serious need of some bridal expertise!

hillarybotprime · February 2012

hi ladies! i am new to the knot, as of an hour ago. i've been engaged for two years and we finally decided to start planning the wedding. i am planning from out of state, i am from baltimore and currently my fiance and i live in maryland. he's from newark so we are planning for a columbus wedding because his family is much larger than mine and baltimore is insanely expensive.

i wanted to see if i could get some recommendations on banquet rooms where they do basically everything for you since i'm out of state. i want the space, food, drinks, all of it in one. we're looking at inviting 300 guests, so most likely 200-250 in reality? our budget is decently flexible, one of the reasons our engagement was a little longer than some.

i guess my only requirements are that its an all-in-one place, minimal decorating on my part since i won't be able to visit the site often for ideas, and that it has one room. my brother was married a few years ago at a reception site that held SIX parties at one time and it was absolute insanity. i remember leaving to go next door to use the bathroom. ughhh.

thanks in advance for any info you guys can dish!

LovelyLauren21 · February 2012

Congrats & Welcome. I was in the same boat as you originally, I travel a LOT for work so I couldn't do a DIY wedding as I originally planned. I did a ton of research before I toured, I read a lot of the posts on here of what ladies had to say about not only where they toured but where there event was. I'm having my reception at The Clock Tower and it sounds like the place would work for you depending on what type of feel you want.

I know they fit at least 300 people in there, if not more, but my reception is half that. We are getting our catering, alcohol, linens, cake, and DJ through them. And they only have one ballroom. The only downfall is they're not in the best location, I wanted something downtown when I first started searching but I couldn't find anything to fit me. My fiance said who cares whats around the building, we're going to be inside the entire time. So I would reccomend looking at their website.

Do you two have a date set yet?

hillarybotprime · February 2012

awesome. i will have to check them out. when you say not the best location, what do you mean?

thinking may 2013, not 100% sure to be honest.

TheBeckmeister · February 2012

We live in the DC area, and also planned from out-of-state. We brought in our own caterer/alcohol, so I can't recommend our place, plus I don't think it'd be big enough.

I can think of a few places that might work for that size wedding - Valley Dale Ballroom and Walter Commons at St. Charles Prep. They're both pretty and wouldn't require decorating. You can also narrow the search by going here:

http://www.columbusbride.com/the_event/receptions/

If you scroll down under "Reception Guides", there are listings of a whole bunch of venues, by location, giving a summary of each of them. I hope that helps.

Carly245 · February 2012

Walter commons is a great suggestion. I loved it but it was too big for our wedding. I am also planning from afar and these ladies are great!

Carly245 · February 2012

A great option for you could be Bryn Du mansion it is out towards newark in Granville and is gorgeous. My FI's sister had her reception there.

green795 · February 2012

We had our wedding at Creekside. It was full-service, the food was amazing, and they were great to work with through the whole process. I added some decor, but did not need a lot. It's only been around for the last 4 years or so, and it seemed like there was a lot of thought to the deisgn and layout. There's a lot of natural light, it's right next to a creek/park so the views are naturally beautiful. It's big enough for over 300 (we did not have have that many), and it feels intimate without overcrowding. They have an in-house caterer (the food was delicious), did all the decorationg and table settings for us, and the coordinator was helpful and organized. I'm really happy we went with them, and everything turned out how we wanted it.

I also agree with Walters Commons for a group your size. We got married in the St. Charles chapel at the same location, but did not consider them because we would not have taken up enough of the space. We went to a 400 person wedding there last Fall and felt as though there was still more space. Walters Commons was created through enclosing the outside area around the main building, so what you are seeing (other than columns to support the ceiling) is the outside of a building - but it's done so beautifully you would never know! I'm not sure who would do the set up (I am pretty sure they don't), but I think whichever caterer you choose from their list could set up and tear down. You can choose from 2 approved caterers (Berwick or Mass Appeal). (And based on all the Berwick I've had I would not recommend them because the food is not that good.) But if you have a very large group, Walters Commons would be a good place to go.

Ajoyd · February 2012

The ladies have offered some great suggestions above, I would definitely check those places out. I am planning from out of town as well (in St. Louis) and the recommendations on these boards have been tremendously helpful, especially in narrowing down vendors since I can't go visit all of them.

I would also check out Jefferson Country Club. It is really nice and is also on the east side. It is very big and could accommodate your guest list. Country clubs can be expensive but are definitely a one stop shop as far as catering, etc. goes and with decorating you would really just have to worry about table centerpieces. I'm sure they could even recommend florists for you.

larsonm · February 2012

The ValleyDale Ballroom (as someone mentioned above) is great. I am getting married there in just about a month and am very happy with the venue. It would be perfect for you for so many reasons:
1. close to the airport for your out of town guests and the Courtyard Marriot offers a free shuttle to and from the venue
2. no decorations are needed (except centerpieces) as the ballroom is beautiful and always decorated
3. they include the bar in their pricing-they have several options to choose from like bottled beer, draft beer, to add hard liquor or not, etc
4. you have to find your own caterer but they give you their top 5 rec's and if you pick of of their pics they give you a discount on the caterer fee as the cateres have preset menus to choose from. Or you can create your own menu

Let me know if you have other questions. The website has some great pics, but I am happy to share some of mine after I return from my honeymoon!

Good luck!

hillarybotprime · February 2012

thank you guys!

i looked up the clock tower, walter commons, creekside, and valleydale. i have a couple questions if you guys wouldn't mind helping me.

valley dale - do you have to keep the christmas lights up? where is the bar located? i saw it in one of the pictures but then I couldn't find it in the room.

the clock tower - is the dance floor big enough if i hit my personal max of 300?

walter commons - that room looks HUGE. are you sure it wouldn't swallow up 250 people? it says seating max is 600.

creekside - what shape is the room? it looked like it was really long and skinny? also, where is the bar?

dfricke · February 2012

OMG! I felt like I was reading my own story! I've been engaged for 2 years and live in Fairfax, VA (so close)! I'm also planning from out of town and getting married in Columbus. CRAZY! We've also been putting it off and have finally decided to get a move on.... Do you have a date?

larsonm · February 2012

Valleydale,

I am not sure about taking the lights down, but I will say that those photos do not do them justice. They look much better in person than in pics-they are a real heavy rope lighting, not your typical christmas lights.

They also have spot lights avail (at maybe $20 per light or something) that you can change the color to what you want to give the room a personal touch.

There are 2 bars in the venue. The largest one is on the top floor where you will typically have a cocktail hour. Then there is a smaller version on the dance floor level just to the right of the stair case. Depending on your guest count they will keep both bars open all night or close the top level down after cocktails, or as you pay them to do!

Anything else let me know!

Belle0000 · February 2012

I'm a Walters Commons bride. When we first looked at it, it was set up for a 220 person wedding and I thought it looked fine. We're expecting close to that same number at ours. We've been working with Sarah Selhorst @ Mass Appeal and she's been awesome; she has a lot of good feedback and useful info. WC books quickly though, so don't put it off if you're interested in it!

green795 · February 2012

Creekside is rectangular, with windows all along one side, a bar at each end, and 2 bay windows. At one end we had the dance floor and the other end had our cake table. We did a Tuscan-style head table in the middle of the room and could see all of our guests. There's also a separate room when you walk in, which we used for cocktail hour, and a secluded "prep"/touch up roomfor the BP.

BAYB153 · February 2012

Look into The Blackwell! It's a nice hotel on Ohio State's campus that has one ballroom and patio -- you can have your ceremony inside or outside. They have a great chef, can do cakes (we aren't using them), and can get your alcohol there. The room holds 250. They give you a discount for room rates for guests and a complimentary suite for you and your parents. Good luck!

kleem15 · February 2012

Welcome to the board! I ALSO am from Newark! Maybe your fiance and I know each other! haha We looked at a few sites in Newark but ended up going with somewhere in Delaware where my fiance and I live. If you are wanting to stay closer to Newark than the Columbus area... look into Creative Catering. Its in Hebron but only a 10-15 min drive from Newark/Heath area. I believe they are all inclusive or pretty close. With that amount of people attending, you would probably be good with the grand room and the wing, and in that case there would not be another wedding the same day. It is a really beautiful facility! If you need any other help let me know! I am VERY familiar with the area!

serious need of some bridal expertise!

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