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Gahanna Sanctuary Reviews

Gahanna Sanctuary

Gahanna Sanctuary

Columbus, OH
4.4 out of 5 rating, 25 Reviews
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Reviews

4.4 out of 5 rating
4.4 out of 5 rating
25 Reviews
89% recommend it
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    4.4 out of 5 rating
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Awards

25
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2019 Winner
Weddingwire
4.4/5 25 reviews
Google
4.5/5 110 reviews
  • B
    Bryce Sent on 11/15/2020
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    Beautiful Venue

    The Gahanna Sanctuary is such a beautiful and historic building. From the stained glass windows to just the historic feel it gives off. I would recommend this to anyone to have their wedding here!
  • Alyssa
    Alyssa G. Sent on 11/06/2019
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    A beautiful historic venue


    This is a beautiful venue that is worth looking at. The team at the Sanctuary really does try to make you feel special while you are going through booking. This space is great for couples who wish to do things their own way. The sanctuary provides tables and chairs; they have made gorgeous renovations to this 120+ year old building that gives it a certain charm. The stained glass windows are a breathtaking photo backdrop no matter the time of day or season your wedding is in. I am very thankful that we found this space and held our event here. The lit bell tower is a gorgeous change and was heavily commented on and mentioned by our guests.
  • Isabel
    Isabel B. Sent on 06/16/2019
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    Helpful and Beautiful Venue

    After a rocky start to our wedding planning, Gahanna Sanctuary (and Teena, their new director) really helped to make it right! We loved the flexibility of Gahanna Sanctuary and being able to make our own choices for our wedding. They have recently done a lot of updates to the venue that really help it to shine- new carpet, fresh paint, repairs. We loved having our wedding there!
  • illustration stars

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  • MsToMrs
    Pamela Sent on 10/01/2018
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    Best venue to work with, hands down. The staff was very helpful and answered any questions we had. You get "free reign" of the space and can do almost anything that fits your vision of the day, the only caveat is that there isn't staff to take care of the things venues typically do on day of, but we absolutely made it work. Everyone said what a great venue we chose and we couldn't be happier with our choice.
  • MsToMrs
    Pamela Sent on 10/01/2018
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    Best venue to work with, hands down. The staff was very helpful and answered any questions we had. You get "free reign" of the space and can do almost anything that fits your vision of the day, the only caveat is that there isn't staff to take care of the things venues typically do on day of, but we absolutely made it work. Everyone said what a great venue we chose and we couldn't be happier with our choice.
  • E
    Edie Sent on 09/27/2018
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    What an awesome venue for a wedding! The building has a lot of character, and is very well laid out for weddings. the cost/value ratio is unbeatable and the location is great (near Creekside) and has more than enough parking.
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    Jason Sent on 04/28/2018
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    Excellent location. Not a thing we could of asked for.
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    Mary Sent on 07/27/2017
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    It was a perfect venue for our daughter's May 6,2017 wedding and reception! We were on a tight budget and this was perfect. The guest said this was a beautiful place and the best wedding they have attended. We booked both Friday and Saturday for a 5:00 pm wedding. We live 1 1/2 hours away and needed that extra day. I would highly recommend this place for events.
  • bdaniels119
    Brandi Sent on 12/05/2016
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    This venue is great if you want to bring in your own vendors and you don't mind doing the setup on your own. Also, it's a better price if you book on a Friday over a Saturday. This was a great venue and perfect for our wedding.
  • Misty
    Misty Sent on 11/26/2015
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    This venue is absolutely perfect & versitle!
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    Emily Sent on 07/17/2015
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    The Olde Gahanna Sanctuary is gorgeous and so close to the Creekside. Christy was wonderful to work with. I love that the venue has open houses on Thursday nights because we could keep coming back to work on our visions! Christy was able to give us ideas on using the Sanctuary for the ceremony and reception. She was always professional and friendly. The Sanctuary provided enough space for everything we wanted. It has a huge dance floor, which was a must with our friends and family!! The stained glass windows and setup of the Sanctuary created a beautiful backdrop for our wedding! We were able to setup on Friday which was incredibly helpful too! I'm so glad we used the Sanctuary! It was absolutely perfect!!
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    Julie Sent on 11/11/2014
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    Had our Halloween wedding/reception here, and it was great. Christy was terrific to work with, the venue was spotless and ready for us when we took possession Thursday at 8pm for a Friday event. I would highly recommend using this place for your next big deal!
  • Jaime
    Jaime Sent on 09/18/2012
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    The Olde Gahanna Sanctuary was a great location to get married. The price is incredible and Christy is great to deal with as she is always very responsive. You can bring inyour own catere and alcohol which is very nice. The building has such charm that there are a lot of great places to get photos around the building. Love it!
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    Ashley Sent on 02/08/2015
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    Absolutely loved having our wedding here! We have recommended the venue to multiple friends who have gone on to have their weddings here as well. Such a great value for a beautiful location.
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    Suzette Sent on 10/29/2011
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    The place was beautiful and perfect for the recption. We could bring in our own vendors so we could pick who we wanted. The place is wonderful
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    Anna Sent on 04/12/2011
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    As soon as we walked in we knew this was the venue for our wedding. It has 2 huge rooms, one of which can be partitioned off which is what we did. It also has a kitchen and a lovely outdoor area. It's a quick walk to some scenic views for pictures (which turned out to be fabulous) and has great parking. Well worth it!!!
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    Nicole Sent on 12/08/2008
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    The venue is family owned and operated. We asked to be allowed to set up the night before when we found that nothing was scheduled and they let us in to decorate. They mow the lawn around the establishment the day before your wedding so that it looks nice when you come in. Everything was beautiful and they even let us stay longer to celebrate our special day with friends and family. The only bummer is that you can only speak with them on Thursday nights between 6p.m and 8 p.m. It would have been nice to have someone to ask questions to any day of the week..

    Gahanna Sanctuary's reply:

    Thank You Nicole. Thursday evenings is our "open House" but we will make appointments if a Bride is unavailable on Thursday evenings. Phone and email messages are always welcome. You may reach me through our website www.gahannasanctuary.org. The Sanctuary is not family owned it is a non-profit dedicated to the remodeling of an Historic building on the National Register
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    Kim Sent on 03/20/2012
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    The Sanctuary was perfect for our needs. They were prompt with all responses and I was able to visit the venue as needed. Great value.
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    Monica T. Sent on 12/15/2018
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    Wonderful and beautiful venue

    They were really friendly and helpful! The venue is beautiful. I'm very excited, to have my wedding their!
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    Evan Sent on 04/06/2015
    4.4 out of 5 rating
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    The Sanctuary was a beautiful location for our wedding. The venue offered plenty of space, tables & chairs, plus a nice kitchen area. We saved a lot of money by having the freedom to choose our own caterer and supply our own alcohol. The staff was extremely flexible with us, as well as friendly. It was challenging to find the time to visit during their open house only held on Thursday, but we were aware of the option to set up an appointment if needed.
  • The 3D'S
    Nyanja Sent on 07/20/2014
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    I love this venue because its old and it doesn't really match decoration. Historical vendor are very nice when you don't want to do much decorating.
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    Sonia Sent on 09/07/2018
    3.3 out of 5 rating
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    Rented OGS, for my son's wedding. The venue is just beautiful, but noticed the venue could use some deep cleaning. I noticed an odor in the dining foyer, and dust in vents, ceiling fans noisy and extremely dusty. My husband cleaned the vents and I became ill the night before the wedding. The day of the wedding my eyes were puffy and red, not the best way to look for the wedding. I contacted OGS, and never heard back from them. I cannot understand why such a beautiful venue is not cleaned on a bi-weekly schedule.
  • Emily
    Emily Sent on 09/10/2019
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    Okay at best

    I'd give this place more stars, but the way I was treated by management a few DAYS before my wedding was ridiculous. We signed our contract under the old management, and didn't have any problems at all until days before the wedding. The venue was suppose to be completely ours to use. We paid over a grand to have the entire place to ourselves for our wedding. Well, days before our wedding I was informed that Teena had a few tours she was going to give ON MY WEDDING DAY. Like, possibly during the wedding as she never knew what time my wedding was going to happen. After telling her that wasn't okay with us, she became rude saying that "every other bride is kind enough to let me give tours during the day". Well, don't you think you should at least ask, or let us know that this was going to happen? Nowhere in our contract did it say that, in fact it says you rent the place exclusively for you to use... But she twisted that around to say that it says WE can't do business there... But you can? Give tours on your own dime, not on mine. I was shocked that she thought this was okay. Then after emailing, Gahanna Sanctuary Facebook out a post up about how not to be a bridezilla... Laughable. Yes the place is beautiful, but not very clean at all. There was moldy food in the refrigerator and stuff spilled all in the deep freeze. The bathrooms weren't great either and could use a cleaning. There is no air flow to the bridal suite or where the men got ready. Other than that... It was okay. I'm not trying to bash the place, it wasn't terrible. Just be warned that you might get unexpected visitors during your big day.
  • R
    Rosanna Sent on 10/20/2017
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    Our wedding was beautiful at the sanctuary, however there were some issues.
    The facility needs painted inside really bad, water stains on the walls, paint chipped, carpet dirty. It smelled so bad we had to put airfreshner everywhere and spray frabreez.
    No extra storage for tables/chairs so that there is room for the bride to get ready. There were NO EXTRA TRASH BAGS left for cleanup or extra toilet paper. We paid for the clean up service and they tried to keep our deposit. Poor customer service and very vague on the clean up service that you pay extra for. It does not cost $375 to gather some trash since there were no extra trash bags, sweep, put away the table / chairs and take the trash out to the dumpster! Improvement are needed !!!
  • R
    Renee M. Sent on 06/11/2021
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    Horrible Experience

    I would NOT recommend using the Gahanna Sanctuary for any event. My sister got married May 29, 2021. We booked the venue in 2019 for a wedding in May 2020. We moved the date to 2021 because of COVID. ONE WEEK before the wedding, we went to the venue to square out some final details, just to find the venue under construction. The entire front of the building was torn apart. We planned to take pictures out front, knowing it was beautiful, or so we thought. The front of the church area was marked off with ugly green plastic fencing, the sidewalk was ripped out, the stairs leading to both doors were gone. The two doors at the front could not be used.

    Not only did we arrive to a mess, but the coordinator, John, did not even have the courtesy to tell us the construction was taking place (even though it started two months earlier!). We had to ask the only construction worker if the job would be finished by Saturday, only to find out the timeline for completion was much after our event.

    John was unprofessional, rude, and displayed poor communication skills regarding the matter. And, on top of the frustration of holding a wedding reception at a construction site, John was prepared to charge us to use the venue the day before the wedding. John did not apologize once for the mess and was very unsympathetic. He told us that all other parties that rented prior to us had no problem with the construction (which I cannot believe), so, therefore, we should not have a problem either. We were not happy with the experience and customer service and I would not recommend using the venue. Save your time, frustration, and money!
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