Grange Insurance Audubon Center

Decorations were done just as we requested.

ynthia from Metro Cuisine and she is truly the best! My husband and I are from Columbus but now live out of state- planning a wedding without being in the area has the potential to be overwhelming and confusing- but Cynthia made it a breeze! She is so communicative and responsive and she has incredible attention to detail. She recommended vendors for us (music, DJ, florist, photographer) and we were thrilled with their work as well! Metro cuisine catered and the food was fabulous and the catering staff was amazing! They were so attentive throughout the evening and saved us extra appetizers. The ambiance of the Audubon is so lovely- with string lights draped from the ceiling and fires going in the indoor and outdoor fireplaces- the whole building looked magical! Our guests enjoyed the convenience of having the ceremony + reception all in one location- and the surrounding areas around the building are so beautiful- it’s perfect for photography. I love that we got to enjoy a natural setting- while still having the convenience of being downtown and close to everyone’s hotels. For anyone choosing their venue, I can not recommend this beautiful venue and the Metro Cuisine team (especially Cynthia!) enough.

nd helped the entire event run smoothly. The space itself is perfect and super close to downtown. We had our ceremony outside and it was beautiful. The reception space is fun and unique (although would be pretty tight with 200 people - we had about 140 and that felt like a good amount for the space), with views of both nature and skyline. And finally the food is delicious! Would recommend!

ter house" this is not it. Metro Cuisine is the (newish) caterer, and Emily was my very helpful point person. She answered every email quickly and professionally. Metro cuisine has quarterly tastings (hosted at the Audubon center) as well as an office in Worthington with examples of their catering wares and food tastings. The audubon center itself was perfect for my wedding reception. I was able to bring my decor and alcohol in a day early and store it for my wedding day assistant and caterers to use the day of. There is a kids room that my guests used, where I put coloring pages and activities. The parents loved it. There is plenty to explore outside as well as a few seating options. And watching the skyline change from day to night was just beautiful. I easily fit 12 tables sitting 10 each at my reception, and had a pasta bar buffet. There were a few small things I didn't love: the checkered walls and the fact the carpet had a few stains, but overall I just loved my venue and would highly recommend others check it out!

h, and many of our guests commented on how lovely they all were. Having the fun architectural backdrop made planning our décor so much easier, and I was so pleased with how everything turned out. Our coordinator Cynthia from Metro Cuisine was amazing, and everything came together perfectly. I would highly recommend getting married here!

reat dance floor, and room for guests to "hang out" beyond just their seats in the dining room. While we used the space for our wedding reception, we could totally see the space used for corporate events too! Working with Metro (the catering company) for our wedding was fantastic from start to finish! Cynthia and her team worked to make our day just as we envisioned. They go above and beyond to provide quality service and product. We couldn't have asked for a better catering company to help our vision come to life at the beautiful Grange Audubon Center

ors. The venue has a more modern/slightly industrial feel, which was perfect for our style. They do work with exclusive caterers, so do your research on who the caterer is first. They also have limited hours you have access to the venue when you rent it. All of these limits worked for us and really aren't a big issue. The biggest inconvenience is if you bring a lot of the decor or drinks on your own, you have to take it all at the end of the night, so plan to have some family or friends be ready to help pack and bring the extras home. They can use a library space and conference room for getting ready but you need to bring your own mirror, etc. There are a couple outdoor ceremony spots that are beautiful but they're basically all in direct sun, so be aware of the heat involved in a summer wedding! We ended up having to move our ceremony inside because it was 105 heat index on our wedding day, but being surrounded by windows made it nearly as nice as being outside. Most all of our interactions in decor and planning had to do with the catering company, so make sure you research them well before deciding on this venue!

outdoors and unique indoors. Well, it rained and that means your guests are limited to a hallway and one room. We barely got all of the outdoor photos that I dreamed about (a primary reason for choosing this venue). However, all of this doesn’t even compare to the nightmare of working with MetroCuisine - the only caterer you can work with. MetroCuisine gave me multiple panic attacks over my 11 month engagement. They are very uncommicative - and there are so many hidden fees/costs. Example 1: the venue is $3500, but then you pay Metro a facility fee percentage. Ours was $500. So we paid $4000 for a room with some tables. Example 2: 24 hours before the wedding we had a walk through and told we couldn’t add any more strings lights (I get it - it’s last minute; but the forecast was looking bleak). However, Spencer (our amazing coordinator *sarcasm) let it slip that they couldn’t add more lights because a wedding taking that place that night was also using them and they were just keeping them up... HELLO I PAID ABOUT $400+ FOR THESE LIGHTS + SETUP/TEARDOWN. So when I called them out they chuckled and said “ohhh welll the bride on Friday and you are splitting the costs” THATS A LIE. WE PAID AND THE WEDDING FRIDAY PAID. THEY MADE DOUBLE THE MONEY. Any who... I could keep going. The point: do yourself a favor and pick a different venue.

for a wedding. They also let you purchase/bring your own alcohol, which is a great money saver. Plus, the views of downtown are beautiful. It's the perfect mix of park and city so taking pictures there is amazing.

have the feeling of being close to downtown. I would highly recommend this venue for any event!

urally beautiful Audubon Center. So that's what I knew up front... what I didn't know was how delicious their caterer Bosc and Brie was, and how amazing the event coordinator is (Leah). So attentive and friendly, Leah was and is the perfect balance of the person you want running your wedding day show. Organized and relaxed but always knowing what's next, she really kept the day flowing. And what is so great is that this is a park that my husband and I can (and have!) return to again and again to enjoy and relive one of the best days of our life! Thanks, Audubon for an amazing day!!

ish which allowed us to spend more time with our guests. You have access to everything including a children’s play area indoors which was a plus as there were many kids that attended our wedding. There was plenty of space for our ~150 guests. You do have to use their preferred caterer, Bosc and Brie, or you are charged a massive fee. They are expensive but we had a good experience with them. The only negative is that on a Saturday, it is open to the public until 3 so the earliest you can begin your ceremony is 5. However, this turned out to be plenty of time for us! We would definitely recommend this venue to anyone!!

tiful. This is a great location with exceptional people.

wanted our dog to be part of the ceremony. The Grange filled all of the requirements. We loved the big open spaces both inside and out. Our guests loved the fact that there were so many different places that they could go. There is a children's room, which our younger guests could use as long as there was an adult supervising them. There was plenty of room on the inside for our guests to sit and have dinner and then dance afterwards. We got so many compliments about what a great venue we had picked.

r reception sites, this was the perfect place to book. There was plenty of room with the trail (which makes great wedding photos!), the deck outside, and the entire Audubon Center building for the reception. Enough space for my 140+ guests. You have to book through Bosc + Brie as the caterer, which I found a little pricey, but worth the money--especially since they include their catering manager which acts as a day-of- coordinator. The food was great and many people complimented that it was one of the best wedding receptions that they have been to!

was perfect!! We received compliments all night on how beautiful the venue was!

of details, flexible, and helpful in making our vision a reality. The venue itself is beautiful, and the food was amazing. Plus, it has an indoor and outdoor fireplace, both of which were utilized for our event.

to hang out outside, somewhere with a cool view (downtown Columbus skyline wasn't too shabby), somewhere that did not look like a boring ballroom or country club. Audubon really nailed everything. Cynthia was our go to contact and really helped make everything so easy. You have to use their caterer Bosc and Brie which was fine with me because we are still getting compliments about the food (we went with the lemon chicken and the braised short ribs). The staffing was amazing (the bartenders remembered your drinks and had one ready when you went up to the bar!!) and all the servers were quick and efficient. You can bring in your own alcohol also which is a huge money saver. My husband and I are beer lovers so we got to have kegs of special beers that most places would not offer, as well as whatever liquor etc we wanted. Our tables looked amazing for the reception and they dealt with a lot of my DIY stuff gracefully and everything looked so good!! If I could do it all over again I would pick Grange Audubon and Bosc and Brie over and over again.

mazing.

ioned perfectly. We had our wedding in the middle of winter and this was a great indoor venue. It is conveniently located, the parking was free and ample, and the views are beautiful, which include views of downtown and of the nature reserve.

modate our 160 guests. There is also a kids room with a climbing structure that was a big hit with our families. Another perk of using this venue is you can bring in your own alcohol which also resulted in a lot of savings.

e. The natural light is absolutely beautiful, with the perfect floor layout. I loved that people had places to sit along the dance floor, and that our guests were still able to sit at tables with a view of the dancing as well. Marla was absolutely amazing and did everything we needed and more. We were so incredibly happy with our choice!

and feel are the major pros with the venue. There were a few cons that I'd like to caution other brides before choosing the venue: 1. The property is owned and managed by the National Audubon Society. It is mostly volunteer staffed. Because of this, they contract the rental of the facility through one of the catering/event companies that they have chosen to service the facility. They are hard to work with, especially if you choose to not go with the catering company that does the contracting. 2. There are only a handful of catering companies that you can use at this venue. That already puts constraints on things. On top of that - if you don't choose the catering company that schedules and contracts events - you miss out on some of the "perks." We saw people bringing in things early when they used the preferred company when we were specifically told that we can't do so. 3. There is only one equipment rental company that they want you to use. Not only is it pricy but they charge you a fee if you go with a different company. 4. We rented the space and you get it pretty much from when it closes until midnight. This seemed like plenty of time but honestly I wish it had been longer. Each extra hour you rent is hundreds of dollars and it's not for the whole center - just the multi purpose room. 5. We had to pay extra for the use of the outdoor deck...which is on public park property...I'm not sure why we had to pay for this. We loved the space but really would recommend for the Audubon Society to hire a professional event planner/organizer. It would be much easier to work with someone who is impartial and doesn't give preferential treatment.

eople sat outside all night, and I could see why--when I went out on the back deck for a few minutes after dark, the lit-up skyline view was absolutely stunning. We loved it. No problem working with them.

enue was pretty accommodating with us dropping things off a little early. We were able to bring our own alcohol, which saved us money! Great place for a wedding!

he outdoors, and this venue blended both of those sides of us brilliantly with the river and tree view, and the wonderful view of the skyline. All the windows and openness made for a gorgeous atmosphere. We got so many compliments on the beautiful, unique space.

heir rules are way too limiting for a bride - can't bring anything early or leave anything late. Seems they have closer connections to a certain catering company and if you don't use them they practically ignore you and make your life difficult.

ame into contact with was very nice and helpful. Indoor weddings are no extra cost and honestly you feel like you're outside anyway in this building- with all of the windows and the openness of it. I loved everything about it and wouldn't change a thing! I bet an autumn wedding here would be breathtaking too! (mine was summer)

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space, free parking and reasonably priced. It was perfect in everywhere. Highly recommend.

perfect.

y places for pictures! And we loved supporting a green business.

tic! Made for amazing photos. Second part of the review is for the company managing the rental of the space. I could go on and on and on, but to sum it up, COMPLETE UNORGANIZATION. If you don't like repeating yourself, this is not the company to deal with. The actual Audubon staff were wonderful though. Overall, I feel like the Audubon is a wonderful place to have a wedding, but they rental staff is not quite ready to handle the organization that is required for event venue management. If you rent the space, be extra organized, ask lots of questions, and get everything in writing.

beyond her job requirements. I highly reccomend, but they book up fast! Very friendly staff.

, which really appealed to us. Another huge plus was that you can have the ceremony and the reception at the same venue. They allow a wide variety of caterers onsite, and you can bring your own alcohol. Overall, they are a very flexible venue at a good price!

cess. There is plenty of free parking for all the guests. The view is amazing and the scenery alone allows for it's own decor with or without decorating further! And you can't beat the price!!!!

d the beautiful space available for events. We love city living and wanted to highlight Columbus at our reception, in addition to providing free parking for our guests and natural outdoor space. The Audubon Center is great because you have the natural beauty of the river and park and the city is easily visible through the gorgeous windows and from the multiple porch areas, which offer an outdoor area for guests to chat. We had a live band that sounded excellent in the space and a dance floor fit nicely as well. We used Japanese lanterns (rentals from our caterer) to warm up the lighting and add color to the space. The facility offers round tables and basic chairs that met our needs nicely. I have no reservations in suggesting the Audubon Center, it is a great cause and the reception space is lovely.

ance, sit on the comfy furniture by the fireplace, and venture outside for a picturesque view of Downtown Columbus at night! The cost to rent the facility is put back directly into the center which benefits Columbus city schools! Even better...they allow the Bride & Groom to furnish their own alcohol which was a huge cost savings for us because we were a destination wedding couple.