The Columbus Athenaeum

If you’re trying to decide on a venue in the Columbus area, look no further!! We had our reception innthe ball room… so beautiful and spacious! We had a large guest list and they were able to accommodate on everything!! Natasha is the best to work with!!! She is kind, helpful and so attentive to detail. She took away a lot of my planning stress! We had guest constantly tell us this was the best food they have ever had at a wedding! We did the buffet and everything was sook beautiful. The desserts were phenomenal too. We worked with their in house florist and design lady, Tracy. She did amazingg on our flowers and centerpieces. I couldn’t say enough good things about this place, we just had the most amazing wedding because of the Anthenaeum.

The Columbus Athenaeum was a lovely venue for our wedding reception! We had originally gotten married in a microwedding in February and, on a whim, decided to have a large reception in August. We only had about 75 days to plan everything. Natasha and Samantha answered every question that we had, and we had a lot! Jennifer and the staff decorated the Large Theatre beautifully! We had some special decorations to honor our loved ones who are no longer with us, and they placed those decorations with special care and attention. The food was great - highly recommend the mashed potato martinis! We chose 4 specialty drinks in honor of our 4 cats and the bartenders made each drink taste so good. Special highlights - using the theatre gallery box for a special surprise for our guests, the food and cake tastings where we got a bunch of food to try, and they managed our cookie table that our guests loved. They were very flexible - at the very beginning of the reception a guest accidentally poured red wine on my dress. Natasha and the owner (whose name I unfortunately forget) mitigated the damage to my dress by pouring club soda on the stains as I freaked out. This delayed dinner but the staff smoothly transitioned to the new timeline. I want to emphasize that my dress would've been ruined had Natasha and the owner not moved quickly to help me. A great thing about using the Athenaeum is that they have a bakery and a DJ/photobooth company that they frequently work with, so we didn't have to find those vendors. The cake was delicious, the DJ kept the party going, and the photobooth attendant was so helpful and kind! This next point only tangentially involves the Athenaeum but most of our guests did not end up parking in the garage that is recommended by the Athenaeum. They found their own parking so our advice would be to forego a contract with the parking garage and, instead, use that money towards upgrading your package to include the mashed potato martini bar!

This venue is GORGEOUS!! The staff was so helpful throughout the whole process. Natasha was great to work with and helped ease the stress of the many details required to put together a wedding! I highly recommend utilizing this venue for both your ceremony and reception, it helped our night flow smoothly! I just recommend you have your photographer scope out specific spots for pictures, to avoid any time being wasted!

This venue is amazing. I chose it because it was very convenient (they helped me plan every little detail) and because it was BEAUTIFUL!!! My wedding planner Natasha was absolutely amazing!!! She helped make my dream a reality and she was so good at making suggestions. If you want as stress free a wedding as possible, go with this venue. Gorgeous day, gorgeous venue.

This venue was absolutely amazing!!!! The space was beautiful on its own, little decoration needed but plenty of room to add your own touches. The staff was so friendly and easy to work with, meetings were timely and anything you could dream of is available. I would highly recommend this venue to anyone, I couldn’t have imagined having my wedding anywhere else! It was truly everything I could have wanted!

My new husband and I got married at the Athenaeum this weekend, and we are so pleased that we chose them for the venue. The food was very good; guests raved about the meatballs and goat cheese & honey filo dough for hor devours and the prime rib carving station for dinner. They also were floored by the mashed potato martinis. I initially thought it was over-the-top to have potatoes in a martini glass, but people thought it was so cool! The Priory was beautiful for our ceremony and the Small Theater was perfect for our guest size. The lighting in there was beautiful. Lois was our initial contact but upon her departure Natasha took over and the transition was seamless. Sky was very helpful day-of, she was everywhere making sure things were running smoothly. Would recommend!

We LOVED working with The Columbus Athenaeum for our wedding this fall! Natasha, our wedding coordinator that the venue provided us with, was the absolute BEST! We enjoyed a wedding we would never forget and highly recommend other couples in the Columbus area to check them out!

The Columbus Athenaeum is beautiful. We couldn't be more pleased. All the staff are very professional, everything was just as we planned it. The food and cake were delicious. Our event planners Natasha & Gina are extremely helpful, professional. Both are so wonderful to work with all our guest loved them . I know we chose the right venue and recommend them to everyone.

I cannot say enough good things about Gina and her staff! They were so helpful during the whole planning process and always giving us timely responses to any questions that we had. If we had any questions they were honest with their advice and feedback. Everyone raved about how amazing the food was and how beautiful the venue was. It was so convenient to be able to have our ceremony in Hellenic room and then the reception in the ballroom! The staff ensured that we had the perfect day. It was so great that we were able to drop off all our decorations & they made my vision for my wedding come to life. When searching for a venue, this one ended up being the most affordable & we are so glad we picked it. Would recommend this venue to anyone in their wedding planning process!

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!

I can’t say enough good things about Gina and Natasha! The whole Athenaeum staff was amazing and my wedding was everything I wanted and more. The food was fantastic and everyone raved about the meatballs. Natasha made sure that not only my husband and I were taken care of but all guests in attendance. I am very thankful for how amazing job the Athenaeum staff did.

Incredible doesn’t even being to describe. The staff, Gina and Colby, are just the kindest, most amazing humans. They took care of us and our guests! They went above and beyond to make the day more magical than we could even dream! The food was fantastic - many guests complemented. The evening was incredible. The planning was simple. I cannot recommend this venue enough. Absolutely get married here! Throw a party here! They are simply the best.

We got married in May and held our reception in the Athenaeum in the Large Theatre room, and we couldn't have picked a better venue. Everything was absolutely beautiful, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. They were great to work with throughout the whole planning process, and promptly responded to my emails whenever I had a question. With all of the uncertainty and anxiety we experienced planning a wedding during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was great to know that the Athenaeum staff was there for us and had our backs the entire time! We also appreciated that a lot of wedding details are taken care of for you by the Athenaeum staff when you have your event there- including food, alcohol, table and chair linens, set-up and tear-down. Being that it's a historic venue, you don't need many decorations, the rooms there are beautiful! They can also provide a photo booth and you can also have them make your wedding cake for you. The cake was delicious, and so was the food! Overall, we were very happy with our venue choice. 10 out of 10 would recommend!

We cannot thank Gina and the rest of the amazing staff enough for all of their hard work! Gina was extremely helpful during the stress of our first venue filing for bankruptcy 5 months before our initial wedding date. She was also very kind and understanding when we had to postpone our wedding twice due to COVID. We were finally able to hold our reception at The Columbus Athenaeum on June 26, 2021 in the Large Theatre. It was everything we had hoped for and more! We would highly recommend The Columbus Athenaeum to anyone getting married or having an event!

The venue was absolutely stunning! The entire staff was amazing to work with and walked us through every step to ensure our wedding was exactly what we wanted. They more than exceeded our expectations! I highly recommend holding an event here and working with Lois! She was such a great help all the way through.

Terrible venue. We had to cancel the reception due to COVID and they tried to keep ALL of our money. We could not get ahold of them and they would not return our calls. They did not try to work with us to reschedule. We finally had to sue the Athenaeum to get even part of our money back. They kept thousands! The food at the tasting was not good. They wouldn't provide vegetarian dishes for the tasting so we had to order foods for the reception we had never tasted. My advice - stay away from the Athenaem if you want your night to be special. I DO NOT recommend the Anthenaeum for anything.

My daughter had her wedding /reception at the Athenaeum on Oct. 24th 2020. Lois was who we worked with and she was absolutely amazing. She was always quick to answer questions or and adjustments to time we needed. All the people working the venue were wonderful as well. We used the priory for the ceremony and the small theater for the reception. Both were so beautiful and worked perfectly. The food was amazing . Thank you all so much for making my daughter and her new husbands wedding so wonderful and memorable.

We had our wedding and reception in the Ballroom in September 2020, during COVID, and it was a great experience. From the beginning, Lois and the team at the Athenaeum made this an incredibly easy experience. They were extremely responsive to my many emails and phone calls, giving me options I hadn't even thought of, making the day so easy, beautiful, and fun. I truly appreciated how smoothly the day went thanks to the aid of the Athenaeum staff. And the venue was absolutely breathtaking. Our guests has a blast and I would not have done anything differently. Highly recommended!

We had our wedding and reception here and everyone loved it! We got so many compliments on how unique the space was. We used the Priory and the Small Theater and had around 75ish people. Both rooms were beautiful and the changing rooms and restrooms were super convenient. Lois was amazing at getting everything planned for us and the food and service at the reception were wonderful.

Gina & her staff went above and beyond the day of our wedding. Everyone felt safe and were impressed by the gorgeous ballroom. The cocktail hour space in the balcony is incredible as you can look down on the main reception floor. Gina was very helpful and attentive to the numerous emails and questions I had as we navigated through planning a pandemic wedding. I will tell all of my friends about The Athenaeum when they are considering wedding venues. Being located downtown is another added plus!!

I cannot say enough positive things about TCA. We held our ceremony in the priory room, and our reception in the athenian. Both rooms were GORGEOUS and done exactly like we had discussed. We had a small wedding (45 people), and TCA went above and beyond for us. Gina was our rep and she was so sweet, thorough, and prompt. She never made me feel stressed or anxious. I knew we were in good hands with her. The entire staff from sales, to day of support, to the chefs, were so incredibly friendly and helpful. The only con I would mention is that the chicken was on the dry side, but that is such a small detail in the grand scheme of your big day. Do not hesitate to book your wedding/event at TCA!

The Columbus Athenaeum put on our dream wedding! The Olympian Ballroom was absolutely beautiful on the wedding day. The staff did a great job of putting everything together and making sure the night was organized. Jackie was our planner and she was the best. She was patient and responsive with our questions and was flexible to our ideas. The location is great, just a short walk from hotels and bars. I can’t recommend this venue enough!

A fantastic place for your wedding! We had our wedding Halloween weekend, and were going for a moody, vintage feel. We had our ceremony in the Macedonian Room, and reception in the Oak Room (highly recommend this space as it is beautiful). We couldn't have asked for a better venue or team to work with! Gina is fantastic and very responsive to questions and great to work with. It's obvious they know what they're doing here! Everything ran smoothly and looked beautiful! They food is also great! I couldn't has asked for a better wedding, and the Columbus Athenaeum made it happen!

After doing some reach for other friends’ weddings, I stumbled across the Columbus Athenaeum. From the moment I saw the Olympian Ballroom, I fell in love with it. The room was large enough to hold a big wedding and the wrap around balcony above the ballroom for cocktail hour was so fun. It was an old world style venue that wasn't cookie cutter. I was looking for a unique space that would feel elegant and special and couldn't find any others to compare. I worked with Gina as my wedding coordinator and I couldn’t have been in better hands. Gina pulled together everything I asked for. Pre-mixed signature drinks, various program and favor placement, a specific order of events, and of course the food. The food was beyond delicious. It’s made on site, so it’s fresh and hot and whatever you do get the parmesan encrusted chicken because it’s divine. My husband’s father raved about the prime rib. And we did the mashed potato martini bar that was so worth the upgrade! For cocktail hour we did a meatball bar and it was such a hit. Our signature drinks were perfectly mixed and the bartenders never had a long line waiting—they were super fast. Gina is an organized and detailed person like myself and we were always on the same page double checking everything. Once the day came, my day of coordinator did fabulous and we were taken care of from the moment we stepped into the building. They got us drinks and food, helped direct guests, and facilitate in load out. Everything was set up and decorated for us, so all we had to do was show up! I even requested a children’s meal to be delivered to the groom (because he’s obsessed with chicken tenders) and they pulled it off. To top it off, they’ve recently started working with an in house designer. When Gina asked me my décor ideas and I explained them, she said, I think we might have the perfect décor for you! She encouraged me to compare to other florists as well and let’s just say they didn’t come close to matching what the Athenaeum’s decorator had. We had candelabras and floral toppers, candlesticks, and roses for days. It was elegant and gilded and luxurious looking and perfectly matched the feel I was looking for. We had an open bar and it was SO MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than any other venue we looked at. We worked with Gina on amounts and took her recommendation to over order on beer and wine and encourage guests to drink the liquor and cocktails first! It worked perfectly. Most guests enjoyed the cocktails and liquor and then we could take home the unopened cases of beer and wine so we weren’t losing any money on them. The icing on the cake was the fact that we didn’t have to worry about clean up for the centerpieces or décor—only what we brought in! It was an incredible wedding and Gina helped make this a beautiful wedding for a cost we could afford. The whole team went above and beyond and I can’t even think of anything that went wrong. It’s a gorgeous venue, lovely staff, and you and your wedding will be in safe and capable hands.

My husband and I agree that The Columbus Athenaeum was the greatest choice we made for our wedding. From the beginning, everything was made easy for us, which is really helpful when planning a wedding and all the overwhelming stress that comes with it. We were first attracted to the Athenaeum because of its convenient location downtown and pretty pictures online. When we checked out the venue in person, we were sold. The Athenaeum has multiple different rooms available to use on your day, and they all have different features and architecture. We rented the small theater for our ceremony. The crew at the Athenaeum made the room absolutely beautiful for my day, it felt magical walking down the isle. They had all the decorations I could want, such as isle runner, flower petals, pillars, candles, string lights, and even an arch to hang flowers on (all for free!) it was so nice to not have to worry about finding all that myself. They even had an in house florist I could use, Tracie, who did an AMAZING job. The reception was just as perfect; we held it in the large theater. We were very impressed with the food and alcohol packages that The Columbus Athenaeum offered. Compared to other vendors, it was incredibly affordable and we did not have to sacrifice the quality. Everyone still talks about how good the food was. I was very impressed, and thankful, with how organized the staff was at the venue. We worked with Gina throughout the whole process, and she made sure we had everything we needed and wanted. She made sure we stuck to the timeline which made everything go as smoothly as it did. The Athenaeum worked great with all our vendors which contributed to the great day. Our friends and family keep talking about how wonderful and fun the wedding was, and we have The Athenaeum to thank!!

One of the best decisions I have ever made was choosing The Columbus Athenaeum for my wedding venue! They helped to give my husband and I the best night of our lives! Through the 18 months that I worked with Gina Cristofani, she was nothing but accommodating, personable and one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting! She was a powerhouse and helped create the most beautiful event and gave me everything I needed and wanted. TCA is the perfect place to have your wedding. The antique architecture, affordable prices, and wide range of selections for decor, food, vendors, etc is incredible. I wouldn't have had my wedding any other way. And thank you again to Gina for helping me coordinate such a perfect day! We love TCA!

To the Columbus Athenaeum and Gina, our wedding planner: Thank you for making Jess and Larry's wedding very special. They both loved the event, and the guests had a great time. We were able to pick the food from many selections. It was all great, including the appetizers and the variety of desserts. We used the venue’s baker and had multiple flavors of cake plus cake pops, macaroons, truffles, and whoopie pies that was a real hit with the guests. We also used a florist from TCA recommended florist list. The florist was Tracey Zody from Z Creative. She was very imaginative and creative, and fit the flowers to the theme of the wedding. The flowers were beautiful! I liked the beautiful look of the venue, and we got many, many compliments on the Priory Chapel and Small Theatre reception areas. We had a wedding of about 150, so we picked the size of rooms to fit our wedding. It is fantastic to have 130 of their friends there for support, plus our families. We had a band for the reception and a violinist for the wedding. Gina worked with both of these vendors to get all of the details set. The program timeline was perfect. Gina was great to work with, explained details, asked the right questions, and remained very calm throughout the wedding planning period. Her staff was great as well, and very helpful in the setup and break down of the wedding. I would recommend TCA to anyone interested in a Columbus wedding.

I am so happy we chose the Columbus Athenaeum for our wedding venue! We chose to have our ceremony in the Priory Room and our reception in the Large Theatre. Both spaces were absolutely stunning. Jackie was our event coordinator and was wonderful to work with and very responsive to all of our inquiries leading up to the wedding. Leading into the wedding weekend the entire staff was incredibly helpful - they really do take most of the work out of your hands. They set up all of the décor I brought in, all I had to do was drop it off and leave a few written instructions! I also borrowed a lot of decorations from the Athenaeum, which turned out beautifully. They have a great selection of items and they do not charge to use them. The day of the wedding, everything flowed very smoothly. The staff was so helpful to keep us on track with the evening's events and were very friendly. Overall, I couldn't believe how perfect our wedding was and the Athenaeum made it possible! We've had so many guests say wonderful things about how much they loved the beautiful event spaces and how wonderful the food was! I highly recommend the Columbus Athenaeum as a wedding venue!

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!

My husband and I got married at the Athenaeum on April 27th, and all I can say was that it was magical! We were married in the Macedonian room and then had our reception in the large theatre. It honestly felt like our dream wedding from start to finish. We worked with Jackie at the venue from the first day we walked in and she was amazing to work with. She tended to every one of our needs and made our special day exactly that, special. All I can say is that this venue is amazingly beautiful, stunning, and a lot of fun! We recommend this venue to any and everyone!

Our wedding at the Athenaeum was amazing! We had our reception in the Small Theater. Gina was SO HELPFUL throughout the planning process and was always very responsive to emails and had great ideas and suggestions. Planning a wedding here was - dare I say it - easy! We received RAVE REVIEWS about the food and pie from our guests (get the brisket!). I would highly recommend the Athenaeum to future couples because it's truly a one-stop-shop and they handle so many of the little details for you.

Our experience at the Columbus Athenaeum was incredible! We had both our ceremony and reception in the Small Theater - it was beautiful! Jackie and rest of the Athenaeum team made the entire process SO easy for us as we planned our event from out of town. They were SO accommodating throughout the entire process and made sure we were well taken care of on our wedding day!

The Columbus Athenaeum was everything we could have wanted in a wedding venue and more! Everything was perfect the day of and the coordinators at The Athenaeum were very helpful throughout the day! Our wedding coordinator, Jackie was beyond helpful - from helping us choose a room the first day we met her, all the way until the day of where she helped coordinate the entire day from start to finish. She always gave us peace of mind throughout the entire process and quickly answered e-mails and calls whenever we had a random question! All of our guests raved about the venue, from the reception room and food, as well as the ceremony room and decorations. I cannot thank The Columbus Athenaeum enough for all they did to make our day so special and would definitely recommend them!

Had the pleasure of our band (The Martini Affair) perform at the White Castle corporate holiday party at The Columbus Athenaeum. It's a beautiful location and the staff was very helpful and supportive. We hope to perform at a wedding there soon!

The Columbus Athenaeum was the perfect venue for us. We loved the historic feel of the building and the fact that we could have our ceremony and reception in the same place. Everything went perfectly and the Athenaeum took care of everything for us (a huge load of stress off of our shoulders!). The only downside was the lack of parking, but this is to be expected when your venue is downtown. We were able to have all of our guests park at the 4th and Elm Garage (the Atheneaum even provided a parking map that we could share with our guests). All of our guests commented on how much they also loved the historic feel of the building. They were all super impressed with the food and many said it was the best wedding food they had ever had (some professional chefs included). Overall, working with the Athenaeum and Jackie was awesome and made our day go smoothly.

Everyone at The Columbus Athenaeum made our day a huge success. From the initial tour to the actual day-of, everything went smoothly and seamlessly. Jackie was our event coordinator and was a huge help along the way. My husband and I got married in The Large Theatre room- but there are many more rooms to choose from depending on budget and size of your event! I really liked that this venue took care of food & alcohol- even our centerpieces with the package we chose! It made everything SO much easier for me to plan. Also, during the wedding, there was an additional event coordinator present (I can't remember her name- sorry!) who was also amazing- she made sure we ate & helped keep everything in line. I would highly recommend this venue to other couples- it was the best day ever!

I held my wedding here and would not recommend it due to very poor customer service leading up to and after the event. They did not follow through on things they promised, lost the cake, did not provide the correct alcohol, etc. And rather than trying to help fix any of these problems, they were repeatedly very rude, including the manager that I spoke with.

3 stars; we will explain why here in a minute. We picked the Athenaeum for the ease of everything being under one roof, and not having to go far between the ceremony and reception. The planning process, and details around the wedding day went smooth. Communication with our coordinator was good and easy to get a hold of. We felt during the latter part of the planning process and finalizing things she was almost too busy to help and rushed things along without really caring. No empathy at times either. The reason why we picked 3 stars for this review was the rehearsal and ceremony itself. The rehearsal was set and we were trying to find our coordinator, and was able to. But, we ran into a problem that was NOT mentioned at any point during the wedding planning process. The coordinator left out the part that she WAS NOT a part of the rehearsal, and it was on us to do it. Talk about being very frustrated and pissed, that would do it. Not only was she not going to be upstairs for it for questions, she avoided us completely. Then, as we were chatting afterwards, the colleague of hers was very short with guests, and family that we had to go and turned off lights. It was 5 minutes after the rehearsal was over!! Very unacceptable business practice. Last, the day of the wedding. She again was nowhere to be found at times during the duration of the ceremony and the reception especially. We probably saw her 1-2 times during the afternoon at the reception, and not existent for the end of it. I am sorry, but this person is PAID to be there and she left our reception to be who knows where. Well, at the exit of our reception, we cannot find her and find where we were supposed to go to leave. I had to approach her boss and get a bit blunt with them on where this person was. We proceed downstairs to the lobby to find out that our planner was with ANOTHER CLIENT and NOT AT OUR RECEPTION HELPING!! At this point, we did not care and it was over, but to look over and see she completely ditched her job and not assist at the end our wedding shows a lot about character and integrity. All in all, if you use this venue, please do, it is great and central location in Columbus. But, ensure you keep an eye out for the above things as they may happen to you. Ask these questions and confirm this upfront before you sign the dotted line to ensure your day goes swimmingly. P.S. the coordinator we worked with was Jackie.

I think I have to first public thank Jackie for making sure every detail of my wedding ran smoothly. I literally just had to show up and it was fantastic! I had not considered the Athenaeum as I figured it was well out of my price range- it was quite the opposite. Do not think that good value means that you will not receive good service...in fact, it was excellent! My guests were raving about the Large Theater. It was an absolutely breath-taking backdrop. It turned into an even greater dance floor! Guest danced until the very last song. People still rave about my wedding and the venue was a large part of their fun.

Gina was fantastic with all of our planning and questions. Our day was beautiful and went off without a hitch!!

If this your aesthetic - the price point and food are pretty decent. As a bridesmaid, the wedding planner the bride was assigned was very nice and helpful during the ceremony. After the ceremony things went downhill. Overall - unprofessional and decently angry staff. I am sure they were busy and overwhelmed with weddings this weekend but damn... I was impressed with the level of attitude. Two things ruined this place for me. 1 - the most judgey bartender I have ever had the pleasure of trying to order from works here. I had attempted to order shots upon arrival at the wedding for the bridal party upon the bride's request. Rather than being told no we don't do that, can't do that etc. (reasonable) - I got lectured about how I didn't want to be that girl at the wedding. It was condescending and I got a good mansplaining for five minutes how i needed to watch my drinking for the evening. This was the very first drink I ordered. I wrote this off and just asked the lady for a different drink instead and figured that'd be the end. I also checked with the bride to see if they had requested the bartender keep the drinking low-key, maybe she was trying to follow her directions and just missed the mark... The bride and groom had not requested this. Later, another bridesmaid ordered a double and she received the response "It's only 9:30" and was given a barely alcoholic beverage instead. If you want to pass this much judgement on young women, don't be a bartender. This with the other staff snapping at us for asking questions about where we could put our stuff/move our supplies gives me the impression there isn't good leadership here. 2- A bridesmaid was helping clean up (we were out by 11:30 pm) and she had placed her personal belongings and bag on a table by the door for easy access. It "went missing". Without her keys, phone, ID, or plane ticket she contacted all bridesmaids and as many party goers as she could in search of the missing bag hoping someone had grabbed it. The staff asked her to leave because they needed to lock up and she did and continued her search. She returned later after checking the hotel and with other party-goers and begged them to please check the reception one more time. She was told it was late, they wanted to go home and she could come back Monday. That would have been great, except she was flying out of state the following day (sunday). The stress this caused was unnecessary and it completely ruined this bridesmaids night as well as created a lot of tension trying to find this bag with all of her information in it. Monday she called the venue, one of the employees had moved it into a box in a room that was staff only. She had not misplaced it - they had moved it, then refused to help and apparently communicating with each other to solve this problem was just too much effort. I am hoping this was a one-off experience and the staff was just having themselves A Night. I know it happens. But I was very confused that a venue that does 100s of weddings gets away acting like this.

We had our wedding (ceremony and reception) at the Columbus Athenaeum on 8/11/18. Everything was perfect, and the venue was a delight to work with! Jackie was our coordinator, and she was responsive and helpful at all times. The ceremony and reception spaces were both beautiful, and the venue takes care of most of the set-up for you. The food was also delicious, and we got many compliments on it from our guests. The venue is in a great location in downtown Columbus, and even our out of town guests found it easy to get to from their hotels. Considering how much the venue does for you, the price was more than reasonable. I would highly recommend the Athenaeum to anyone who needs to host a big event in Columbus.

As a family, we have officially completed our third wedding at The Columbus Athenaeum. A lot of time and planning went into each event and, without a doubt, each event was a huge success because of the TCA staff. Each wedding was very unique because we were able to utilize the different spaces available. Part of the reason for going back each time was the unbeatable price and more importantly, our guests raved about the atmosphere and the customer service. One of the absolute best things about TCA is the FOOD! Everything is made right on site and it is so delicious! Guests still talk about the meatball bar and the mini-pastries! The menu is diverse enough that we were able to have different appetizers and entrees at each wedding, with the exception of the meatball bar which was at all three! We would like to say thank you to Mark, Susan and Gina, they took wonderful care of us and our guests.

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.

The Columbus Athenaeum was the perfect venue for our classic, glamorous, art-deco wedding. Every one of our guests were just raving about how cool, beautiful, and convenient our venue was (Located across the street from our hotel!). Favorite parts from guests were the dance floor stage in the Large Theatre and the delicious food! Jackie was made our wedding process super easy. I never questioned whether everything would be taken care of. TCA is THE BEST wedding venue in downtown Columbus, if not, the whole state of Ohio!

It was a beautiful venue and they made planning easy. We had a lot of difficulty after the wedding. Terrible at getting back to us. Charging our card for more alcohol and never giving us a receipt. It’s been two weeks and we haven’t been able to talk to them.

We had our reception at TCA in the Small Theatre on 11/4/17. I fell in love with the lights in that room. We worked with Jackie and she was amazing, and helped us so much throughout the process. She really helped our vision from the room come to life. It also made things very convenient to work with a venue that did all of the décor, food and alcohol themselves. Its also really nice that the linens etc. counted towards our event minimum – unlike the hotels we looked at. We used one of their centerpiece options as one of our upgrades, and they were perfect. The food was amazing! We received so many compliments from our guests about the food – especially the meat balls. I hate potatoes, so I love that their buffet had a pasta option. (My MOH who went to the tasting with us raved about the mashed potato martinis, even though we didn’t choose them). Jackie very helpful and understanding when we were indecisive about our food options. Everything was so good, it was hard to choose. We also decided to have their donuts for dessert instead of cake – and those were a huge hit with everyone!! Everything went so smoothly at our reception – the staff really did an amazing job of making our day perfect!

We had the perfect ceremony and reception at the Columbus Athenaeum! Jackie was our venue coordinator and made wedding planning such a breeze! We were married in the beautiful Priory and had our reception in the Hellenic room. Jackie and her team made sure all of my requests were executed perfectly and our wedding day was seamless. I was in constant contact with Jackie via email for the 9 months leading up to the wedding. She is very organized and I always felt like a priority to her even when I asked the silliest questions like how many candles I needed to fill the windowsill. Thank you TCA and to Jackie for providing excellent service and a beautiful setting for our magical day! We couldn’t be happier!

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!

The venue is beautiful and a great value! But I give it a 4 star rating because I think there is room for improvement. I found when working with the staff, there was a lot of miscommunication. I would talk to my coordinator and then come in and speak to someone else and they would have no idea what I'm talking about or contradict what I was told by my coordinator. They also provide a great packet of information and instructions but then look at you confused when you actually follow the instructions. I think too because they do so many weddings that they forget that for most people, this is their first one and forget to communicate some details and instructions. I was scrambling before my wedding to find some people to help set up the reception (because you can only enter the room 2 hrs before the start time) and then I went in 2 days before the wedding to drop of decor and mentioned that some people would be coming in to set up and the manager, again, looked confused. She proceeded to tell me that they will do all the setup. However, my coordinator never asked for any pictures, instructions, etc about how I would like to room to be set up. The manager also scoffed and said "Well we do 100s of weddings to most people just trust us," when I questioned the fact that I was never asked for details on how I wanted centerpieces displayed, etc. Well that is fine if you think that but you should never say that to a client. I thought it was rude and unprofessional. That's great that you have that experience and one of the reasons I chose the venue. But that doesn't mean that you know exactly what I specifically want for my wedding. On top of all that, I walked in for the rehearsal and was told I would have a completely different coordinator than who we had worked with the whole time. The new coordinator was good. The day went as planned. It was just odd that there was no communication or explanation as to why they sudden switch. Overall, I would still recommend this venue but just think there is room for improvement when it comes to communication.

Nate & I just had our reception at the TCA on November 4th. We were living out of town during the engagement so I was a little nervous to plan an out of town wedding, but Jackie (my coordinator) made everything so easy! I met with her a couple of times and we emailed frequently. She kept me on track with the planning process and made sure I had my dream reception. We had our reception in the Ballroom. Our total guest count was 350 and everyone had enough space. The food was excellent! I keep hearing from our guests that it was the best "wedding food" that they have ever had! All the staff are very friendly and you can tell they are compassionate about what they do! You are all awesome and if I had to do it all over again I would do everything the exact same! I cannot thank you enough!

Our reception was in the Oak Room (apps 110 guests). The staff at the Athenaeum is incredibly helpful and made the process so easy (Jackie is amazing)! They helped us figure out all the details, stay on track with our timeline, clearly communicated information, and our reception ran so smoothly thanks to them! The food is amazing - our guests keep raving about it! As far as weddings go, everything is reasonably priced for the great services and products you get.

Definitely had the best reception I could imagine! But the planning process was a struggle with the venue itself. But other than that, the food was amazing, the staff the night of the wedding catered to us to make it as simple and help us have as much fun as possible!

Definitely just like all the reviews say! Beautiful venue. They take care of everything for you and it was so nice to have food/alcohol/decor all from one place. It's a bit pricey and they have very strict rules that can be a pain. However, overall we had a great experience. I wish they allowed more time for the reception - that's my only gripe! It would be nice to be able to add on an extra hour or two for those who want a longer event. But Jackie was wonderful to work with and she helped the day of go smoothly! The food was really delicious - short ribs are where it's AT! I loved that Jackie had food waiting for us at our seats when we entered the reception and she went through the buffet line and filled our plates right away so we could eat while the other tables were in line. You can tell they have weddings down to a science - everything like clockwork and they know what they're doing.

So, I am giving this venue 3 stars because I did have some complications with the venue. During the planning and looking over the totals for the money owed, I had a couple of questions in regards to paying a service fee on a deposit. When I spoke with the facility and got a response back from the financial coordinator, the e-mail was completely inappropriate. Text was highlighted and in multiple colors that didn't necessary apply to the questions that I had asked. Also, the venue that I chose for the reception had cabaret tables however the linens were just draped over and looked very unpolished (I was shown cabaret tables that had the linens tied at the bottom as a model). The food was good and the service the day of was good so that is why I am giving it a 3. For a place to be all about customer service, there are definite areas of improvement.