My wife and I came to this venue for one of the Candlelight Concerts by Fever. Now i will admit…read moreright off the bat, that my review is skewed by the concert content. I saw their take on Hans Zimmer and it was fantastic. I love how his compositions complement and deepen my immersion into a movie. Enough about that now onto the venue. I found the venue very inviting especially in comparison to other venues that were used for Candlelight Concerts. This venue has nice seating in an air conditioned main hall which made it very comfortable allowed me to enjoy the concert without fidgeting. The bathrooms were nice and easily accessible and on the same level. There is an upstairs for standing but i did not meander up there. All in all i found the venue cozy and acceptable for the concert.

Went to a "Candlelight" event here. Beautiful space in an old rehabbed church. All the gothic charm…read moreincluding a wrap around interior balcony. Great location across from Washington Park.

McHale's catered an event at Receptions and won my appetite's admiration. Three signature dishes…read morewere featured during the evening: spicy tuna with slaw, pulled pork sandwiches topped with slaw, and chocolate covered strawberries. They definitely cater to a variety of tastes, from traditional to eccentric to the sweet lovers. I sampled all three dishes and enjoyed each. The spicy tuna had a surprisingly tangy kick, with new flavors appearing during every chew. The pulled pork was tender and smokey, garnished with just the right amount of creamy coleslaw. And who could forget the chocolate covered strawberries. Each was hand-dipped; these huge berries were lush and satisfied my craving for one of my favorite treats. McHale's staff were bright and cheerful, both the gentleman cooking the meats and the ladies bringing around the trays of strawberries. The food line moved quickly and there was more than enough food for everyone. McHale's is great resource to feed your event-goers!

We had our company holiday party there this year. We had 110 guests that fit comfortably. The…read moreservers were friendly and helpful. The prime rib, tuscan chicken, sour cream cheddar potatoes and green beans were delicious. The room upstairs is pale yellow with chandeliers and a nice restroom. The entry was nicely decorated. The centerpieces looked a little dated, but the overall look of the room was beautiful. We were easily able to display a slide show of images, have an awards area, a DJ and dance floor all in one corner. We even set up a photo booth area in another corner. So you can arrange sections for different fun things for guests. They helped me simplify the menu to ensure we stayed within the allowed budget.

Working with Chelsea at The Madison Event Center was such a great experience. She was incredibly…read morekind, responsive, and even went out of her way to help us explore options that fit our very small budget. Highly recommend working with her if you're considering this venue!

This is a hot venue so we did have to book in January 2022 for our September 2023 wedding. Cheyenne…read morewas on top of all the details and made me feel secure throughout the planning process about the status of our event. Although there were still a lot of pieces we had to coordinate ourselves, Cheyenne was regularly checking in, staying up to date on our plans, and giving helpful recommendations as we went along. Our only two bumps we hit were with the timeline for our day and the ballroom itself. When booking the event our ceremony was booked for 5pm-6pm and our reception was booked for 7pm-12am. When booking I had asked what would happen with the hour in between and was told it would be a cocktail hour so I thought nothing of it. When we were about a month out from the event Cheyenne reached out to let us know that it was a mistake and asked if we wanted to bump our reception up. Since we had already printed and sent invitation showing the end time as midnight we were not wanting to do this. Thankfully, Cheyenne and the event team were willing to work with us to make it right and extended our reception to be 6pm-12am at no additional cost to us. The other bump was that in the year and a half between booking the venue and our event, renovations were done to The Crystal that we were not notified of. I discovered them when we went for our food tasting and we saw the room for the first time since booking. The room is almost fully mirrored and they had applied an antique glass effect to them that I really disliked. There wasn't anything we could do about this with the event being less than 2 months out and the other reception spaces being booked. This was disappointing, but ultimately on the day of just didn't matter at all. I only wish we had been given a heads up at the time of renovations so that we could have pivoted plans to a space that was more our aesthetic and vibe. Our ceremony was held on The Lawn at Hotel Covington. I can't say for certain, but I think there were at least two other weddings happening at the venue on our date. Initially this made me nervous, but you could hardly tell. Our party wasn't interrupted at all! The Lawn is absolutely stunning and was the perfect backdrop for our ceremony! It was also a fun bonus that my room in the hotel overlooked The Lawn. As I was getting ready throughout the day I could look out and see the florists progress, I could see our guests arrive, and I could watch my husband process down the aisle with his parents. I'll also note that the hotel is pet friendly which was amazing! We had our dog in our wedding and she was able to stay overnight with us. It was super convenient to have her participate in our ceremony, and then to be able to drop her off up in our hotel room before heading over to the reception! Our reception was in The Crystal Ballroom. It was nice to be right on the first floor and the space comfortably held our ~150 guest wedding with room to spare! I only wish the tables had been more spread out and spread further back towards the entrance of the room. They felt very cramped together which seemed unnecessary given all the space that was open at the end of the room. The price tag looks steep at first glance, it ended up being on par with other more venues we looked at once you factored in caterer, bar services, decor rentals, tables/chairs, and linens. I highly recommend for couples looking to have a smoother planning experience with less moving parts from outside vendors.

Blue Dahlia is incredible! Cannot recommend them enough as a group to work with for what can be a…read morevery overwhelming and chaotic day! They are fabulous organizers and are so responsive and communicative. They also think of every detail you could need in order to make the day run smoothly. But more importantly, they are kind and awesome people to work with. They understand that it can be heightened emotions and a stressful time and they run with it and make sure everyone feels heard and calmed down while providing reasonable solutions to any problems or points of concern! I had the best weekend ever and have gotten numerous comments from friends in the wedding and who attended how smooth the entire day went, and I know that's in large part to the team at Blue Dahlia.

I initially booked with Blue Dahlia thinking I just needed a point person for the day of the…read morewedding. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much support they provided in the weeks leading up to the big day. Their professionalism, respectfulness, and grace helped bring our wedding plans to life seamlessly. As someone who doesn't trust easily--especially when it comes to something as important as a wedding--I was able to fully relax and enjoy the day knowing the Blue Dahlia team was in charge. During vendor meetings, I often heard, "Blue Dahlia already mentioned that--we're good," which gave me confidence everything was under control. Their insight and experience were incredibly helpful as I navigated the many details and decisions, particularly as someone who can be indecisive. Throughout every meeting, my husband and I felt seen, heard, and completely at ease. I truly believe every couple needs a day-of coordinator, and Blue Dahlia is the team you want by your side.

I am married to the Steve W. that previously posted on Elisa's Yelp. I agree with everything that…read morehe said. I was part of the entire year of planning the wedding with Elisa and she was always on top of everything. I considered her my calming source throughout the process. She was always there to promptly answer any questions, relate any information, and notice every detail. This made the weekend of the wedding an absolute pleasure- I didn't have to worry about anything! She and her staff were there to be responsible for the guests getting on the bus, collecting our gifts, and even taking our luggage to our honeymoon suite where she had flowers and wedding cake waiting for us! I would highly, highly recommend EEE!!!!

My wife and I worked with Elisa for our wedding and I never had any idea what a wedding planner…read morereally did. Now all I can say is that I am amazed weddings can run without them. Elisa was so organized and on top of absolutely everything. My wife, her mom and my mom worked very closely with Elisa and all had rave reviews about her. I really couldn't believe how in control Elisa was of everything. She remained calm throughout the entire process, whether it was in the planning phase or the actual wedding day. She genuinely cared about our experience and she made it so much easier for us. I can't say enough good stuff about her. I highly recommend her services!

if I could, I would give it zero stars!Yesterday was one of the poorest excuses for an Easter…read moreBuffet I have ever been to. I was embarrassed to have my family there. It didn't look very well attended and now we know why. They must have known something that we didn't. I have been to several Mother's Day Buffets there and I know that they know better than to charge $55.00/person for the cheap garbage they foisted on the guests. How many ways can they serve PORK(the cheapest meat on the market and half the price of a pound of hamburger), along with dozens of hard boiled eggs at less than 2.00/doz., some beef that was tough and obviously a low price cut or mystery meat. The salads were sparse, there were no cheese selections at all, no juices served, and not a single vegetable was on the menu. I don't believe that I have EVER been to a buffet that didn't at least serve green beans(but then, right now they cost more/pound than pork). The buffet was FULL of "filler foods" like donuts and muffins. The service was terrible. If you wanted something to drink, you had to go get it yourself. That "buffet" wasn't even worth $150. let alone $275.00 There was a sign out front that said "Mother's Day Buffet". We will not be stupid enough to be "taken" a second time. We will NOT be back.

Finding a place my wife would like for Mother's Day is difficult, but Manor House's Mother's Day…read morebrunch filled the bill. Anywhere with an omelette station will get my attention. The omelette station here was top notch. They had poached eggs next to it that looked like extra large egg McMuffins. They test better. The tenderloin was awesome. The ham was excellent. Adding dessert, and the ability of our out of town son to attend (with his significant other) made my lady the happiest she could be. With a little dessert, the starches made me sleepy, so some of the best coffee I have had in a long time was available. Goodbye Starbucks. Goodnight Dunkin. No match to McCafe for the Manor House coffee. I will do my best to come back next year (if it doesn't sell out before I get a reservation). I love this.

The nutshell: Our absolutely amazing wedding was at a non-traditional location (20-acre lodge with…read moreoversized barn/garage for our reception), located FAR away from the nearest city, and we pulled it off in 12 weeks. Because we hired Lori. :-) The story... My husband and I have too many projects. :-) April 2018: We reserved the lodge-60 mins from Cincinnati, 120 mins from Dayton. 5.5 months to go. We loved the property! And knew we could have our dream wedding-albeit more work (responsible for *everything*). 12 weeks before the wedding we got down to business. Upon realizing we'd have to bring our own water (well water, no catering kitchen) knew we needed help.. else miss something-like, no water!! :-) Present: Lori. Across all of her reviews I found every point of complexity I could think of with our setup (quick turnaround, always responsive and great to work with, remote location, extra guest management, transportation, and a bunch of other things.) When we talked, she jumped in right away to offer suggestions and didn't even try to sell me on the full planning package (which I clearly needed). In contrast, I had spoken to another wedding planner with an impressive book - but she offered nothing in the consultation and only tried to sell the highest package. I didn't need cookie-cutter "done it a hundred times". I needed someone creative, flexible, who knew what to look out for, would know what "done" looks like, and how to fill in all the gaps to get there. WEDDING DAY: Due to everything else going on at the time, I was not able to "plan" details with Lori as much as she (or I) wanted. She puts in so much work beforehand to make sure everything goes perfectly, writing it down and pre-coordinating with *everyone*. Most critical elements were ready-timeline, flow, etc. But for ours, she had to wing a lot more and finalize night before/morning of (decorations and setup, final gaps). Which I'm pretty sure would scare the heck out of most planners. :-) She was 100% prepared. Everyone knew what they were doing. I gave a bunch of boxes of decorations, the basics of what I wanted, and left creative licensing for the rest. She had headsets for everyone to communicate, split the staff between church and lodge to start. And GO! It was amazing. Everything went so well!! It felt and looked AMAZING! Lori kept everything moving, making sure to fit in everything that was important to us, all the way down to the Fireworks! Behind the scenes... headsets didn't work, no cell/text reception, one of her staff became very ill. And Lori had a very major family emergency earlier in the week. But she still make it work. Seamlessly. Her work ethic is second to none, she is extremely conscientious, and she will make your day or your event the sole focus of hers so you can live in the moment and truly enjoy it. The best thing a bride can say is "It was my perfect day!" And they may not know the detail that went into the day, or all the challenges behind the scene. But in this case, we do. We know and we greatly appreciate how amazing Lori and her entire team were! Our moms were amazed by her, guests told us she was wonderful :-) I was really lucky to find her, and actually miss not talking to her everyday now. Thanks, Lori! Our day was perfect, and our wedding was "us", through and through. We, quite literally, could not have done it without you! We highly recommend Lori. She's great and will make your event, your day, your moment, incredible.

Wow, where do I begin? I am SOO glad I caved and decided to seek a wedding planner. Hiring Lori of…read moreTLC Events & Weddings, LLC was the best decision my husband and I could have made for our wedding. Among many things she did, Lori worked closely with all my vendors and also very hard to create a timeline that allowed us to make the most out of our day. On the day of my wedding, she and her staff were ABSOLUTELY incredible! Hands down! I am not exaggerating. They were 'beasts'! I can't believe how diligently they worked to pull everything off just so we could feel like guests at our own wedding! Lori, Shannon, Rachel... THANK YOU for making our day magical. I will never forget how smoothly our big day went because of the teamwork of all of you. All our love and respect, Henrietta & Jonathan

Planning your wedding is never easy. My wedding on Labor Day weekend 2018 was a three-day…read moremulticultural event and we were fortunate to have Samantha every step of the way. I had initially hired Samantha to perform a design session for 1 of the days of the wedding. Soon, I realized I needed her full planning package. Samantha easily and quickly switched the packages and services. She sends a wedding task list which is catered to white Christian weddings (it has items like tanning services) but I just ignored those, and focused on the relevant items. We had a clause to add on any additional hours needed. Which I took full advantage of! I added services for Samantha to track and handle the wedding budget, which fell to the wayside. Nor did she really take on managing. When it became clear we would need additional hours for the weekend due to the magnitude of the events, Samantha was mindful of our costs without sacrificing value. She is well versed on the wedding etiquette and despite never having planned an Indian wedding before, she pulled it off with minimal hitches. I am sure has she gains more experience in various weddings and cultures, she will grow and be even better than she is. When my cousin offered to help coordinate the events, she gladly accepted the needed help. Samantha went out of her way to help me at the end of her reception night, when I fell sick. She is vast in her connections with local vendors and on how to get a bang for your budget. Her creativity on how to reuse decorations and flowers saved so much stress and costs. My biggest concern on the wedding weekend was the DJ. I wish I had explicitly expressed to Samantha to feel empowered to take control on handling him, and had been on a conference call with her and him to ensure things ran smoothly. But throughout the wedding, Samantha was cool and calm and took charge on the situation. Her business is growing and is well deserved. There are times when she was not able to answer emails right away because she was out of town for another wedding, workshop or vacation. As the wedding approached, vendors would ask for a timeline and conference call to go over the details. We were able to coordinate those requests with Samantha - she does get back to her clients and vendors, even if it means a conference call at 8:30 PM or on her way to the airport. I wish I booked her full services at the get-go. However her full package does not always equate to hours needed. Hence our purchasing additional hours, after purchasing the full service package. At the end of the day, Samantha wants her couples to be happy and she tries her best. And is focused on that, despite the noise from family input. I regret on not utilizing her skill and creatively fully. In my need to not want to bother her, or stress her out on chaos of an Indian wedding, I didn't involve her in designing the cake or cake-topper, and wish I had. And not worried about putting her off. She is capable if not short staffed. Definitely book her for your wedding.

I cannot recommend Sam and SJE highly enough! As a bride living in San Francisco and planning a…read morewedding in Yellow Springs, Ohio (at my parent's house), the seamless dot connecting that Sam facilitated for us was honestly above and beyond. She did an amazing job calling on all of her experience to fill in gaps where I was looking for advice or direction (sometimes gaps I didn't even realize at the time she was filling), all while empowering me to spend time and energy on the pieces or details that I cared most about. Many things she almost does in her sleep, not even realizing the slack she is picking up - coordinating who would set the tables, compiling all of my contracts, holding a planning session with our officiant, and keeping me on schedule with things like finalizing timelines and getting my seating chart done. I can be picky (I like what I like!) and Sam picked up on my aesthetic almost immediately and represented my interests to my partners and vendors effectively in meetings and discussions that I was not able to participate in being so far away. In addition to her incredible attention to detail (did I mention she did all of our calligraphy and styled the details photo shoot on the day of?! ), she is truly passionate about what she does and that comes through over, and over again. She is not fatigued by doing weddings and events nonstop, but rather she is energized by them and always looking to do things differently and innovate. Wedding weekend would not have been the perfect experience that it was without SJE and her incredible staff. On our wedding day, I spent time with friends and family, drank champagne, and focused on the special moments and she made that happen. Sam also ran the rehearsal like an absolute pro - showing up with [beautiful] weekend itineraries for the whole wedding party - without me asking for those! I cannot recommend SJE highly enough.