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In honor of our two-year anniversary, I am taking a look back at my wedding day! It was truly a magical day from start to finish and having every detail well-planned and organized beforehand helped it to run so smoothly. Below are the details of the main event.
Details
Ceremony: Sacred Heart Church
Reception: Westin Great Southern Columbus
After Party: The Walrus
Vendors
Photographer: Weddings by Sarah Modene
Flowers: Botanica Flowers
Music: Jason Kent Wedding DJs
Wedding Day Run of Show
Getting Ready (7:00 am)
The day began bright and early in the bridal suite at the Westin Great Southern Columbus. Because it was a Catholic wedding, the latest our ceremony could occur was 2:00 pm, which meant we needed to begin hair and makeup around 7:00 am to ensure enough time for everyone.
Did I mention that the hotel gave us the presidential suite? It was massive, with two bathrooms and a full living room, we were living the high life! My bridesmaids, mom and I spent the morning sipping champagne, chatting and listening to cocktail music while the glam team worked on us – it was a fabulous affair.
We also had breakfast sandwiches from The Lox Bagel Shop delivered to the hotel. This part of the day was so relaxing and fun, I honestly did not want it to end. I do feel like having a fun glam team that makes you feel comfortable is also so important, and they really made the morning feel extra smooth and fun!
Of course, with all that time to prepare we were still rushing to get out the door in time, but what would you expect, we’re just girls!
Ceremony (2:00 pm)
The ceremony was held at Sacred Heart Church in Italian Village. Located just a few blocks from where we live, it really is our neighborhood church, so it felt very special to get married there.
We arrived at the church a little early and waited inside the limo, since there wasn’t really anywhere that we could hide in the entrance area and the groom's party were already waiting in the back of the church. I will say, one of the coolest and most surreal moments was secretly watching all of our guests walk into the church from the window of the limousine. It was so crazy to see so many people from different parts of my life walking into the same building, all to celebrate me (I mean, us.) It’s something that will never happen again and is just such a cool feeling!
Of course, this is where the nerves set in, and I realized just how many people were about to watch us during the ceremony. But I’m a showman, so as soon as the music began and I set foot in the chapel, I was able to shake off the stage fright. The ceremony was beautiful (we kept it short and just did a Catholic service, rather than mass,) and I was so happy that the scary part was over, and the party could begin!
If you are getting married at a church, I highly recommend conducting a receiving line at the end of the ceremony. It was such an efficient way to get to speak with every guest, even if briefly, and make sure to have a special one-on-one moment with everyone. It also allowed us not to feel pressured to walk around to every table during the reception and we were able to just enjoy the party, and actually eat our dinner.
Photoshoot (3:30-5:00 pm)
The cocktail hour did not begin until 5:00 pm, so there was quite a bit of time in between the ceremony and reception. This gave the guests ample time to check into the hotel or explore downtown/grab a drink somewhere, while the bridal party set out in the limo to take photos.
We headed to the Ohio Statehouse for our photoshoot, which is a gorgeous building downtown. With large, stately columns, it provided a classic city feel to the background of our photos. Our photographers Sarah and Thea did a fantastic job with the photos, we absolutely loved how they turned out! It is also so important to find a photographer who makes you feel comfortable and natural, and thankfully having a personal relationship with Sarah made the experience all the better.
After we were finished taking photos, we spent the rest of our free time driving around in the limo, blasting music and drinking champagne – which ended up being one of our favorite parts of the whole day!
Cocktail Hour (5:00-6:00 pm)
The cocktail hour and reception were hosted in the ballroom at the historical Westin Great Southern Columbus. I knew the minute I saw a photo of the ballroom that I wanted to have our reception there, and it is the only venue we even looked at in person. We booked it immediately and couldn’t have been happier with our experience there. They provided us with a wedding coordinator and made the planning process so easy and simplified – we felt very well taken care of!
When we returned to the hotel, we had to find a way to sneak back into our suite without walking through the cocktail hour, which was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, we discovered a back hallway/staircase that we were able to go through! Part of me wishes that we could attend our cocktail hour – the photos looked fabulous! (My cousin Matt even gave an impromtu piano performance during it!) However, we had some more fun with the bridal party in our suite as the cocktail hour wrapped up (the hotel left us several more bottles of champagne) before making our dramatic entrance!
Reception (6:00-10:00 pm)
The ballroom itself was so gorgeous on its own that we thankfully did not need to invest in many decorations. The venue provided gorgeous chairs, linens, table numbers and gilded chargers. We chose to share custom Dietsch’s chocolate covered pretzels (my hometown favorite) at each place setting as our party favor, which the hotel staff set out for us! The flower arrangements were created by Botanica Flowers, and they did an excellent job setting everything up on their own and made things very easy for us.
We entered the ballroom a little after 6:00 pm and immediately began the first course of our plated dinner, followed by the toasts, cake cutting and first dances. We wanted to be efficient getting through each of these things so we could have ample time to just party!
There were around 200 guests in attendance, so it was a big event! We had such a blast dancing, drinking and mingling with all of our guests – it was really the best part! I also think having good music is one of the most important elements of a wedding, and let me just say, DJ Josh did a phenomenal job. He kept everyone dancing the whole time, which is exactly what we wanted!
After Party (10:30 pm-2:00 am)
Of course, we didn’t want the party to stop at 10:00 pm – it felt like it was just getting started! So, we also hosted an after party at The Walrus, a bar/restaurant located just a few blocks away within walking distance of the hotel. We reserved their private event space, which also provides access to the main bar, and provided snacks for the guests who chose to attend. I was actually kind of shocked at how many people attended the after party – it felt like almost everybody! (It says online that their space holds 100 people, but I know we had more than that!)
After After Party (2:00 am)
But of course, the party could not conclude without a trip to Mikey’s Late Night Slice, which about twenty people trekked to after the Walrus for a last hoorah and snack! When it was my turn to order, the cashier asked if I was the bride and proceeded to gift me a free jar of sauce, so snaps to him! The sauce wouldn’t do much good for us as we were off to Mexico Monday morning, however it was a sweet gesture!
The morning after turned out to be just about the worst hangover of my life, but of course it was all well worth it for the greatest party we have ever thrown!
If you have any questions at all about any of the details of the day, please leave a comment below! No question is too niche when it comes to wedding planning, and I hope my experience can help other brides to plan a smooth and gorgeous wedding day!
