Camp Mary Orton

ition to flexibility in the spaces we could use. Getting married in early April with around 120 guests we were able to use each of the large rooms different- one for the ceremony and one for the reception. But there is no shortage of outside space and the place would fit 250 people, although it never felt empty with 120. When we then heard the CMO is a non profit and wedding help support Goldman Gild, particularly helping low income children go to camp in the summer, we were sold. Our wedding was beautiful, everyone involved was helpful, accommodating, and supportive. All our guests were surprised that such a beautiful place could be found seemingly off the beaten path in Columbus. I would recommend CMO to anyone getting married or planning any type of event.

till close to central Columbus. I communicated with the staff for over a year before the wedding and they were always wonderful to work with.

nt, and including our three dogs in the wedding ceremony. This is not something we would've been able to achieve if we had our wedding at a "typical" venue. Our attendants the day of the wedding were very helpful throughout the event, making sure we had everything we needed. We would recommend using Camp Mary Orton to anyone.

ing questions. On the day of the wedding, we had 2 hosts who were extremely friendly and helpful. The lodge was decorated beautifully and the green grounds around the camp were gorgeous! We even had a double rainbow during dinner!

r my ceremony and reception.

of being one of few venues in the Columbus area that are flexible in terms of catering, alcohol, and other vendors - there are no approved lists or strict guidelines here, which allows you to craft your wedding day in whatever way you see fit and, potentially, save some money (including providing your own food and alcohol if you wish). The flip side of this (potentially a downside for some) is that you are very much on your own when it comes to planning and executing your wedding. Everything must come in and out within the rental period you have reserved, and you (or your caterer/wedding planner/etc.) will be responsible for all setup and tear down (not uncommon at wedding venues, but worth noting). With past experience as a wedding planner, I was comfortable with this arrangement. Ultimately, however, I feel that the price of the venue is too high for the extremely limited services they offer (limited tables, plastic garden chairs, no additional space to get ready, no on-site coordinator, detached restrooms, etc.). In addition, I found it very frustrating to work with the contact on-site - e-mails would often go for a week or more without being answered, making it difficult to keep plans moving forward. In person, Johanna was very nice and knowledgeable, but remote communication frequently left something to be desired. At the end of the day, our wedding was beautiful and guests had a great time, but I attribute much of that to our planning and our team of vendors, rather than to the venue itself.

ght it was such a nice setting. It was nice to find such a perfect outdoor area that seemed far away from the city, but really wasn't. The price was very reasonable and we liked that it would benefit the camp. Hosting weddings is not the main function of the camp so they are busy with other things. That being said, communication wasn't the easiest, but it also wasn't unreasonable. We visited so many venues outside of the Columbus area because we just didn't think we could get the setting we wanted in Columbus, but we are so glad that we choose Camp Mary Orton and we would not hesitate to recommend them to others!

ndors on site, as well as our parents for a final walk-thru. And on the day of, our host went the extra mile for some of our elderly and disabled guests, by shuttling on the grounds. He also lit a campfire for our guests at the end of the evening.

tire event which helped to make everything run smoothly! I would recommend Camp Mary Orton to any bride!