Many of our vendors were from Athens but some were also from Columbus so I thought I would share here. Good luck ladies! Hope some of this info helps.
Galbreath Chapel (Ohio University) A
We thought the fee to use the chapel was a bit high considering we are alumni, but other than that everything was great. They always responded to emails quickly and were very flexible with changing our access times. The carpet down the ailse is not the greatest but our aisle runner covered that up.
The Eclipse Company Store C-
Honestly, the service we received here was so bad I would just give them an F but the space is actually quite beautiful and had the perfect rustic feel we wanted so I will at least give them some credit for that. Otherwise, what a dud! We paid extra for their "coordination" services which was such a mistake. The original site manager quit in July and the replacement was HORRIBLE! She missed our appointment to meet 3 weeks before the wedding (we never did meet until the day before the wedding) and kept promising a floor plan. Never delivered. She was late letting us into the site all 3 days we rented it-- that's right: she was late letting us in to decorate on Friday, late letting in my husband the day-of to drop off bar supplies, and she was late letting in my parents to take down decorations on Sunday. What did we pay for!? She didn't have enough silverware and had to go buy some, she didn't put out our favors, she didn't light candles until guests were already arriving, she forgot to turn on the hall light by the restrooms... I could go on and on! Do not--I repeat DO NOT-- work with Kelsey Eilers at the Eclipse Company Store. She clearly does not care about people's weddings.
Eclipse Co. Store Catering A
I am putting this as a seperate category from the reception space because the food and the service we got in regard to the food was so much better than everything else at Eclipse. There was also a change-over in chefs at Eclipse but that never once affected the end result (in fact, our original chef David Lopez came back to help our replacement chef Ian Bush). The food was delicious and affordable and we got so many good comments about it.
Julian Allen Photography A+++
We snatched up Julian a year out from the wedding and we are so glad we did! The pictures are truly amazing and worth every penny we've paid him. He actually takes the time to get to know you and your family, as well as the actual places you will be on your wedding day. Julian had never been to Athens before but you would never know that looking at all the beautiful places he found to take pictures. I was really panicking the day-of because of the rain but he never let it slow him down. We got our outdoor pics and they turned out beautifully! You forget it even was raining when looking at them. I cannot express enough how much we loved working with Julian.
My Cake Time A
We hired Nalnee based on word-of-mouth in Athens that she makes amazing cakes and we were not disappointed. She always responded to my emails quickly and she was very thorough in every detail. She made us sample cupcakes to choose our cake flavor at no extra cost and the flavors were out of this world.
Bridal and Formal (Bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses) B+
Worth the trip to the Cincinnati Bridal District. This place has a huge selection and they really work with you on price. I actually found a gown that was under my budget! The only thing I will say is that I was not impressed by their veil and shrug/wrap selections (both of which I ended up finding elsewhere). Also, the large communial fitting room made me a little uncomfortable, but they do have a few private fitting rooms that you just have to wait for.
Men's Warehouse D
We decided early on that we wanted suits instead of tuxs but we had a hard time finding what we wanted that fell within everyone's budget. We thought we had found what we wanted at MW, but when they arrived the pants were pleated (which I specifically said was a no). We sucked it up and dealt with it. But then when we went to get my husband's suit, we had quite possibly the rudest salesman ever. He criticized all of our preferences from pleats to shoes. He basically told me I was a woman, what would I know about men's fashion! On top of that, when we returned to pick the suit up, they couldn't find it. Turns out, they had just put it back on the rack to sell... nevermind the fact we had paid for it in full! Save yourself the trouble and keep looking. Do NOT use Men's Warehouse.
Jack Neal Floral A
Our flowers were beautiful and turned out being exactly what I wanted...which took me a while to figure out (I was very flower indecisive). Tasha took care of us from start to finish which such expertise. She obviously loves what she does and wanted everything to be perfect. She was also great about helping us keep eveything within our budget.
Raphael's Aveda Salon B+
This was the salon I went to when I was a student at OU so I had aready has great experiences there. I chose it for the wedding based on that and than they could also do our makeup. Overall I was pleased but there were a few minor things. Apparently they did not cut my bridesman's hair the way that he wanted (although I did not even know about this until well after the wedding). I never really felt like my hair turned out the way I exactly wanted but it still looked beautiful so I can't really complain (my sister said the same thing about hers). They were very accomodating to our large group and were very kind to let us add on some last minute appointments.
Hope this helps any Athens brides-to-be out there! I can also provide reviews on just about every Athens hotel if anyone is interested (just PM me).