The Blackwell Reviews

To say our wedding day was perfect is a huge understatement. The venue has been courteous, helpful, informative, and above all with the pandemic they were upfront and always eager to problem solve in a way that worked with CDC guidelines and our wishes.
The venue was not only pristine but also updated and beautiful. We were able to have options on where we wanted our ceremony to take place and have a backup plan for rain.
We worked with Michaela throughout the majority of our planning and as our date became closer we also worked with Melodie. Michaela has obviously been through this process many times before as she is organized, professional, supportive, and especially kind. Both women treated us like their top priority in every conversation, email, meeting, and even video chat when the physical meeting wasn’t timely.
When we arrived at the hotel to the minute we left, the amenities and care every single staff member took with our family was beyond what we expected. Not one individual had any issues and every aspect of the day was carefully thought out and planned. We were offered every accommodation we could have dreamed of and more.
We have run into complications with the university and our postponed reception date however with the help of the Michaela and Melodie even this situation has been stress free so far.

Photos: City and Country Photography

The venue was absolutely beautiful and the people there are so helpful. The events coordinator was a God send for me. She was with me every step of the way.

When my now husband proposed in December 2016, we had absolutely no idea what we were looking for in a venue. We knew we wanted a summer 2017 wedding, if possible, and went to at least 10 different venues. Big, small, indoor, outdoor... you name it. When we found The Blackwell, it just felt like everything clicked for us. For starters, Madison Martin is worth her weight in GOLD. She is hands down the best asset and perk to hosting your wedding at The Blackwell! She held my hand every step of the way, and helped me with every decision. She connected me to the majority of my vendors as well, all of whom I loved. We also absolutely loved having our ceremony, reception, and hotel block all in the same place. This was a HUGE perk for us! The Blackwell made everything effortless. They listened to every detail, and gave us the wedding of our dreams. From decor to the amazing food, you absolutely cannot go wrong at the Blackwell!

Madison and The Blackwell were absolutely amazing to work with! She worked with all of our vendors so that I didn't have to worry about a thing on the day of the wedding. She was quick to respond and the venue was absolutely wonderful. From basically moving in the day before the wedding, to the rehearsal, to the reception, it was truly amazing. I would recommend The Blackwell and Madison to anyone who was looking for a indoor and/or outdoor venue.

The Blackwell was amazing! The coordinator, Madison, who comes with signing into the venue was amazing and very helpful. The chef was very professional and did an excellent job. He gave us a quiz before creating the tasting menu to get to know the groom and I and then created a personalized menu. He did an absolutely wonderful job. The wedding was absolutely seamless! We did the ceremony at a church and probably wouldn't have chosen the Blackwell if we planned on doing the ceremony there because the outdoor area most people do the ceremony in is in the middle of the OSU business school and just not our style. Also, parking is not free in the area but there is reasonable valet parking.

Do it! Madison Martin is the best!

size of your group as it is not a large space but a very nice space. Nice area for drinks and hor' deurves outside ball room
fantastic staff and service

They are great our wedding coordinator make sure everything was customized perfectly to the way that we wanted our wedding because as she said each wedding is unique to the person they did an outstanding job with making sure all of our needs were met and sticking to the budget that we had given them I would recommend the Blackwell to all of my friends and family not just for a wedding but for any event.

My friends and family are STILL talking about their incredible experience at The Blackwell! From the amenities, to the food and service... Madison and her team paid attention to every detail on my wedding day so all I had to do was show up and enjoy every moment! My husband and I hope The Blackwell becomes an annual tradition for our anniversary, it really is a special place to us.

I would recommend the Blackwell Inn to anyone! Rita Bassiet and Madison McAllister supported our event in wonderful ways. They are the best!

The Blackwell Hotel is a top notch place to host any event. It is the perfect place to have a wedding. It is a no brainer ! We had our son's rehearsal dinner there for approximately 70. We also used the Blackwell hotel for the wedding guests . The rehearsal dinner ballroom was beautiful, The area for the cocktail hour was also amazing with views of the University. The hotel staff was extremely professional, helpful, nice, from the reception people, housekeeping, audio visual people, meal servers. The best thing about hosting these 2 events at the Blackwell was the Event Planner- Madison and the incredible CHEF David !! He prepared the most delicious and beautiful food. We had Chilean Sea bass, A chicken selection and also a vegetarian. If you want an amazing menu for your event at the Blackwell ask for the menu that he prepared on May 13, 2016!! Beautiful salad, a delicious dessert and the Bride and Groom Chocolate covered strawberries. The presentation was beautiful. Everyone raved about the food and are still raving. Also we had the Farewell Breakfast the day after the wedding for around 45. The Wedding Coordinator - Madison was also incredible. She responded very quickly and took care of everything for us. She made it so easy for us and she thought of everything and made sure our 2 events went smoothly. I had been working with her for over 9 months and it was such a pleasure to work with her! Madison also made all the shuttle arrangements for the wedding because we had to transport the hotel guests 20 miles to the wedding site and for the wedding pictures on Campus. Thank you Madison and Chef David! I would host an event there again in a heartbeat! It is the perfect place for any wedding or rehearsal dinner.

The Blackwell is an absolute dream to work with. The hotel accommodations are flawless, the food is excellent, and the staff is wonderful!! Our Buckeye Wedding went off without a hitch! Many thanks to Madison and her staff for all their hard work. Everything was incredible. We couldn't be happier. My advice is this - book your wedding here!

The Blackwell was an amazing place to have our dream wedding! We knew we wanted to do a hotel wedding for the convenience of having everything in one place. We were worried about the cost, but the Blackwell was very reasonable and we got everything we wanted and more. The Blackwell is a beautiful venue with classic and modern touches. It was also important to us to have a fun area around our venue because we scheduled a break for pictures and guests had the opportunity to explore the campus area around the hotel. Another wonderful experience was providing the hotel with all decorations, demonstrating how we wanted it to look and they set up everything perfectly. Our wedding coordinator really listened to everything that was important to us and made sure everything ran smoothly. The entire staff was nothing but helpful and accommodating the day of the event. For example, we needed a bar stool high chair for my make up artist to work and they sent one up to the suite. This is just one of hundreds of stories of how helpful everyone the day of the wedding! You will not regret booking this venue for your wedding!

We cannot thank the Blackwell staff enough for the amazing outcome of our New Year's Eve wedding. Along with our two-day stay at the hotel, our entire wedding was virtually flawless. Everything went according to plan. From the decor, to the setup, food, staff, accommodations, and overall experience, we were more than pleased. A special thank you to the Blackwell's wedding coordinator, Madison McAllister, for overseeing our event and making it a dream come true!

If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. The Blackwell did an excellent job with the ceremony. They have event coordinators who helped me every step of the way! I couldn't have asked for a better, more responsive, or more knowledgable team. They were all fantastic!!

Efficient staff, great event planner, lovely location, made having a wedding appear easy to the guests

The Blackwell was perfect for our wedding! We decided on the Blackwell because it really is an all-in-one place where you can literally check off half your wedding list just by booking at the Blackwell. Not only was it just a venue, the catering and restaurant serves great food; it comes with a hotel room block for your guests; their pastry chef makes amazing cakes; they have great decor items that you can pick from; and on top of that Rachel, the wedding coordinator and the rest of the Blackwell staff are so helpful and awesome at their jobs. It really made planning a wedding so easy and I planned my wedding from a different state. My wedding planner ended up not being able to come, but Rachel made sure our wedding ran smoothly. The decor set up was exactly as I had imagined it and everything was just perfect. The food was great- my guests couldn't stop raving about the food. I was even able to book the town car to help move the wedding party to campus for photos. For all of these wonderful aspects, the price was also reasonable and not too pricey. Definitely would recommend this venue to my friends!

Excellent place to hold an event with exceptional staff! They are all willing to help and accommodate all your needs.

Rachel Remy, with The Blackwell, far exceeded our expectations. Everything was beyond what we had hoped for and I will highly recommend this venue for a wedding.

The Blackwell could not have been a more perfect venue for our September wedding. First of all, working with the coordinator Rachel was fantastic. She really took the worry out of everything and pulled all the details together. I was in constant communication with Rachel from the time i booked the venue until our wedding. She had great ideas and was always timely in her responses. I didn't have to lift a finger for set up or tear down, The Blackwell staff did it all for me. We had our ceremony and reception at The Blackwell since most of our guests were from out of town, and it was so nice that no one had to travel anywhere. We even hosted a morning brunch to say farewell to our guests. The food was phenomenal, not to mention the sliders and fries we had delivered to our honeymoon suite for the wedding party after the gig was over. Umm, yum!

The wedding coordinator, Rachel, was extremely responsive to all my and my families emails and questions throughout the entire process. We had never ending questions and she responded to all of them in a timely manner.
There were a lot of small, personal touches that were very helpful and nice. For example, the Presidential Suite is complimentary the night of the wedding, as long as it is available. This was such a wonderful room! We also reserved it for Friday night so it allowed me a place to stay the night before but then also gave the ladies a place to get ready the day of the wedding. That worked really well.
Also, as the ceremony was about to begin, Blackwell staff took the box of envelopes and gifts up to the suite for us so that they weren't sitting out unwatched and then it was also waiting in our room for us. It's nice that none of my family had to worry about doing that.
The staff also left my new hubby and I a small plate of cheese, chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of Champagne, and a note of congratulations in our suite the night of our wedding. What a nice touch to end the evening!
We also loved that we were able to change the location of our ceremony from inside the ballroom to outside underneath their tailgating tent less than 48 hours before our wedding. We saw that the weather was going to be gorgeous and asked the coordinator if we could move the ceremony outside and it was no problem! She said they just need at least 24 hours notice. Some other venues we had interviewed needed a one week notice to change from outside to inside, so our last minute change being accommodated was great!
The service at the wedding was fantastic and the food was great! We had no complaints on any part of the planning process or the execution of our wedding day. The only thing that wasn't quite as planned was that we wanted the sides of the tent to be completely rolled up and they weren't. They were just tied open, but it wasn't a big a deal.

We visited 7 venue sites. The Blackwell offered the most customized service to meet our needs. We had guests arriving from around the world and logistics were tricky but the Blackwell provided us with several options. We had our rehearsal dinner here as well as our large reception. The customer service is second to none. The food was amazing and our guests were impressed. They are so flexible with ideas, space and preentation. Our wedding cake was gorgeous and you meet with the baker to finalize your choices. We worked with Rachel Remy, the Blackwell's wedding coordination and she was awesome. She was actually at our events making sure they ran well and that everything was in the proper place. The staff from the wait staff to the front desk to the bar folks and on and on were professional, courteous and accomodating. We highly recommend them. Also, many photo opportunities that are unique. Across from the OSU stadium/horseshow and they have both indoor and outdoor spaces. Very very pleased with our weekend.

I cannot say enough about The Blackwell. From the very beginning, contact with The Blackwell was very prompt and professional. It was always very effortless to have all my questions or concerns addressed. When we first signed the contract with The Blackwell, Blair was the coordinator. A few months before the wedding, Rachel, Blair’s previous assistant, took over as the main coordinator as Blair moved on to a different venue. The transition was seamless. We had a very nice and delicious tasting with the chef there to explain the food and answer any questions while Rachel went through a rundown of our day. Before meeting with Rachel, my ideas were very scattered in my head but as she asked questions, she helped me organize and develop what I truly wanted relieving a lot of stress. The day of, everything was perfect! I had no worries as The Blackwell handles all deliveries, set up, and timing issues. Everything was perfect! The food was amazing, all my décor was exactly where I imagined it, and we had a nacho cheese fountain for a late night snack. We received so many compliments! Everything was perfect!

We loved our wedding at The Blackwell. I cannot say enough about the food. We had a five course meal and everything was perfect. The timing, the presentation, the temp of the food, the taste, amazing. Guests are still talking about our meal, everyone has said it was the best wedding meal they had ever had. Great job guys! Also, the staff was great as well, many guests loved the hotel and were impressed with overall service. We were really happy with everything. I feel the Blackwell offers so so much for the price and you can't go wrong hosting an event there. We definitely want to host an anniversary event there in the future.

My wedding was held on September 2, 2012 at The Blackwell. It was amazing! From the moment we visited we knew this was the venue for us. There was a change in coordinators halfway through our planning but that did not change the level of service received. When it came down to the wedding day I did not have to worry about a thing! The Blackwell staff set everything up as I had imagined as if they were in my heads. The food was outstanding and my guests are still talking about it! The Blackwell doesn't charge you for every little detail trying to squeeze all of your money. The former coordinator Blaire and new coordinator Rachel made me feel like my wedding was most important on their agenda. I didn't feel like just another client.

I highly recommend this venue. I honestly don't have one bad thing to say!

My husband and I were married last month and couldn’t rave more about our experience with The Blackwell in Columbus, Ohio. We looked at two locations for our wedding reception, The Blackwell was our second appointment one day, to be followed by two more. Once we met with Blaire at The Blackwell, we canceled our other appointments! She was amazing, couldn’t have been better. She was so comforting and welcoming to us and our families. She had the most amazing ideas, was accommodating, easy to get a hold of, had an amazing attitude and so so professional! Blaire even worked with my Maid of Honor in planning our stay for my bachelorette party. In addition to our service, The Blackwell itself was beautiful. There is so much room and the area is perfect for accommodating hors d'oeuvres/cocktail hour, outdoor area for guests to mingle and the ballroom was spacious and accommodating to our 250ish guests. The food was unbelievable. We had so many compliments on our dinner, they managed to cook about 100 steaks perfectly! We had many compliments on the rooms too, our guests couldn’t have been happier. We’ve not heard ONE negative thing about The Blackwell, they did an amazing job. Blaire Blechinger is WONDERFUL.

We could not have chosen a better venue for our wedding! The Blackwell had phenomenal food, customer service, location, and guest rooms. Blaire, the wedding coordinator, is one of the most enjoyable people I have ever worked with! From our first day meeting with her, Blaire was always cheerful, friendly, interested in our wedding, creative, and always offering up ideas and suggestions of ways we could customize our day. We had our ceremony and reception at the Blackwell, and they took care of everything-- it made the wedding so easy to plan! We really enjoyed Blaire and everyone else at the Blackwell, and there is no comparison to the other venues in Columbus-- the Blackwell is such a great value for everything that you get having your wedding there!

My husband & I decided to use The Blackwell for our wedding reception because my mom had used it for business events and thought they did a wonderful job. From the first time we met with Blaire I was happy with our choice. She made the entire planning process much easier than I ever thought it would be. From giving me ideas about table linens to giving me a list of other vendors that they had worked with before, the entire reception came together wonderfully. The cost was extremely reasonable given all of the extras that we got. I never once worried about whether or not the reception would go well, because I know that Blaire had it all under control. Our reception was everything I had dreamed it would be and more. I would highly recommend the Blackwell to anyone getting married in the Columbus area.

My husband and I along with our family and friends could not speak more highly of The Blackwell. The perfect reception venue along with the beautiful hotel accommodations and the fantastic staff make this one of the premier locations in Columbus, Ohio to host guests for a wedding. I would recommend this location to anyone! If we could relive our special day all over again, we would not change a thing!

We also cannot say enough wonderful things about our wedding coordinator Blaire. She is an absolute doll with the most wonderful personality! Her attention to details and attentiveness to our event was second to none. As busy as she was, she always made us feel as if I was the only bride she was working with. She put my mind at ease and made our special day absolutely perfect!

Blaire is absolutely amazing and was so helpful from beginning to end. She was incredibly organized and always did her best to accommodate our needs.

The food was fantastic and setup couldn't have been better. Everything exceeded our expectations and wish the day hadn't gone by so fast!

My husband and I are extremely satisfied with our decision to host our big day at The Blackwell and happy to have had the opportunity to work with Blaire.

Blaire Blechinger and The Blackwell made all our dreams come true! I could not have done this without Blaire- the most fabulous Wedding Coordinator EVER! She made this fun, easy and most importantly Stress Free! It makes me want to get married all over again- just to have the opportunity to re-live such a wonderful experience! The Presidential Suite was amazing, the food was spectacular and the bartender made fabulous drinks! It was all wonderful! We couldn't thank The Blackwell and Blaire enough for making our Wedding the best day of our lives! Thank You!

My husband and I could not have wished for a better place to have our reception.
We worked with Blaire and she truly made the planning of our reception so much easier. She really kept us moving along with picking out the food, turning in the seating chart and such things that it gave us time to relax and enjoy the few days before the wedding eliminating the stress, which was HUGE!

My husband and I have heard nothing but wonderful comments about the both the hotel staff, banquet staff and of course the food from all of our guest! We have received such a positive reaction I only felt it right to pass it along to those who really pulled the reception together.

Having our wedding at the Blackwell was the best decision we could have made. I truly can't express how wonderful everyone, especially our wedding coordinator, Blaire Blechinger, was to work with. Every single detail was exactly how we wanted and how the Blackwell promised it would be. Every Blackwell employee was kind, responsive, professional, and an overall delight to work with. The ceremony and reception went perfectly, without a single mistake, and our wedding day was the best day of our lives. The planning period was particularly stressful for us because of non-wedding personal commitments, and Blaire was there to do whatever we couldn't. It was a dream wedding.

The Blackwell is an excellent choice for a wedding reception. My husband and I were always treated with the most respect and we felt welcome from the moment we walked into the hotel. I cannot speak highly enough about the quality of service that we received from the Blackwell. They are very detail oriented and every aspect is top-notch. We have not regretted our decision to have our reception there for one moment.

Working with the banquets crew and wedding coordination team (specifically Blaire) was one of the best experiences of my life. Everything was perfect on my wedding day and I didn't have to worry about anything myself. Everything went exactly as planned (or if it didn't, I didn't know any difference!).

Blaire was always available to answer any questions I had and make any changes that I wanted to make - 9 months out, 3 months out, 3 weeks out - ALWAYS. Having gone through wedding plans with many of my friends, I can honestly say that you will never find such a professional, supportive wedding coordinator anywhere else. She was constantly available on my wedding day, making sure that everything was running smoothly. With Blaire, you won't have to worry about a thing.

The food at The Blackwell is amazing. It's been two months since my wedding and I am still receiving compliments on the menu. They were very flexible with any changes I needed to make, right up until the last minute. I needed a few special meals for some of my guests, and those were taken care of with no issue. The banquet staff is amazing (Jenn Matsey!!). They are efficient but unobtrusive. There were no issues with food or drinks being cleared before my guests were finished, as I know can be a problem with other venues. I have nothing but good things to say.

In most of the bridal magazines, they rate The Blackwell as one of the more expensive venues in Columbus, but after going through the process, I have to disagree. With the economy the way it is, we were definitely working on a smaller budget, and everyone at The Blackwell was willing to work with us to find ways to get the most out of what we had. Knowing what weddings cost these days, you can definitely have exactly what you want without going over budget at The Blackwell - even with a larger wedding.

I honestly do not have one negative comment about our wedding experience at The Blackwell and highly recommend it as a wedding or any other banquet venue.

The Blackwell gave us our money's worth ten times over. It simply could not have been more wonderful! The service was absolutely impeccable, the food got raves from everyone, and the venue is ideal. It's beautiful (no decorating needed), there's a range of places for people to hang out while still being part of the action (ballroom, patio, bar area with nice couches), and our guests who stayed at the hotel couldn't believe how nice the rooms were and how affordable the rate was! I believe in full disclosure, and if there was any downside to the Blackwell I would say so--but there isn't one. On the day we got married, my husband and I didn't have to take care of a single detail--we were able to just revel in the joy. It really was a magical experience. And there was surprise champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries waiting for us in our suite! (Sorry if I just ruined the surprise.)

The Blackwell was a wonderful place to hold our November wedding reception. We worked with Rachel as our wedding coordinator and she was always extremely responsive to our (sometimes many) questions. Through the process of planning our reception we changed our mind several times about food, drinks, etc. and she was always very flexible and willing to work with us to make our vision come true for the big day. The Blackwell staff was very professional and set things up the day of in a very timely manner. The entire day ran extremely smoothly and (to our knowledge) there was not a single hiccup. We received many compliments on the venue and food and everyone had a great time!

I can't give enough praise to the staff at the Blackwell Hotel!!
Madison (wedding coordinator) is an absolute joy to work with and she made sure my day was perfect! Food is amazing and all of my guests raved over how good the meal was at the wedding. Cheers to the chef!
Its so convenient to have you wedding reception connected to a hotel and the Blackwell provided top service to all out of town guests. I would recommend to all of my friends and family to use the Blackwell for any parties or meetings!

Rachel Remy, wedding coordinator is very nice to work with; was always prompt and efficient; and made sure to provide needed resources. The only caveat was parking and wish it was covered as a perk. The invitees were truly impressed with the venue and services there.

The Blackwell is a wonderful place for a reception! We had such a wonderful time working with them to create a perfect setting for our special day. Every aspect was wonderful. Great food, a beautiful setting, great people and most of all outstanding service. In additon to their wedding services we also took advantage of their wonderful overnight facilites. Our guests were able to stay in beautiful and comforatable rooms and utilize the in house Bistro for any additional meals. The Blackwell did an excellent job in providing us and our guests with the ultimate wedding weekend.

We recently had our wedding ceremony and reception at The Blackwell. Madison walked us through every step of the process and was always available to answer questions. The vendors she recommended were perfect and made our day beautiful! The outdoor ceremony ran very smoothly and looked super elegant. The cocktail hour and reception was perfect.
Our guests were excited about the food and drinks- it was all great. The chef at The Blackwell made sure our food tasted and looked exactly how we envisioned. I would highly recommend using The Blackwell as a site for a ceremony and/or reception. The staff was phenomenal and the rooms were perfect for our guests.

They are so nice and helpful. It is a good value too. Food great! The only complaint was I felt like we were rushed to eat and they did not leave the food or leftover appetizers out so we could snack later. I do not know what happened to all the extra food like cheese and crackers. It was taken away never to be seen again.

The Blackwell was wonderful! We got nothing but compliments on the venue, food and drinks. The rooms were great and staff was wonderful. They were very accommodating every time we wanted to stop by or had a question. Rachel was VERY wonderful, helpful,creative, accommodating...everything! I would recommend this venue to everyone. It was not cheap but compared to other venues we looked at, the prices were great. We had a full open bar which will bump up the price at any location. The food was AMAZING. People still talk about it and make comments to me about how wonderful it was. There was not a better choice for us. I was sold as soon as we walked in. 100% satisfied!

Wedding coordinator, Rachel, was cheerful, easy to work with and truly an expert. She helpfully nudged me along for all the things I hadn't thought of. Both she and the venue were very flexible in accommodating my many (and sometimes non-conformist) requests.

Food for rehearsal dinner, cocktail hour and the action-station reception all exceeded my expectations. Even guests kept commenting "this can't be hotel food, it's gourmet!".

The overall venue space and service created the perfect VIP atmosphere without being too stuffy. Great area for a young wedding party too!

Honest to goodness, I wouldn't change a thing.

Do not trust their AV staff to do your ceremony music. They failed to play my professional and recessional music.

I would really really love to give them a better review. I was dead set on not having a hotel wedding, but fell in love with the Blackwell because of the location, customer service, and ambiance. I booked almost a full two years in advance, and Blaire (the previous wedding coordinator) was with me the whole way. I didn't experience any issues until my tastings, when afterwards it took far longer than it should to receive my official invoice.

The biggest problem that I had was they forgot one of my entrees. Yep. The beef entree wasn't even cooked because they "overlooked" it. How in the world does that happen? Granted, I was compensated accordingly, but the only other entree was fish and let's just say there were some folks who didn't eat.

After the wedding I had to wait another full two weeks to receive my finals bill, which is due 30 days after the wedding. Not impressed. I can't help but think that this was pure laziness since Blaire was leaving for a new job. We still had a great wedding, but I would not at all recommend the Blackwell.

Where do I begin? Everything started out great. They made things simple and a lot of things are included, but thats where it gets slightly hairy. The wedding coordinator was vague and not up front about what cost and what was included. You had to make sure you specifically asked otherwise she made it seem like it was included. Well then the wedding day came. There are about 20 complaints that we came up with and I am sure there are more. Bottom line we didn't get the service we were promised. After we made our complaints known to the manager after the wedding I can at least say they tried to make up for it with a sizable discount. Which doesn't change the fact that as a bride on her wedding day, being worried about all the details because you are worried the coordinator can't and didn't pull it off is not the kind of place you want on your wedding day. They facility itself is very nice, and the hotel is great, very convenient for having everything in one place, ceremony and reception. Especially since most of our guests were out of town. Just make sure you bring your own coordinate or wedding planner.