Reception venue: Ohio Statehouse: A-The Statehouse was the most beautiful place I could think to hold our reception. We had cocktail hour in the rotunda and dinner/dancing in the atrium. There is so much history in this building, and it was a neat, unique venue. The only reason I give it an A- was because the first wedding coordinator we worked with could be very short with us and would not return phone calls. However, they're hired a new person who is very nice and helpful. Go to their open house for a chance to win a % off your fee and to meet all the vendors in one setting.
Cake- Anita Kline: AI booked Anita early on (for a cake, anyway) and was glad I did! She was so friendly and accomodating, having us over to her home for cake tastings (even flavors we hadn't requested). And it was seriously the best wedding cake I've ever had, while still being quite reasonable (we ended up not doing sheet cake like we had planned but just getting a 5 tiered cake since it was affordable). She even accomodated a last-minute groom's cake request and it turned out perfect.
DJ- Rockin' Lou Schocken: A
DJ Lou kept the party going! We had an eclectic mix of songs from some old Italian songs my mom wanted to hear, our alma mater, some random songs including OAR's "Road Outside Columbus", etc. and Lou made an extra effort to find these songs that meant a lot to us. He had perfect timing on when to change the genre and mixed up enough slow/fast songs. Very professional, not at all the obnoxious DJ you want to avoid.
Photographer: Stephanie Lehnert of Novia Photography: A
We just got our pictures back, and I can't stop looking at the slideshow! Stephanie captured every important moment and the pictures are breathtaking. She was laid back and easy to work with. We have some artistic shots but nothing too crazy (I didn't want a bunch of pictures of people's feet...some photogs get a little too artsy for weddings). We also got our engagement pictures through Stephanie and I would definitely recommend her work!
Hair/makeup: Charles Penzone Salon (Dublin): A
Brendell did a fantastic job with my hair, and most importantly it stayed from 10 am to 3 am! I have thick hair and was afraid an updo would fall apart, but it was such a glamorous 'do and held up so well. Plus she's so much fun to talk to during your appointment. Jayden did an excellent job with my makeup! I am glad I did the trial run b/c I'm not used to seeing that much makeup on my face, but it also held up and looked great in pictures. Would definitely go back here.
Cameron Mitchell Catering: B-
We subcontracted through another caterer since CM is not a preferred vendor with the Statehouse. Food was excellent if pricier, but better than one expects with catered food. Staff were helpful in person but could be hard to reach and would take a long time to return voicemails/email. Organization was a little bit of an issue- although I requested that CM provide wine glasses, they didn't abide by this and relied on the bar vendor to do so. They came up to my parents at the reception and said they had no wine glasses for dinner! However, they sorted it out and crisis was averted...I'd recommend based on quality of food and excellent customer service but be cautious due to poor organization at times.
Catering by Design: D
They are the only vendor you can hire for alcohol at the Statehouse, so we begrudgingly went with them. From our first meeting at an open house, they were less than helpful and didn't prove to be knowledgeable about their business (could not name a single wine they served, for example...and they do ALL the weddings at this venue). Food quality was only average, and their customer service was awful. They were very short with us and snippy when we did talk to them, and most of the time it was impossible to reach them. They would often complain to us about the other caterer instead of working things out with them. Would not recommend at all.