We got married in Cincinnati on April 2
nd.
It was really a fun event and I hope these reviews are helpful to others.
I know for me, as someone who hasn’t lived in Cincinnati since 1994, the Cincinnati Knot board was really helpful.
Invites: Designs by Adj via Etsy.com (A++). I found Adrienne through Etsy, and she was wonderful to work with and did an amazing job on the invites. I got many compliments on them. I think she’s on maternity leave until June, but I do recommend her for brides in need of invites later this summer. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsbyAdj
Outfits: Various. We lived in NYC until recently, so I got my dress made there. My husband got his suit there too. However, my mom got her dress at Cincinnati Bride in the Reading Bridal District and had a great experience there (A).
Rings: Wellings in Reading Bridal District (A++) and Kay’s (B). I have a 1920s engagement ring, so it was hard to find a band that would work with it. Terry at Wellings custom made a gorgeous wedding band to fit with my engagement ring. He designed it to match the metal work of my engagement ring. And the price was very reasonable for what it was. Kay’s at mall (in Nashville, where we now live), was fine for my husband’s band. Nothing great, nothing bad. I wish we could have gotten his band from Welling’s but we just didn’t have time for another trip to Cincinnati for that.
Ceremony: St. Xavier’s Church (A+). For out of town Catholic brides, I think St. Xavier’s is a great option. They have a lot of information available online and are open to working with non-parishioner brides. The music director was particularly helpful, and really everyone there was great to work with.
Reception: Bell Event Centre (A+). The Bell Centre was great because they took care of everything and I didn’t have to worry about anything the week of the wedding. They were great to work with, both in the planning process, and during the reception – the wait staff was really professional and nice. Plus, it’s such a gorgeous venue. I had heard from various people before the wedding that the Bell Center’s food is outstanding. However, we were skeptical because we can be food snobs somewhat. But the food really was great – I heard from various people that it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had.
Day of Coordinator: Your Wedding by Jen (A+). Jen was super cool to work with. I appreciated her calmness. I knew that everything was under control the week of the wedding because of her. She was particularly helpful because I only had two days off before the wedding and was traveling from Nashville. I don’t know what I would have done without her.
DJ/Lighting: Dan Blevins of CSC Events (A++). I met with a few DJs before Dan and felt that they were trying to push me on different lighting effects and things that were not our style and not at all what we wanted. When I met with Dan, he was totally different. He understood what I wanted and didn’t push me on things that I didn’t want. My husband is a musician and his band played for some of the reception, which was tons of fun. Dan was really helpful in making the logistics for the band happen. Dan DJed when the band wasn’t playing, and he played exactly what we wanted at the wedding. The dance floor was packed the entire night. People were disappointed when it ended.
Photographer: Laura Leppert and her assistant Erin from Leppert Photography (A++). Laura was fabulous to work with. She made the photographs fun. We haven’t seen all of the shots yet, but everything we have seen so far has been absolutely beautiful. She really worked with us to understand the type of photos we were looking for. Her prices might be higher than others, but I’m so happy we made room in our budget for her.
Flowers: Rosemary at Petals And Things (A++). Rosemary was also fabulous to work with. She understood that since both St. Xavier’s and the Bell Center are architecturally rich, we didn’t need to overdo the flowers. She was great at listening to what I wanted and all of the flowers were gorgeous and perfect! Her prices were definitely reasonable.
Cake: Bonbonnerie (A). The cake looked gorgeous. Unfortunately, I forgot to eat a full piece during the reception because I was too busy having fun. But the taste I got during the cake cutting was great. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to cakes, so I definitely recommend doing tastings at two or three places. Tastings are great because you basically get to taste tons of excellent cakes from different places.
Videographer: Dennis Gray of Videograyphics (A+). I haven’t seen the video yet, but Dennis and his assistant were great to work with. Like all good videographers, they made themselves present when you wanted them and invisible when you just want to enjoy the moment.
Hotel: Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (A). Probably about one-half of our hotel guests came in from out of town so we booked a lot of rooms here. You can’t beat this hotel in terms of its beauty. My guests (many of whom are architectural historians) really loved the look. We got a group rate that was cheaper or comparable to other downtown hotels. Kelly in the event planning department was great to work with. My only complaint is that the hotel could get really hectic during check out time and it was impossible to get an elevator. At one point, I walked down 20 flights of steps because it was impossible to get an elevator.
Makeup/Nails: Salon Beck downtown. (A+++) I recommend this place for anyone getting married downtown. I originally booked a manicure/pedicure the day of the wedding here and had a great experience. When a few hours later when my hair and makeup person was late, I ran back to Salon Beck in a panic. They were super sweet and fit me in at the very last minute to do my makeup for the wedding. They also fit in my flower girl to have her hair done. They were awesome and really saved the day. They’re prices were reasonable, too.
Hair: Michelle Marx. I know a lot of people here have had a really wonderful experience with her, and I hate to give bad reviews, but I do feel like I need to share my experience. Michelle was two hours late, and wasn’t answering calls and texts for that first hour and half when she was late. She was supposed to do my hair and makeup, my two bridesmaids’ hair, my flower girl’s hair, and the makeup for my mom and my mother-in-law (6 of us in total). But she showed up just 45 minutes before we needed to be ready for photos.
I don’t want to harp on it, because everything worked out in the end, but it was stressful. My mom’s friend had come to do my mom’s hair, so she ended up doing my two bridesmaid’s hair too. And I got my makeup done at Salon Beck and they did my flower girl’s hair too. Michelle was super apologetic when she arrived and did make up for it with a refund and a promise for another free hair/makeup session. And she did do my hair for the wedding, and it looked great.
Sorry that was so long! And still, I’m nervous that I forgot someone!