Hey girls! Just wanted to write a review because I found them helpful when I was planning
Everything went pretty great, so you'll see lots of good reviews...
Church: St. Xavier Church downtown. A. If you're looking for a Catholic church in the Cincinnati area, check it out. It's huge and gorgeous, and everyone there was very friendly and welcoming (my husband and I are not members there). Definitely a good experience.
Reception: Ault Park. A. Ault Park is really beautiful, and the pavilion is awesome because it can be enclosed if things get rainy or chilly. We got so many compliments on the venue. However, Premier Park Events can be hard to work with. They have just taken over as new management, and things are still somewhat disorganized and difficult to get a hold of. I will say that the week or two before my wedding they were awesome and very receptive. The day of the wedding turned out AMAZING and they ended up doing a great job... so all's well that ends well.
Photographer: Christa Kimble. A+ I LOVE Christa. I was very picky about who we had as a photographer because I can't stand cheesey and lame wedding pictures. I stumbled across Christa at the recommendation of another photographer and am so thankful I did! She takes gorgeous pictures and is so personable and sweet. She had awesome ideas for pictures on the day. I seriously cannot wait to see our photos. Christa is based out of Columbus (where I live), but travels to Cinci. I highly recommend her.
Florist: Susan Foy. A. Susan has gotten some great reviews on here before, and I'm going to say the same thing! I gave her a pretty complicated order, and she pulled it off beautifully. I didn't want to spend a fortune on flowers, and she worked with my budget. At the last minute, I changed my mind about some of the flowers I had originally picked and she went along with it without any issues.
Cake: Three Tiers Bakery in Bellevue. A. Angela, the owner of Three Tiers, is great. We went to a few cake tastings and Three Tiers was definitely my favorite (and reasonably priced!). We had a four tier cake with all different flavors (vanilla with almond cream, chocolate with chocolate ganache, lemon with raspberry preserves, and red velvet with cream cheese frosting) for no extra charge. I gave Angela pictures of what I wanted and it turned out just like the pics! Love.
Band: Capital Sound. A+. Capital Sound rocks!! They're a 10 piece band (guitars, horns, keyboard, saxophone, the whole works) and they play mostly blues, rock, funk, oldies, that kind of thing. Everyone LOVED the band and there was dancing all night long. They are based out of Columbus, but will travel. Check them out!
Hair: Michelle Beamer at Identity. A. This girl can definitely do hair. She was recommended to me by my regular stylist, and she turned out to be awesome. She is also not outrageously priced if you go to her in the salon. I also had trials with a few other people that show up frequently on theknot, but I actually had a MUCH better experience with Michelle.
Makeup: Jean Folchi. A+. I just wanted a natural look, and Jean nailed it. The makeup looked amazing, and I don't usually wear a lot of makeup. I seriously have never felt so pretty. My bridesmaid's makeup all looked awesome too. Loveeee Jean. She came to us on the day too, which was great!
Dress: Girls in White Dresses. A. I went to all the regular places in Cincinnati (European Bridal, Fabulous Bridal, Wendys) but had no luck... then I went to Girls in White Dresses in Columbus and found my dress in about 20 minutes! Hooray! They are a small boutique where I got very personal attention. They were very professional and everything was delivered when they said it would be. Allelulia.
Programs: iheartpaperandthread on Etsy. A. This girl seriously saved the day for me. I had ordered programs from another seller on Etsy, who just dropped on the face of the Earth. 48 hours before the wedding, I messaged iheartpaperandthread and they sent me and super cute and personalized PDF of a program that I took to Kinkos to get printed out. They turned out awesome, AND they were really affordable! The quick turn-around time was a life-saver for me.
Limo and Shuttle Bus: Savannah Nite. C. They were OK. They showed up on time and the limo & bus were clean and nice. However, our limo driver had no idea where he was going so I had to keep telling him how to get to well-known places (aren't drivers supposed to know their way around town?). Also, Savannah Nite told us they would be able to drive the shuttle up to the top of the pavilion to drop off my grandparents because they cannot walk up steps very well. When we got there, the shuttle driver wouldn't drive up the hill so my grandparents had to climb up the stairs. Not cool.
Hotel: The Hilton downtown. B+. Kelly at the Hilton was great. Very organized and returned all my emails/calls promptly. The hotel is is in a good location. The complimentary champange and chocolate covered strawberries on the wedding night were pretty nice too! However, they charge you $2/bag to hand out hotel bags to your guests which was a bummer.
Hope this was helpful! Good luck with your planning and let me know if you have any questions