Vendors that did not make the cut
Venues:
Smith Brothers Loft: We thought this would be the one, but it let us down, it was a nice place but just not us and it was going to be a little small for what we wanted.
Makoy Center: It was a very nice place the one down side is that my sisters have their prom there and I can see my high school from the parking lot. I just did not want that to be the view for my wedding.
River Club: I really loved the view, but we went away from this because we were worried that we would have an awful day and could not see anything and we were concerned with the fact that we could have been 1 of 3 weddings and the restaurant was there, but it was beautiful
Pinnacle: Very nice but it was weird because we went to someones wedding, so i felt like we were intruding and I felt it was kind of rude of us. But it was a beautiful ballroom, we just could not imagine paying per drink
Via Vecchia: We were really considering here because it was so unique but we just could not envision how we would fit and personally i did not care for the wine, but everyone was amazing to work with and they are a good place, but i have heard they have raised their rental fee, which I personally don't think that I would go for it.
Swim and Racquet Club: I really loved this place, but I thought it was a little too small for us. It had an amazing fireplace and wooden floors, with white ceilings. You can bring your own caterer and alcohol and they would allow you to set up the night before if they don't have an event going on
The Columbus Athenaeum: We have a deposit down on this place currently but we have decided that we can no longer afford to have our wedding there, and our wedding was just so far away from what I wanted. We meet for our initial meeting with Ann Clark and I just did not get a good vibe from her. Every time I said I wanted something she said it would be an up charge but not tell us anything about how much it would cost. Also they allowed you to set up 2 hours before which would not work for us because that is our ceremony time. And I did not like that if you did not use their preferred vendors you had to pay 300 dollar deposit! And if you were DIY centerpieces you had to pay as well!
*****Update: On November 10, 2011 at 3:40 they emailed me and told me that if we did not cancel by the end of close today, we would have to give them more money! I called and told them I had already canceled and they said "Oh we must have lost it" so we had to scramble and get in our copies of the cancellation by 4:30. Gosh, so ridiculous.
Darby House: Originally this was brent's favorite place but we decided against it pretty quick. It was so far outside of the city, the closest hotel would be like 20 minutes away and the prices were outrageous, just for the food, drink, and venue rentals it was a little less than our budget now.
Caterers
Boardwalk Catering: I don't know what to say about her, she seemed very pushy and talked down to me because I am doing my own stuff. Her price was great and her food tasted amazing, I think our hesitation was that I did not know if I could work with her vibrant personality.
Sandman's Gourmet: We met with them and we really liked them. With them we were looking to set up a BBQ style buffet which is around 500 dollars under our budget and the food will be comfort food that everyone should love. The only downside is BBQ is a little messy but if we don't see anything we like then we will work towards it. My dad and I loved this food but Brent did not care for it so we scratched them off our list.
Catering By Scott: We met with him when we were looking into Via Vecchia, he seemed to truly care about his brides but I have heard some bad reviews about him. We had a sample of the food and it was great! So on that note it was amazing. I also had a problem that I gave him a price of what we did not want to go over and he gave me a quote for 5,000 more!
Entertainment:
Midwest Pro DJ: He was extremely tall! that was our first impression, he was very nice and personable! He is a little pricier than our other option but we did really like him a lot. Infinity Photobooth: we were booked with them, we loved them, but our DJ offered us his photobooth for 100 dollars off their already low price! So we cancelled with them, but they are amazing and we were happy with them! I completely suggest them to everyone, their scrapbooks are amazing and they are very helpful!
cakes:
Scrumptious Cakes: This was our first cake tasting and it was a pretty interesting experience. The cake tasting happened at their house, which i thought was weird BUT I know that is normal. Ron and his wife were very nice and welcoming. We sample 4 cupcakes, Chocolate, classic white, french vanilla, and spice. Each had a different buttercream icing, classic, chocolate, hazelnut, and pumpkin! And then we sampled 3 fillings, black berry, strawberry, and cappuccino. It was very yummy, the only one I did not like was the chocolate, but I am not a big chocolate cake person. He quoted us originally 620 but that was with a 172 tier cake and with fillings in each cake. We think we will cut out all the filling and down size our cake and supplement with sheet cakes and it will get the price down until 500 dollars!
Short North Piece of Cake: This was a major disappointment for me. I was really looking forward to this but the sample cake was not that good and the cake was expensive! I ordered a cake from there a while back for my graduation and it was amazing! But I don't think we will be using them for our wedding!
Enticing Icing: We met her and she was very nice. She had great flavors and her cake was so moist and yummy, we just loved anita so much!
flowers: Kelly Karsten: She was very nice and was able to take the pictures that I showed her and molded it into something that I loved. I am not very picky on flowers and she seemed to be very helpful with helping me decide.***I changed my mind completely and emailed her and she gave me a quote for the new bouqeuts, they went up slightly in price but at least I know I will get what I want.
Flowers on High: I don't know what I think about this vendor. She was very laid back and nice but I don't know about her vision for me. But we can always work that out. Her prices were just below what was our maximum budget, but I think there are ways to cut that back.
Flowerman: I am all about do it yourself but OMG i will not DIY if I have to pay more money for what I want! They are amazing people but the cost is about the same as all my other quotes, but I was wondering if the bouquets I was going to get would have included more flowers.
Flowers on Springtree Lane: These ladies were amazing and I walked out of there thinking i was going to book with them, but then i got my quote and I just could not do it! They quoted me about 400 dollars more than everyone else
Madison House design: I missed an appointment with her and I felt awful because I overslept! Her quote was very good and I think that it would be about what I want, I am just worried that I won't like what I get.