and wedding cake for $45/pp including tax. Now, that is for an all vegetarian menu, I know they have other options that are a bit more expensive. But, you can't beat the price. With the money we are saving we are hiring a piano player to play during cocktail hour, we have a string quartet for our wedding ceremony (being held outdoors) and we are splurging on our dream vacation/honeymoon. Not to mention we spent a fortune candelabras we are using as centerpieces. There is no way I could have done that if we had gone with the Athaneaum or some of the other venues we looked at.

I don't think you could go wrong picking either place, they are similar in a lot of ways. Have someone go and look at both for you. Depending on how much planning you want to do, the Swim Club could be the perfect venue that ends up saving you a ton of money.

TheBeckmeister

Thanks for all the feedback.  I'll be sure to check it out when I'm home next week!