Venues in Oxford/Hamilton area-touring this wknd help!

Re: Venues in Oxford/Hamilton area-touring this wknd help!

• parker624

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  I can't give you any input on the venues, but did you know this is Miami's homecoming weekend? Just be prepared for traffic, etc.!

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• lamar0607

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Oh my gosh....it is going to be nuts! I grew up in Oxford, so I remember how crazy it can be.
  
  Thanks for the heads up! I'll leave extra early to make my appts. on time
  

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• txin1 member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  My co-worker's husband works at Pyramid Hill in maintenance.  I could ask some questions if you'd like or maybe get you in touch with someone else to speak with?  Just let me know if I can help.
  
  txin1@aol.com

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• txin1 member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Have you looked at the refurbished barn at Barn-n-Bunk in Trenton?  The inside is just perfect for a reception and they include a buffet.

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• jenn1981 member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  i know you weren't soliciting other venues but just thought i'd throw out mine anyway i got married at lake lyndsay in hamilton and loved it. www.lakelyndsay.com GL with your search!

  
  Jenn & Jason
  September 27, 2008
  

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• skippylouwho member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  DD used Ox Arts a few weeks ago.  We had 180 seated comfortably in the ballroom for dinner, could have squeezed in more tables but one end was tied up by the live band. They had the head table down the middle of the room, seated the bridal party (spouses, etc) down the middle of the room. DD seated family & "older" guests on the wall of French doors, which we had open. Younger guests, work & college friends, were seated mostly on the other side.  After dinner the head table was moved, round tables near the band were moved from in front of the band to the space occupied by the head table. Guests at those tables were told this would happen.
  
  NOTE: no open flames so you can't use candelabra, votives, etc.  Cake and bar were in the South Parlor (blue room) and that worked very well.
  
  We used All Things Catered as the caterer. The cocktail hour food was amazing. The dinner food was pretty bad.  We wanted it served family style, meaning all the dishes on the table at the same time. They served it one course at a time. There wasn't enough food, the quality was very lacking and - and odd one here but true - the glass bowls some of the courses were served in were too heavy for some older guests to pass easily. DD and DSIL both think the food we had is NOT what they tasted, certainly not the quality of what they tasted at their tasting.
  
  The cake was by Spoon Full of Sugar in Loveland and was amazingly good.
  
  The florist was Two Little Buds. I'd go with Ball of Oxford, they bailed us out at the last minute which meant extra expense too.
  
  The band was Redline out of Cleveland and they were fabulous, not cheap but fabulous. We couldn't have asked for better.
  
  The Ox Arts people were great too. 
  
  Wedding was at Kumler Chapel, the maintenance guy was in a huge hurry to get us out of there afterward which would be our only complaint about that.
  
  We had looked at The Elms ballroom and Shriver for the reception, The Elms is L shaped so not everyone can see everything at the same time. We absolutely didn't like it and also it would have been too small. We looked at 2 rooms at Shriver, the nicer room was too small for us.
  
  We were able to get a block of rooms at The Elms and it was great, people were so nice.  NOTE: they will not let you block rooms until the Miami Univ schedule is announced. So far a fall wedding, you can't block rooms until about March or April (I've forgotten which).  If they have a home football game or it is parents weekend you cannot block any rooms there.
  
  DD used the trolley company from Cincinnati and it was great. Not what I would consider inexpensive but worth it. They had a large wedding party, this was great for getting the guys to their picture location near the Kumler. Then it came back for all the girls and us.  Afterward it took the wedding party to the locations in Oxford where they wanted pictures (Upham Hall, the formal gardens etc). There was room for everyone to ride comfortably and it was just fun.  The trolley was really cute, jimmaculate, the driver/owner was great.
  
  Rehearsal dinner was in the club room at the new hockey arena, the Goggin. That worked well for us. I don't know what the groom's mom paid for it.
  
  Luna Blu  was the salon. They were great.  The girls all looked fabulous. All got their hair done (including me, groom's mom and his 2 grandmas), some got manicures, some got pedicures, DD had her make-up done. They were nice, fun and very easy to work with. We walked there from The Elms and then walked back, just a couple blocks and it was fun.  They let us bring in food and champagne & orange juice for mimosas.
  
  DD's dress was from Elegant Bride in Dublin, Ohio.  GREAT place to work with.
  The owner is very sweet. The dress was actually over $1k less than DD had budgeted. The owner had the bra and crinoline sewn in to the dress which meant fewer undergarments so more comfortable to wear. Her seamstress is very nice, does a really great job and is very inexpensive.   The shop is on Rt 161 (if you are on 270, head East on 161. It's in the same shopping center with the Kroger).  DD had to only have very MINOR alterations. One of which was to fill in the front V neck of the dress a tiny bit with matching lace.
  
  Bridesmaids dresses were ordered, online, through a brick & mortar store in Illinois.  They were $80 cheaper (each) and free shipping. Only 1 of the 8 had to be altered and she knew it would because she is extremely pear shaped.   Same dress available from Wendy's. They would only give MOH a discount on her dress and shipping was extra for everyone.
  
  Photographer was Shane Tucker Design from Columbus and the proofs look fabulous, very pleased and just a great guy to work with.  Moved here from Texas a year or so ago due to wife's job change. He teaches at Columbus College of Art & Design and at Capital Univ.
  
  DD rented chivari chairs as Ox Arts chairs were not want she wanted, she also rented additional tables, cake base, candelabra used at Kumler, candelabra on the head table and some round tables (were not lit), tall and shorter mint julep cups. The bridesmaids bouquets were put in the shorter cups on some tables.  The hydrangeas used as pew decor were put in the taller cups on the caberat tables scattered through the facility for cocktail hour.
  
  And that's about it.
  
  Ox Arts is a BEAUTIFUL place, the rental price is reasonable. We loved using it.
  You can bring in your own caterer and alcohol which is nice. 
  
  
  
  

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• txin1 member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Did you not like Two Little Buds?

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• lamar0607

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  WOW Skippy! Thanks for all that info. I love hearing about the vendors that are available for the Oxford area thank you so much!
  
  We just put down our deposit for OxArts, so I am SO glad you had lots of good things to say about it. I was thinking about using All Things Catered, so I'll have to reconsider after a tasting perhaps if I'll trust them to bring their "A" game the day of.
  
  I'll definitely be checking out all the other vendors (floral, cake, photog) in the coming months as I make decisions, thank you!
  
  
  
  A note on the other two venues for anyone reading this post in months to come and wondering why I chose OxArts:
  
  Pyramid Hill- A little too "woodsy" feeling, too outdoor/rustic and not quite formal enough. The owner guy was sweet as can be, but for the price it wasn't offering a whole lot. Would be a really neat venue for the right person though because you can have your guests wander/drive the grounds and check out all the beautiful art and nature before the wedding/reception. And there are many great photo ops for bridal party especially if you rent an "art cart" go-cart fun!
  
  Vinoklet Winery- BEAUTIFUL! Definitely our second choice, but only because of price. It was a little expensive for me, but they do seem to have great value. You can wander the winery grounds, they are building a new ceremony area down by the lake, and there is a bonfire area, and cute outdoor barrel you can let the groomsman hang out in! Food is included, and served buffet style. The only thing we didnt like was that the dance floor split the reception hall into 2 seperate sections.
  

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• lamar0607

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  Oh, Skippy:
  
  Where did she rent the chairs? I don't like the chairs either, and I don't like the look of the chair covers. Did she find a decent price for chair rental?
  
  THX
  

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• skippylouwho member

  

  October 2010 edited December 2011

  I can't think of the chair/table rental place right now. I'll have to call her. THey dropped the extra chairs & tables off on Friday and picked them up on Monday.  Ox Arts will allow that if they don't have another group needing the space in that time.
  
  The people we worked with at Ox Arts were really great.
  
  Lamar, I sent you a pm.  I still haven't been able to ask DD who the chairs and stuff was rented from.

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