*Transportation: The Fun Bus: A-: We had a trolley through the Fun Bus for about an 8 hour block of time and it was hugely convenient. The trolley was available to take guests from the hotel to the ceremony/ reception facility, then be available throughout the night for guests who wanted to return to the hotel. At the close of the reception, the trolley also provided transportation to the after-party at Callahan’s, then again incrementally back to the hotel. The trolley itself was great – it was clean, adorable, and kept at a warm temperature which felt great after the chilly, March night. However, our driver was a little grumpy – apparently it was due to the amount of traffic in downtown Columbus that weekend due to the Auto Show, a concert, and some other events. Not surprisingly, his mood improved when he was told he was taking his last group back to the hotel.
*After-party: Callahan’s: A: We booked the Pub Room at Callahan’s for our after-party. At the time I booked the facility, it was free to do so; however, I have been told that this may have changed since then. I would still recommend the Pub Room for an after-wedding gathering. We had pre-ordered food to be ready when guests arrived and I know it was appreciated. Plus, Callahan’s let us bring in any extra food we had from the wedding – which was none. However, we did have extra cookies from the cookie table and those were also great to have to munch on. It was a perfect way to end the night.
*Hotel Block: Renaissance Hotel: A: Our block of rooms was at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus, and we stayed in a suite here the wedding night. We provided guests a gift box they were to receive upon checking in – apparently the hotel neglected to pass these out initially, but once realizing their error called down guests to get the box. Because of this, I probably would have given the hotel a lower marking except they redeemed themselves the day of check out. Long story short, we accidentally left 5 boxes… and my wedding dress… on the side of the road at the valet station and didn’t realize until we returned home. The hotel had gathered the boxes, and dress, and saved the day J
*Registry 1: Crate & Barrel: A+: I have been more than happy with our registry with Crate & Barrel. This was definitely our more frequented registry, probably because it was also our more diverse one. The products they have available are great and we only had to take back 2 items (one that I thought would fit in our fridge, but didn’t; another that I thought would match our family room, but didn’t – not for any issues with the item). Plus, after the wedding you get a 10% off coupon valid on anything for SIX MONTHS! This is huge for us to not only be able to complete our registry, but also as we are entering “wedding season” and have many friends that are also registered at C&B.
*Registry 2: Target: B: Similar to Crate and Barrel, after the wedding we received a 10% off coupon for Target, but unlike Crate and Barrel, it’s only valid for one day. Although Target has a large selection to add to a registry, it being such a frequented store I felt like I was constantly replacing items due to their “limited stock” – our registry at Target when we first created it was entirely different from the one we had as the wedding approached due to the constant change in stock. All of the items we’ve received are great (again, only had to take something back because it didn’t match), but it did require a lot more monitoring on my part than Crate and Barrel.
**Thought I'd include the registry reviews since I know 'where to register' has been a topic up here before 