The Columbus Athenaeum Reviews

The wonderful staff at The Columbus Atheneum truly go above and beyond to ensure a seamless and memorable event. With its elegant architecture and graceful decor, the venue creates an atmosphere of romance and celebration. Throughout the celebration, they effortlessly orchestrate every detail, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and according to plan. The wonderful staff added an extra layer of magic to my wedding shower, turning it into an occasion filled with love, laughter, and unforgettable moments. This beautiful venue promises an unforgettable experience, as it becomes the canvas for cherished memories and the starting point of a lifelong journey of love and happiness.

I highly recommend the Athenaeum. They are patient, kind, professional and knowledgeable. I did extensive research, received many quotes and decided on the Athenaeum. With my chaotic work life, a hip replacement, and re-planning the same wedding 3x due to covid... I could not have asked for better people to work with. Always prompt responses and did everything in their power to make my day special. I am very thankful for their flexibility and support. I had my ceremony and reception there. Everything was perfect. I am so grateful for Gina, for all that her and her staff did for me. Thank you Thank you Thank you!

There is not enough words to describe how amazing my experience with this venue was! Jackie was our coordinator and she was absolutely phenomenal. We changed a lot last minute and it was no sweat off her back. She accommodated every single request with grace and ease. If it was me, I probably would have wanted to strangle us with our indecisiveness and last minute changes. Never once did I feel like we were an annoyance to her - she truly made this our day, and all about us.

One of the reasons we signed on with the Athenaeum was because of the whole team. They say you're not buying a product, but you're buying the person who sells you the product (or so my friends in sales have told me;). Your product is great at the Athenaeum (the vendors, the venue... it's all beautiful) but it was Jackie and Gina who we bought into. Both of their welcoming attitudes, their ability to make you feel comfortable and calm, but most importantly, their accommodations and caring attitude. By the end of all this, we felt like they were family. That, along with the uniqueness of the Olympian Ballroom, are what sold us on the Athenaeum. We visited some very beautiful venues with comparable price points, but none of them had the ambience that the Athenaeum had and what Gina and Jackie could bring to the table.

The weekend of our wedding, I've never felt more calm. Jackie and her team took our vision and brought it to life. Everything we wanted was done and THEN SOME - she made finishing touches that literally brought tears to my eyes. To be able to go into your wedding day not freaking out and at total ease - now that's a feeling I didn't expect. She handled the behind the scenes with grace, instructed us with everything we needed and even helped me pull off a huge surprise right in the middle of the reception - a performance by our alumni’s marching band! OU OH YEAH!

A few other things to note -

During the first food tasting, my fiance and I weren’t completely satisfied with the options that were given to us. I voiced my concerns to Jackie and within days Gina had scheduled a PRIVATE food tasting for us, where we could taste everything else and then some. We left feeling full, relieved, and with brand new selections for our wedding menu. It’s been about 2 months since our wedding and we are still getting compliments on how amazing our food was. The meatballs and mashed potato martinis are a MUST!

I could go on and on with examples but I think I've made my point. You will not regret your decision signing on with the Athenaeum - the experience is magical, their vendors are top notch and everyone genuinely cares to make your day great!

TCA is perfect if you're looking for somewhere unique. We were married in the Small Theater - it was so romantic and just the right size for our 160 guests. Ann was wonderful to work with.

Everything was perfect! I just wish it didn't have to end. Lol. :-) The food was amazing, the staff was helpful...especially ANN! Love her! I totally recommend the mashed potato martinis! Yummmm!

Ann Clark and the entire team at the Columbus Athenaeum provided an outstanding wedding experience from start to finish. I have worked with Ann and TCA in the past for school proms, so when it came time to choose a venue for my own wedding, it was an easy choice.

We had our wedding in the Large Theatre, and Ann helped my winter wonderland vision come to life. She helped me stay within my budgets and gave valuable advice about what details to splurge on and how to save money. The room looked absolutely magical. Our guests gushed over the elegance of our event.

The entire service team is fantastic and will work to meet all of your needs, no matter how small. TCA pays attention to detail, which sets them apart from other vendors and venues. They have been in this business for a long time and their entire team has lots of experience in delivering quality events.

Elegance and affordability. Top class service. Memorable and magical events. What more could you want?

My husband and I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Athenaeum. It was worth every penny. The ceremony and reception went off without a hitch. The staff was so professional and friendly that our guests were actually commenting on it. They treated us like royalty. They even walked us through the buffet and plated our selections and then waited on us throughout the dinner service. All of our ideas and overall vision for the wedding was perfectly carried out through our Coordinator, Ann Clark, and her team. I would book another event here in a heartbeat and I will recommend them to anyone looking for a venue. Exceptional service, atmoshphere and overall experience. Thank you so much...Andrea & Anthony Horning

The Athenaeum is a truly remarkable place. I first discovered this venue when I attended an Underoath concert there, and I saw that they were advertising that they also hosted weddings. My then-fiancé and I went back for multiple tours and fell in love with the venue. It’s full of history, and beauty, and I have not seen anything like it before. I love the Athenaeum. We booked with them last year, and our coordinator was Jackie. Jackie was very attentive, helpful, kind, and responsive. I cannot thank Jackie enough for all of the effort that she put into our wedding. She truly was such a joy to work with. The staff are all kind, and easy to work with. It makes me sad for multiple reasons that our wedding was canceled (not because of the Athenaeum), and I did not get to see all of our efforts unfold. But I can vouch that the Athenaeum is an amazing venue, and hAs amazing people working for them.

I absolutely loved having our reception at The Columbus Athenaeum! Our reception was in Olympian Ballroom and our guests were blown away with the space, especially since their first view of the room was from the balcony above for cocktail hour. Our coordinator was Jackie and she was fantastic! She was always responsive to my emails and answered all of my questions very quickly! On the big day, Jackie and her team were very attentive to my husband and I, and our immediate families as well. We loved that TCA was an all-inclusive venue offering tables/linens, catering, alcohol, serving staff and bartenders! We didn't have to worry about a thing. Another great thing about TCA is that they're very upfront with their pricing. There were no surprises so we immediately felt confident that it fit within our budget. Our guests raved about the food (we had the prime rib and the parmesan crusted chicken) and they loved that the bartenders poured good drinks. I've been to countless weddings where you can tell the booze was watered down but that's definitely not the case here! I couldn't be happier that we went with The Columbus Athenaeum!

We recently had our son’s wedding ceremony and reception at the Columbus Athenaeum. We were on a tight budget and I researched MANY venues in the Columbus area before we picked the Athenaeum. It was two years in the planning and now our big day is over. I wanted to write to make sure all of you planning your events know that the CA was AMAZING in every capacity. They are efficient, affordable, flexible, friendly, helpful and on the day of the event were extremely attentive. My husband was so impressed how every time we turned around and needed something that one of the two attendants were there to get us whatever we needed. We had many comments from guests on how delicious the food was. We HIGHLY recommend the CA for any event and would use them again in the future.

Loved loved loved The Columbus Athenaeum! We worked with Sarah and Gina and they were kind, professional, and brilliant! The food was amazing (we had the chicken bru blanc and the ratatouille {which was our vegetarian/vegan entree}) and all the vendors drop offs went smoothly. The bartenders were amazing and our guests loved the photo booth! The decorations were beautiful and tasteful and the whole night ran so smoothly!

What a great experience with TCA. We got married in November and it ended up being perfect. We worked with Jackie who was so good at answering our many questions. Her response time was always seemed to be quick. She is a day of reception coordinator which is included at the Athaneum. This was so beneficial as we didn't have to worry about so many things. We used the small theatre and had a little over 100 people. We loved that they set up all our decorations. You do have a time frame to get everything thing and everyone out but we found it really easy to do this. We we're extremely happy with the food. This was really important to us and it was great to hear multiple compliments about how good it was. We went with the Turkey and beef burgandy. The potato martinis are a complete must! We would definitely recommend the Athaneum to anyone. They are professional and really know what they are doing due to having so much experience.

We loved The Columbus Athenaeum (TCA)! They were very helpful with the planning our perfect night. The food was delicious and the ambiance they created with the stringed lights and candles in the Small Theatre was just amazing. We had a number of guests comment on how beautiful it was and a few said it was the nicest wedding they've been to. Our coordinator, Lori, was exceptional -- very friendly, responsive and genuinely wanted to make our night as special as possible for us. Many of our guests commented on how good the food was. One guest who is a very picky eater couldn't wait to tell us she loved everything! We compared several venues and felt TCA offered the best value. The food was excellent, their "one-stop shop" approach allowing you to choose linens, centerpieces and ceremony décor, combined with the beauty of the Athenaeum made it perfect for my husband and me. They created the exact atmosphere we wanted for our celebration and we will never forget it. We highly recommend them!

My husband and I used The Athenaeum for both our ceremony and reception. We worked with Gina Cristofani who is AMAZING! She was very quick to respond and answer all of my questions and didn't seem to get annoyed at my excitement. LOL! All of the staff that I dealt with were kind and helpful. All of my guests were ranting and raving about he food and still almost a month later are taking about it. The venue is gorgeous and Gina was very helpful with all of the decorating options. We opted to include the photo booth which was a huge hit. Highly recommend!!

Had our ceremony and reception in the large theater, and it was the best decision. Guests were blown away, everyone just kept taking about how beautiful it was and how amazing the food was. I think the biggest thing for me was that the wonderful staff and venue takes care of most everything. You don't have to hire and coordinate a lot of different vendors, which is a blessing as you get closer to the day. Highly recommend, our wording was unforgettable.

Lori was great to work with from start to finish. She guided us through the planning process and made sure we had everything we wanted at our reception. She was able to help us stay within budget, but throw a fantastic party! Lori was there on our wedding day to make sure everything was taken care of and that our drinks were full! :) The Olympian Ballroom was just gorgeous and our guests said it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding!

I had my wedding here on July 23,2016. Everything was beautiful and as far as I know there weren't any issues. Gina and Jackie are both great to work with. I was planning our wedding from Pittsburgh so I did t have the opportunity to get back there that often but they always accommodated my schedule. We received so many compliments on the venue and the food.

My husband and I visited over 10 places before we decided on TCA for our reception. We absolutely fell in love with the Large Theater. (However, they have several unique spaces.) Overall, it was very affordable and much cheaper than most of the places we had initially looked at for our reception. All the staff at TCA is very polite and professional (over the phone and in person). It was great to have everything in one place - food, alcohol, linens, centerpieces, etc. They literally take care of everything for you. We were even able to take the beer and wine back with us and had an after party. For our event, we worked with Jackie who was outstanding!!! She was very personal, organized, and accommodating. She made sure every little detail was in place and everything was perfect. The food at our wedding was phenomenal (even though we did not necessarily think that at the tasting). We did the platinum buffet. We had several people comment that it was the best food they ever had at a wedding. The donuts were a huge hit - would highly recommend! Absolutely everything was perfect, and we had such a fun time! Thank you so much Jackie and TCA staff!!! We cannot express our gratitude enough!

We had both our ceremony and reception at The Columbus Athenaeum. The venue was absolutely perfect! We had a lot of guests coming from out of town, so having both events in the same place was ideal for our situation. We had our ceremony in the Macedonian Room which comfortably fit all 200 of our guests. We had our reception in the Olympian Ballroom which was the best choice we made throughout the wedding planning process. Not only is the room absolutely gorgeous, but it was also extremely spacious! We received many compliments from our guests about the beautiful set up. I am also extremely happy with the coordinating staff at the Athenaeum (big shout out to Gina!). There was not one thing that I had to worry about the entire night. The Columbus Athenaeum was the perfect venue for my husband and I. We recommend TCA to any bride who is looking for an elegant, spacious, and easy to plan venue.

I wish I could have my wedding 1000 more times at The Athenaeum! From the moment my husband and I stepped in to the place we knew that is where we wanted to have our wedding! Lori sold us from our first visit. She answered every single questions we had and with total honesty. A lot of places you go to will try and sell you and tell you what you want to hear and this was not the case here. I appreciated all the honesty upfront about any costs etc. I thought we were in good hands with Lori and then we were handed over to Jackie and Gina who actually helped execute our wedding day and I was even more pleasantly surprised with the service. I think in the last two months I probably emailed Jackie every other day and she was always kind and sweet and answered everything! She never made me feel like I was annoying although I am sure I was ;) They were so flexible with my husband and I and truly gave us our dream wedding!! My favorite moment was when my husband and I got lost after pictures because we were just wandering and trying to enjoy the moments that we ended up on the back stairs by the kitchen. Jackie and Gina found us and let us have a moment on those stairs to breathe. They brought us snacks and a drink and made us feel like nothing else mattered to them but that. It was a silly moment but one that we will never forget! All of our guests RAVED about the food (make sure to get the meatballs for cocktail hour) and everyone thought the venue was gorgeous! We were in the Large Theater with about 115 guests and the space was perfect for it. Everything went off without a flaw and if it didn't well I did not know it :) My husband and I are already so excited because we get to go back this weekend for another friends wedding and experience it as guests which I'm sure will be a treat :)

I would pick the Columbus Athenaeum to host our reception if I had to plan my wedding 15 times over! Everything from the experience, the people, the cost, the convenience factors were nothing short of amazing. I worked with Gina, and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. Very responsive and accommodating - good at setting expectations and sets a very high bar! Our reception was held in the Olympian Ballroom - we hosted around 200 people, and I can tell you almost every single one of those people talked about how beautiful the space was and how GOOD the food was. We went with the Ruby Buffet - you MUST get the parmesan herb-crusted chicken. When we went for a taste test we asked the chef "how do you make this SO good?" he said they soak the chicken in buttermilk overnight (sort of wish I didn't know how bad it was for me, but seriously it is the BEST parm chicken I've ever had!) It was well worth it to upgrade to the mashed potato martinis and the short rib, as well. And for appetizers, we had the meatball bar, fruit and bacon-wrapped water chesnuts. Again, EVERYONE has said how amazing the food was at our wedding, which is always nice to hear. Gina and her event team were ON it the entire event - making sure people knew where to go for cocktail hour, then where and when to funnel to reception and the timeline flowed perfectly. The event staff was so attentive to me (the bride) and Kris (the groom) during the entire 5 hours. I found myself at the cocktail hour without a drink and an event staff member came right up to me asking me what I would like. Gina & company really go out of their way to make your special day feel beyond SPECIAL and make you feel like a Queen and King!

I had a wonderful experience having my wedding at The Athenaeum! The ladies were excellent in helping with each stage of planning and the day of couldn't have gone any better. I got so many compliments from my guests on the flow from the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, along with how beautiful and unique the venue was. I was also told by several guests that it was the best food they've ever had at a wedding. I'm so glad I had my wedding there!

We booked at the Athenaeum almost a year out from our wedding date - our consultant got us most of the way through planning, and then left. Our replacement got right up to speed and was fully behind all our various requests (even some we had been previously told weren't an option).

They kept us on schedule, which was nice given we were easily distracted and diverted from the things we needed to get done.

Food was excellent, and the place is just GORGEOUS!!!

My husband and I are so grateful to have worked with Gina Cristofani and The Columbus Athenaeum for our wedding reception. From the onset of our planning process, Gina and The Athenaeum staff were nothing but courteous and professional. When we felt overwhelmed by all the details, Gina provided excellent guidance and direction with the reception venue, food, beverages, décor, etc. The staff at The Athenaeum is truly a well-oiled machine!

The night of the reception, everything looked gorgeous, the food was delicious, the beverages plentiful, and the wait staff nothing but polite and efficient. Gina made sure that everything fell into place with DJ setup, cake and flower delivery, etc. My husband and I enjoyed absolutely every moment of our reception without a care thanks to The Athenaeum staff. We plan to recommend The Athenauem to all of our friends and family members with upcoming nuptials.

Our sincere thanks and gratitude to Gina Cristofani & The Columbus Athenaeum staff!

Jillian & Andrew