Vendor Reviews
We had an absolutely wonderful wedding day, and we were very happy with virtually all of our vendors. Feel free to email me at ClayWeddingEmail[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any questions!
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Bent Tree Golf Club A+++
When we started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted to have an outdoor ceremony and an indoor reception in the Columbus area, and our Internet searching led us to Bent Tree Golf Club, in Sunbury. They were wonderful from the very beginning. We have nothing but great things to say about them! The location was convenient for our traveling guests, and the grounds are beautiful. Their all-inclusive packages include all fees and taxes, so there are no hidden charges. Their prices were some of the most reasonable that we found.
Jackie Packer (the director of sales) and Bret Wiley (the chef and food & beverage director) were wonderful - very helpful, patient, and quick to respond to questions during the planning. Bret was very accommodating and helpful during our tasting. He went through the entire plan for the evening, asking me stuff that I hadn't even thought about yet - very thorough. He spent over an hour with us privately, discussing everything, and I thought that was very nice to do, since he is the head chef, and he stayed late just to meet with us. He tweaked the salad for us to add candied walnuts, answered all of our questions, and even provided the head table with my husband’s favorite beer at no charge.
Bret was on-site at the rehearsal the night before and made sure the banquet was set up exactly how we wanted it. The ceremony site was set up at an angle to prevent the parking lot from being in the background as we walked down the aisle. The ceremony site is very close to the parking lot, so it was convenient for our guests with mobility issues. Bent Tree supplied golf carts for us to take pictures before the ceremony, and they were waiting for us when we arrived. We provided our own chair covers for the banquet room and put them on because it was cheaper then having Bent Tree supply and set them up, but Bent Tree’s staff handled everything else. All of the decorations were placed correctly, and they were even able to store the little bottles of water for the ceremony in their refrigerators. Everything was perfect on our wedding day. We had a buffet, and the food was delicious (especially the pretzel crusted chicken). The food was appropriately hot or cold, and the line moved quickly. They accommodated those with restricted diets with special plated meals (custom designed in advance based on the guests’ preferences). The banquet staff was very friendly, efficient, and polite. The wedding cake was cut into good size pieces (when my sister got married, her venue cut the slices so thin that guests were disappointed, and they had a ton left afterwards). The bartenders were fast and friendly. After the wedding, the staff cleaned up all of the decorations and had them neatly boxed up for my family to pick up the next day.
In conclusion, we were very happy with our decision to choose Bent Tree as our wedding venue, and we highly recommend them.
Jackie Packer (the director of sales) and Bret Wiley (the chef and food & beverage director) were wonderful - very helpful, patient, and quick to respond to questions during the planning. Bret was very accommodating and helpful during our tasting. He went through the entire plan for the evening, asking me stuff that I hadn't even thought about yet - very thorough. He spent over an hour with us privately, discussing everything, and I thought that was very nice to do, since he is the head chef, and he stayed late just to meet with us. He tweaked the salad for us to add candied walnuts, answered all of our questions, and even provided the head table with my husband’s favorite beer at no charge.
Bret was on-site at the rehearsal the night before and made sure the banquet was set up exactly how we wanted it. The ceremony site was set up at an angle to prevent the parking lot from being in the background as we walked down the aisle. The ceremony site is very close to the parking lot, so it was convenient for our guests with mobility issues. Bent Tree supplied golf carts for us to take pictures before the ceremony, and they were waiting for us when we arrived. We provided our own chair covers for the banquet room and put them on because it was cheaper then having Bent Tree supply and set them up, but Bent Tree’s staff handled everything else. All of the decorations were placed correctly, and they were even able to store the little bottles of water for the ceremony in their refrigerators. Everything was perfect on our wedding day. We had a buffet, and the food was delicious (especially the pretzel crusted chicken). The food was appropriately hot or cold, and the line moved quickly. They accommodated those with restricted diets with special plated meals (custom designed in advance based on the guests’ preferences). The banquet staff was very friendly, efficient, and polite. The wedding cake was cut into good size pieces (when my sister got married, her venue cut the slices so thin that guests were disappointed, and they had a ton left afterwards). The bartenders were fast and friendly. After the wedding, the staff cleaned up all of the decorations and had them neatly boxed up for my family to pick up the next day.
In conclusion, we were very happy with our decision to choose Bent Tree as our wedding venue, and we highly recommend them.
Photographer: Kelly Maughan Photography A+++++
Kelly Maughan Photography did an absolutely amazing job shooting our wedding, and my husband and I could not be happier with our pictures. Early in the planning process, I had actually hired another wedding photographer, and through a series of unfortunate events, ended up deciding it was in our best interests to go in another direction, and I am so thankful we did! It really ended up being a blessing in disguise because we found Kelly and she saved the day for us! I had the utmost confidence in Kelly that she would preserve the memories of the night with artistic, gorgeous shots.
From the moment my husband and I interviewed Kelly, we felt very comfortable with her, and I think that showed through our photos, because our true emotions were captured - our smiles reached our eyes, our faces lit up, and we weren't just smiling to the camera on command. Not only does Kelly create wonderful pictures, but her customer service is impeccable! I know what poor customer service can do for one's confidence in a vendor, but we were blown away by Kelly's wonderful work ethic and communication. After our first photographer debacle, it was so very refreshing to have someone respond to my emails in such a timely manner – Kelly usually responded to me within the hour! The day of our engagement shoot, Kelly sent us 2 sneak peek images within hours of us shooting – it took us 5 weeks to even see one shot from our e-pics session with our first photographer. In the package we chose from Kelly, it included her services for our rehearsal dinner. My in-laws had already arranged for a photographer for that night before we booked Kelly, so Kelly was flexible and shot my bridal shower instead. I know it meant so much to my sister, who planned my shower, to have those professional photos of the day.
On our wedding day, Kelly was with us from the beginning of me getting ready at the hotel with my bridesmaids, to late into the night at our reception. She made me so comfortable from the very beginning. She and Callie, her second shooter (who was great too!), felt like girlfriends hanging out with us as we got ready, not like vendors we hired to work our wedding. We never felt like they were getting in the way, or being bossy. They got all these amazing shots without us even noticing them the whole night long. With our large group shots with the bridal party, Kelly and Callie were so patient, and didn't order us around with a lot of directions. They naturally were able to get us how they wanted without dragging out the process.
As far as value, because Kelly is still establishing herself as a wedding photographer, you can get amazing pictures and amazing customer service for an amazing price. I know Kelly Maughan Photography has a very bright future, so her low prices won't last long. We consider ourselves lucky to have found such a great talent just starting out.
All in all, my husband and I believe hiring Kelly Maughan Photography was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. After it is all said and done, the photographs of your wedding are one of the few things left of the experience after the cake has been cut and the bouquet has been tossed, and we are so proud to have such wonderful documentation to show our family and friends for years to come.
Kelly Maughan Photography Facebook profile: Link
From the moment my husband and I interviewed Kelly, we felt very comfortable with her, and I think that showed through our photos, because our true emotions were captured - our smiles reached our eyes, our faces lit up, and we weren't just smiling to the camera on command. Not only does Kelly create wonderful pictures, but her customer service is impeccable! I know what poor customer service can do for one's confidence in a vendor, but we were blown away by Kelly's wonderful work ethic and communication. After our first photographer debacle, it was so very refreshing to have someone respond to my emails in such a timely manner – Kelly usually responded to me within the hour! The day of our engagement shoot, Kelly sent us 2 sneak peek images within hours of us shooting – it took us 5 weeks to even see one shot from our e-pics session with our first photographer. In the package we chose from Kelly, it included her services for our rehearsal dinner. My in-laws had already arranged for a photographer for that night before we booked Kelly, so Kelly was flexible and shot my bridal shower instead. I know it meant so much to my sister, who planned my shower, to have those professional photos of the day.
On our wedding day, Kelly was with us from the beginning of me getting ready at the hotel with my bridesmaids, to late into the night at our reception. She made me so comfortable from the very beginning. She and Callie, her second shooter (who was great too!), felt like girlfriends hanging out with us as we got ready, not like vendors we hired to work our wedding. We never felt like they were getting in the way, or being bossy. They got all these amazing shots without us even noticing them the whole night long. With our large group shots with the bridal party, Kelly and Callie were so patient, and didn't order us around with a lot of directions. They naturally were able to get us how they wanted without dragging out the process.
As far as value, because Kelly is still establishing herself as a wedding photographer, you can get amazing pictures and amazing customer service for an amazing price. I know Kelly Maughan Photography has a very bright future, so her low prices won't last long. We consider ourselves lucky to have found such a great talent just starting out.
All in all, my husband and I believe hiring Kelly Maughan Photography was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. After it is all said and done, the photographs of your wedding are one of the few things left of the experience after the cake has been cut and the bouquet has been tossed, and we are so proud to have such wonderful documentation to show our family and friends for years to come.
Kelly Maughan Photography Facebook profile: Link
Florist: Manor House Flowers A+
Mandy Merriman did such a good job with our flowers. She works out of her home in Lewis Center, and you get such a personal, one-on-one feel when working with her. She created my bouquet, the bridesmaids' bouquets, boutonnières for the guys, the floral reception centerpieces, our cake topper, and the ceremony arch. Our arch was absolutely spectacular, it might be my favorite detail of the wedding. I found Mandy online, met her at the Columbus Bride bridal show in January, and then had a meeting with her at her home to discuss our wedding. She was the only florist I met with, but I knew right away she was the one for us. She was so friendly, warm, and inviting. She embraced my ideas, and added her own creative ideas as well. She was great with communication through email, and very flexible with tweaking things when I had questions. She set up the arch before our rehearsal, and then came back the next day to decorate it and deliver the rest of the flowers. She arrived promptly and everything was organized. I would 100% recommend Mandy, although she is not scheduling any more summer 2011 weddings because she and her husband are expecting their 2nd child. If any of you ladies are having a very long engagement, I would suggest you check out Mandy for sure.
Ceremony/Cocktail Hour Music: Serenata Duo A
We used Serenata Duo for our ceremony and cocktail hour music. They are a flute and acoustic guitar duet. Margaret Kuhn is the flutist and who I worked with in the planning process. They did a wonderful job. They had a large repertoire of music to choose from, and also found and learned “Storybook Love” from The Princess Bride for my bridesmaids to walk in to. The guests enjoyed listening to them during the cocktail hour. Margaret also came to the rehearsal to make sure we were all on the same page for the ceremony. I would definitely recommend Serenata Duo if you want an elegant, beautiful sound for your wedding ceremony.
Ceremony Officiant: Reverend Eric Davidson A-
We found Rev. Eric's website when looking online for an officiant. He let us completely customize our ceremony, incorporating anything we wanted to do. He had a lot of good ideas for the ceremony and I was very pleased with how everything went. The only complaint I have is that when we booked him, his package included a wireless microphone, but a few months before the wedding he emailed me that it had stopped working, so he would have to have access to power to use a microphone. We got married outside, but it was near a building so he ran an extension cord to his system. It wasn't noticeable in the grass and everything ended up being fine, but I was disappointed that he didn't deliver on everything that we booked him for. With his packages you can choose to have him coordinate your rehearsal, which we did and I would recommend. He was prompt and organized and great for what we wanted for our ceremony. We were pleased that he returned the signed marriage certificate to the county clerk's office very quickly after the wedding.
Ceremony Chair Rental: Davidson Party Rentals A
We rented the chairs for our ceremony from Davidson Party Rentals. We used the white wood wedding chair. It was cheaper for us to rent wooden chairs from Davidson than to rent the chairs from Bent Tree. Davidson's fees for delivery, setup, and tear down were much more reasonable for us than other places I researched. The chairs were set-up already on Friday when we arrived at the rehearsal. The owner, Ron, called my mom the morning of the wedding (ceremony at 5:30) to wish us well and make sure everything was perfect. They came and took down and picked up the chairs at some point during the reception, in the dark. We would highly recommend if you need to rent chairs for any event.
Chair Covers: I Do Chair Covers A
They are located in Toledo (where my parents live), so their prices are way better than any place we found in Columbus. My sister also used them for her wedding. We rented the chair covers and sashes and put them on ourselves. The covers and sashes were neatly boxed when we picked them up, and they were easy to put on. They looked great at the reception!
Cookie Buffet Bags: Papermart.com A
We had a cookie buffet at our reception that served as our guests' favor, and I wanted them to be able to take some cookies home/back to their hotel without them getting stale. We purchased the "Tin Tie Bag" in white with a window in the 1.5 lb size from Papermart. They had the lowest prices on these bags, and my sister had purchased stuff from them before. The bags are lined, so no one had to worry about the cookies' grease soaking through or anything. The tops of the bags fold over and then fasten with metals tabs to make them airtight. They are also recloseable, so you can get a cookie out without the rest of the bag being doomed to staleness.
Papermart's prices are great, and they ship very quickly. They sell packaging products including bags, boxes, wrapping, ribbon, and anything else you can think of.
Papermart's prices are great, and they ship very quickly. They sell packaging products including bags, boxes, wrapping, ribbon, and anything else you can think of.
Cake: Short North Piece of Cake A
We were really happy with Piece of Cake. Their cake is really yummy, better than a lot of more expensive places that I tasted at bridal shows. They do not charge a delivery fee and you are not up-charged for different fillings/cake flavors. A lot of places listed minimum prices, but then that was only for basic fillings and flavors, so I liked having the option of more choices. We went with white cake with almond cream, white cake with raspberry filling, and chocolate cake with hazelnut cream. When you book you pay a $100 deposit for the cake stand, but when it is returned you get that money back. The cake was beautiful, tasted great, and was delivered promptly the day of the wedding. Brian, the owner of Piece of Cake, was easy to get a hold of through e-mail and was helpful during our tasting. We would highly recommend.
DJ: David with Night Music A++
We were so happy with David as our DJ. We had met with Steve Ransom, owner of Night Music, and were very impressed with his work ethic and professionalism, and David echoed those beliefs. He did a great job of playing the songs we selected along with supplementing songs of his choice, keeping people on the dance floor, and acting as a wonderful and organized MC of the event. Night Music as a whole was wonderful as well, they had a packet you filled out with your music choices which was very simple and easy to use. The owner even called me the week of the wedding to make sure we were on track just in case in rained and we had to move the ceremony inside where David would be setting up. Luckily our weather was perfect and we didn't need to utilize our rain plan! We had guest after guest come up to us and say that our wedding was the best wedding they had ever been to, and I firmly believe David and Night Music had a lot to do with that. I am not a big dancer by any means, but David kept me out on the dance floor all night long, along with most of my friends and family! There might be DJs that are cheaper but I think with a DJ company, you get what you pay for, and we could not be more satisfied with Night Music; we would highly recommend.
Invitations: The Green Kangaroo A
I spent many, many hours looking around for the perfect invitation. My wedding colors, light yellow and bright pink, are not very common, and so I had trouble finding exactly what I wanted. I ended up finding my invitations at The Green Kangaroo (TGKdesigns.com). This is the same company that my sister used for her wedding. The best thing about TGK is that you can customize anything! My invitation was "Preppy Monogram." We ordered our invitations in February because that month they had a great promotion with free address and guest name printing. So we got the return address on the outer envelope, the guest address on outer envelope, the guest names on inner envelope, and the address for the response card envelope printed for free. This saved us a lot of time. The Green Kangaroo recently changed the way their products can be ordered - you can now order pieces a la carte as opposed to in sets like we did.
The customer service at TGK was good, as well. Light yellow ink wasn't shown as an option for this invitation, but they allowed me to use it, plus after I already approved the proofs they let me change the address for the response cards when I found out I may be moving before invitations were mailed. The only complaint I had is that each complete invitation weighdd 1.1 oz., which stinks because I had to pay the 2 oz. rate to mail them, and the square envelopes measured over 6 and 1/8 inches, which meant they were considered "large envelopes" and thus cost $1.05 each to mail. Boo. So pay attention to sizes and keep in mind that your invitation pieces may be over 1 oz. I wish there had been some kind of notice on the product info page, especially about the "large envelope" classification.
The customer service at TGK was good, as well. Light yellow ink wasn't shown as an option for this invitation, but they allowed me to use it, plus after I already approved the proofs they let me change the address for the response cards when I found out I may be moving before invitations were mailed. The only complaint I had is that each complete invitation weighdd 1.1 oz., which stinks because I had to pay the 2 oz. rate to mail them, and the square envelopes measured over 6 and 1/8 inches, which meant they were considered "large envelopes" and thus cost $1.05 each to mail. Boo. So pay attention to sizes and keep in mind that your invitation pieces may be over 1 oz. I wish there had been some kind of notice on the product info page, especially about the "large envelope" classification.
Save the Dates, Menu Cards, Photo Share Cards, and Lawn Sign: Vistaprint.com A
We ordered a ton of stuff from Vistaprint: Save the Date postcards, menu cards, photo share cards, and a lawn sign. If you sign up with them, you will get e-mail deals and coupons ALL.THE.TIME, so never buy anything there full price! They have 50% off uploads occasionally, as well as free shipping promotions when you spend a certain amount. You can't beat the quality for the price. We were very pleased with everything, and the shipping was very fast.
Bridal Gown and Bridesmaids' Dresses: David's Bridal B+
I had an appointment the Saturday of the bridal show in January at the Sawmill location to look at dresses, and it was very busy. We had to wait awhile, but we were able to look around the store. My consultant, Karolyn, was very friendly and not pushy. My sister also tried on bridesmaid dresses with her and I found my rehearsal dress on the clearance rack. My wedding dress had to be ordered, and it came in quickly. The sales clerk working when I came to pick up my dress was sort of rude and unfriendly, but overall, my experience was fine.
All the bridesmaid dresses (ordered at multiple stores) came in quickly, and the girls loved their dresses. Their dresses were cocktail length, had pockets, and were a cotton sateen material, so not your typical David's Bridal dresses, and definitely able to be worn again. I really loved my dress, it was a great value, and many guests were surprised to hear it was David's Bridal. I do have to say that when I went to get my dress altered, my seamstress said that the chiffon overlay was not all the same length on the bottom, but I had to get it hemmed a lot, so it was no problem for me at all. David's was convenient for all the girls, had a good selection, and was reasonably priced, I would recommend.
All the bridesmaid dresses (ordered at multiple stores) came in quickly, and the girls loved their dresses. Their dresses were cocktail length, had pockets, and were a cotton sateen material, so not your typical David's Bridal dresses, and definitely able to be worn again. I really loved my dress, it was a great value, and many guests were surprised to hear it was David's Bridal. I do have to say that when I went to get my dress altered, my seamstress said that the chiffon overlay was not all the same length on the bottom, but I had to get it hemmed a lot, so it was no problem for me at all. David's was convenient for all the girls, had a good selection, and was reasonably priced, I would recommend.
Bride's Shoes: Zappos.com and Endless.com A
I originally ordered my shoes from Zappos, but then found them a lot cheaper on clearance from Endless.com. Both sites have really fast free shipping and a 365-return policy, so I'd recommend both. The return to Zappos was easy and fast!
Hair Stylist: Shannon Goode A+
Shannon provided hair services for eight women: two mothers, five bridesmaids, and me. She had hoped to have an assistant with her, but it fell through, so she came a little earlier to make up for it. She does on-site hair services, so she came to our hotel suite around 11 am. It was wonderful to not have to worry about traveling to a salon. We could drink mimosas, listen to music, and relax while Shannon did hair and Alison Feamster did makeup. Shannon was organized and neat. She requested a large table (the room’s desk) and went to work setting up her supplies: brushes, combs, clips, curling irons, various products and sprays, a huge box of hair pins, and about 7 sets of hot curlers. She quickly set almost everyone’s hair in hot rollers first, depending on the style desired. She and Alison traded off in order to get the hair and makeup done efficiently. I had had a trial with Shannon, so I knew exactly how I wanted my hair. Everyone had some idea of what they wanted, and Shannon was able to work with them to create beautiful styles. None of us felt we had heads full of pins, and Shannon said that she tries not to use an inordinate number of pins because they are not needed, and it prevents headaches. Shannon was gentle as she worked and the products she used did not have an overpowering scent. She was friendly, fun, and fast. She made sure we were all happy with our hair before she left. All of our styles held up all day and night. I would highly recommend.
Makeup Artist: Alison Feamster A+
Alison provided makeup services for the eight of us as well, in our hotel suite. We felt so pampered to have our makeup done by a professional. I treated my girls to the “mini application” (eyes and lips), but some opted to upgrade to the full-face makeup, or further to the full-face airbrush application. Alison set up on a table near the window, and brought her own chair/stool for the person getting her makeup done. My mom, sister, and I all got airbrush. I had a makeup trial with Alison before, but I asked her to go a little more dramatic for the wedding. Alison asked each girl what makeup she normally wears, and what she’d like for the wedding. She did a great job, and everyone looked beautiful. She also gave each of us a little container of our shade of lip gloss for touch-ups. Alison is very talented and sweet and I would highly recommend.
Hotel Block: Hampton Inn Polaris A
The hotel was great. We got a good rate and the rooms were beautiful. Everything was very clean. Our guests enjoyed the complimentary hot breakfast in the morning!
Rehearsal Dinner: Polaris Grill A
I didn't do any planning for the rehearsal dinner, but the room was great, the food was delicious, and we had good service. My in-laws said the staff at Polaris Grill did a good job of recommending how many appetizers to have, etc. There was plenty of parking, and it was very close to the hotel.
Tux Rental: Men's Wearhouse C-
We chose Men's Wearhouse because we had groomsmen in other cities and it was convenient for them to get fitted and pick up their tuxedos. They also had a coordinating vest and tie color with David's Bridal, who we also used, but the colors didn't coordinate as closely as I would have liked, but it looked fine in pictures. The tuxes ended up all looking good, but about ½ of our group had issues with their tuxes fitting when they picked them up: different lengths of sleeves, too big, too small, etc. My husband got measured at the Tuttle Mall and his fit well, but my brother-in-law had issues with his tux from the Georgesville Rd. location. He picked it up Thursday night around 8 pm and the woman working told him, “don't bother trying it on here in the store tonight. It's too late to put the order in if something is wrong.” When he got home he tried it on, and one of his jacket sleeves was about 3 inches longer than the other sleeve, so he had to make another trip on Friday to straighten it out, and then another trip on Saturday morning to pick up the new jacket. They all ended up looking good, but it was a pain to have to fix. I would recommend exploring other options for tuxes rather than Men's Wearhouse.
Alterations: Linda Hine A
Linda did a great job altering my wedding gown and rehearsal dress. On my gown she had to take it in at the waist, hem it, and add a bustle. My rehearsal dress needed taken in, as well. Linda had great communication through phone or email, and was flexible with scheduling. My final fitting had to be rescheduled because of a change of my work schedule, and Linda was able to squeeze me in on short notice. She was very thorough with her work and my dress fit like a glove, and the bustle stayed in all night, despite everyone stepping on my dress all night long. I would highly recommend, although the price seemed a little expensive to me, but I really had no idea how much to expect.
Etsy.com Sellers:
Cookie Bag Labels: SweetSanity A
We had custom labels made for our cookie table bags, and they were perfect! Kerry (the seller) was really fast with communication, and with proofs. She was willing to tweak the design until it was exactly how we wanted it. Shipping was really fast, too. Highly recommended - she makes all kinds of labels. She has some really cute Welcome stickers in her store, too.
Water bottle lables: Natalily Designs A-
We ordered waterproof water bottle labels for the ceremony, and non-waterproof ones for the hotel welcome bags. Natalie was very patient and creative during the design process, and she printed and shipped the labels quickly. The color on the waterproof labels did seem to bleed/smear a little in places after developing condensation at the wedding ceremony, but it wasn't it wasn't too noticeable. Her prices were some of the most reasonable on Etsy.
Bride's necklace and hair flower: VirginiaGeigerJewels A
I loved my necklace and hair flower. It took a little longer to get them than I expected, but they were beautiful and just what I was looking for.
Bridal veil: MarisolAparicio A
Great price and quick shipping (I ordered a Bride on the Go veil).
Bride's earrings: kgarnerdesigns A
I loved my earrings! They matched my necklace and hair flower perfectly, and were reasonably priced.
Bridesmaids' Earrings: SpiffingJewelry A
Her "5 Pairs of Bridesmaid Earrings - Custom Colors" listing was perfect for me. I was able to customize the earrings to match the bridesmaids' dresses. She created and shipped them quickly.
Rhinestone iron-on for tank: CustomBlingApparel A
I ordered a custom "Soon to Be Mrs." rhinestone transfer for a tank top. It looked great, and was easy to iron on.
Ring pillow and garter set: CreativeBridal A
The ring pillow and garter set were gifts from my sister. They were really great quality, and matched our colors perfectly. The seller noted that it would take 2-3 weeks for them to ship, but they arrived nine days after ordering.