Darby House

mrshump · July 2010

I am scrambling to try to lock down a venue for my reception and I am in New york so cannot visit places. I fell in love with Darby House and they have the venue on hold for me for right now. But I don't know if this is IT!!

Anyone have any knowledge of the Darby House that can help me out with this.

Mt other alternatives that I've looked into are Brookshire, Athaneum, Venue @ Smith Brothers and The Clock Tower. I am not as crazy about them as the Darby House.

Any commentary would be greatly appreciate.

fulloflove · July 2010

I'm getting married there in two months. It perfectly combines nature with sophistication. Outside it's right along the creek, inside are floor to ceiling windows so even in rain it would be just fine. What are you looking for in a location?

Feel free to msg me if you want detailed questions answered. The Darby House was the only part of my wedding planning that called to me. Everything else I like, but I adored the location.

Alko726 · July 2010

If you've never visited The Clock Tower, I should warn you that the location isn't exactly wonderful. It's right off of Hamilton Rd across the street from Eastland Mall. The stores around the area are pretty run down ,and the venue itself it right next to a Public Storage facility. Idk, I guess I was really turned off by the outside of the venue. Not sure if the inside would make up for it, but the couple reviews on here were negative ones...

I loved the Darby House, but it was booked for our date. We ended up booking at the Blackwell.

Good luck and HTH!

contauri · July 2010

The Darby House is an amazing location for a Columbus wedding, it's one of my favorite venues and would've been my first choice (but I couldn't meet the minimums). I think you'll love it, and it's definitely a safe choice. A great spot for ceremonies and receptions, and very charming look to it that would be great in pictures. I'd suggest against the Clock Tower or the Athenaeum, the reviews are always pretty mixed and imo, Darby House is the better option

jamawoops · July 2010

I agree with the PP's. The Clock Tower is pretty both inside and out (just the building itself), but it is not in a good neighborhood. One of their additional fees is a $250 charge for security to have someone patrol the parking lot so your guest's cars won't get broken into!!

I personally didn't have the best experience dealing with The Athenaeum. They are very unwilling to work with you. It's their way or no way at all! And they charge you for every little thing! It is a very unique venue though and I know some people didn't have any problems with them, but I might be a bit biased since I had to cancel my wedding there last year.

I also loved the Darby House, but I couldn't afford the October minimums.

I'm getting married at Bent Tree Golf Club. It's small, but nice and their prices can't be beat. Good luck choosing!

fallbride'10 · July 2010

I LOVED Darby House but couldn't afford to have my wedding there

I would agree with pp about the clock tower...haven't heard good things about them. I met with someone at the Athenaeum and it does seem like they nickel and dime you on everything. Go with the Darby House if it's in your budget! It's gorgeous!

kiyamurph · July 2010

I also fell in love with the Darby House, but our wedding is July 2 in the evening and we couldn't swing the $15,000 minimum. If it's in your budget, I'd say go for it because it really is a beautiful venue and you can have the indoor option for bad weather.

If it's not in the budget, look into Heritage Golf Club. That's where we're having our wedding, and the great thing about it is that are NO minimums. That was pretty much the selling point for us because we're able to keep costs much lower than Darby House. I'm talking $8,000 lower! Plus it's on a beautiful golf course. But like I said, if you're sold on Darby House and it's in your budget, go for it!

mrshump · July 2010

thanks ladies!!!

i'm having a sunday wedding so the minimum is signifcant lower than it is usually on a summer day.

dirkhollywood · July 2010

We booked our reception at the Clock tower because we fell in love with the hall and the manager. She is an interior designer and had a LOT of original ideas for our Hollywood theme wedding.

Unfortunately, our plans have changed for family issues and we are looking forward to transfer our contract to another couple for july 2nd 2011. We already paid $2000 and would let it go for $1800.

If you would like more details, you can email me at dirkhollywood@hotmail.com or call me at 614-537-9005.

osumegs · July 2010

I'm actually doing a Sunday afternoon wedding next May at Darby House. It is absolutely beautiful. I would definitely recommend it. Everyone I have talked to at the venue has been amazing

crawford411 · July 2010

I went to a wedding at Darby House just last Sunday. The wedding was very nice, and although it rained just before the ceremony, the staff was able to quickly convert the event to an indoor wedding. The venue itself was lovely, but I would recommend checking with the staff on a few issues we saw come up (from a guest's perspective).

- The bar and cocktail hour food setups resulted in a LOT of lines, and no one seemed to be directing traffic. Waiting in lines definitely killed the buzz, and for 150 people, it seemed like there simply wasn't enough food at the cocktail hors d'oeuvres station and that 2 bar tenders weren't enough.
- The buffet lines were at the front of the reception room, which created a bit of a flow problem. Also, the bridal party was tucked off to the side where most of the guests couldn't even see them.
- Lastly, the dance floor was VERY small and people were overflowing into the area between the tables. I would definitely make sure that you discuss a larger dance floor if you have a lot of guests or there will be more dancing-prone guests attending.

Overall the venue was very nice, and it was clear that the staff was focused on making it a great event. The location was absolutely gorgeous too. With a few slight changes to the setup, I think it will be absolutely gorgeous! Good luck with planning!

crawford411 · July 2010

Oh and side note: we're getting married in September at the Athenaeum and it looks like it's going to be beautiful. Staff is awesome too, so we'd definitely say that you're safe with whichever you choose!

smariex18 · August 2010

Most of the others I am not familiar with, however, I am with the Clock Tower. We're from out of town too, and scheduled an appointment with them at 1:30pm on a Thursday in July. We got there 10 minutes early -- no one was there. I called Cathleen (I think her name is) around 20 times in the next 40 minutes, and no show. She kept ignoring my calls, as sometimes it would ring fewer times. I checked my email again to make sure I was there at the right time and didn't mix something up; sure enough, I had an email from her saying she would 'love' to meet me there at 1:30. It's run down on the outside, and all there is is a fountain or something in the middle and there's not the best scenery right behind it, so if you want outside pictures, that's eh. Also keep in mind there's actually a website about it, which I believe is called www.columbusclocktowersucks.com ... Yeahhh.

I looked at the Athenaeum too, and they seem nice, but the room we want had too high of a minimum from us. I've heard they're a very nickel-and-diming type of venue. But it is gorgeous, and I absolutely adore the Priory, but it's smaller than it looks in pictures.

We personally ended up going with the Valley Dale.. but every review I've read seems to love the Darby House, so I don't think you should have a problem.

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