Wedding Day

Ohio Statehouse

Ceremony

The Ellis in Italian Village

Reception

The Arbor

Sunday Send-Off

Our Wedding

Dating for nearly 8 years by our wedding day, our journey began in advanced math in fifth grade, where we first met and Spencer mistook Sydney for a "teaching assistant" due to her height. Throughout middle school, we became good friends, laying the foundation for what was to come. Despite Sydney's transfer to another high school, we started dating at the end of sophomore year. After college graduation, we settled into life together in Columbus. Spencer proposed in November 2023, on our way back from a family trip, at Lake Minnewaska, New York.

Our Story

Photos

Wedding Party

Q + A

As our wedding is taking place near spring break for many schools in the area, hotels will likely book up quickly. Our hotel recommendation for while you are in town is the Graduate. There are also plenty of other great hotels in the area.

This hotel is located in between the ceremony and reception, being a 6-minute drive from the ceremony and an 8-minute walk from the reception. If you would like to stay somewhere that is right in Short North, where most of the restaurants, bars, and shops are, we recommend staying here. Pets are welcome at this hotel for $75 a stay. Overnight valet parking with unlimited in/out privileges is available for $37 per night.

Graduate Columbus

Travel

While you're in town for our wedding, we want you to experience some of our favorite local gems! Here are a few places we highly recommend exploring:

Saturday/ Sunday Morning

Here are some suggestions for Saturday morning before our wedding or Sunday morning afterwards!

Fox in the Snow has amazing pastries and coffee. This is our favorite spot and number one recommendation! It was recently were recognized as a top 10 most popular coffee shop in the world and a top 2 most popular coffee shop in the U.S., and for good reason. Sydneys favorite pastry is a morning bun (a croissant-like pastry filled with chocolate mousse), while Spencer usually opts for a cinnamon roll. We both usually get a vanilla latte as well.

Fox in the Snow Cafe

The Book Loft is a unique bookstore in German Village with over 30 rooms to explore. While you're there, take a stroll down the same few blocks in German Village as the Book Loft and choose from four fantastic coffee shops - Winans, Kitties, Pistachia Vera, or Staufs. Each offers its own distinct charm and great coffee. Winans is also a chocolate shop, Kitties has great matcha, Pistachia Vera is a fantastic patisserie, and Staufs always has a fun, special latte to try. This area is where we live and often walk around on the weekends to grab a coffee or go to the farmers market that is on this same strip.

The Book Loft of German Village

We have a few friends and family members who are gluten free- this is the place for you! This bakery and coffee shop is completely gluten free. It also has a selection of homemade frozen treats like hot dog buns, pies, etc. There’s also a cooler stocked with gluten free beer and other goodies!

Bake Me Happy

North Market is a 148-year-old vibrant public market made up of Ohio’s best independent merchants, farmers, and makers. Our favorite booth is probably Jeni's - it's the original one!

North Market Downtown

The Kelton Stately Manor has been preserved with family artifacts from 1760- 1975. The collection includes letters, furniture, business records, paintings, furniture, china and textiles. Approximately eighty percent of the current furnishings are from the family. The collection is unusual in that it highlights three generations of one family in a continuous record, a distinction made possible by the letters found in the walls of the house. Kelton House offers tours Thursday- Sunday. Fun facts: 1) We toured Kelton House to be a potential wedding venue! 2) Sydney volunteers here through Junior League.

Kelton House Museum & Garden

This is Spencer's favorite barbecue! Ray Rays operated out of its food truck at Land Grant, a local brewery, Thursday-Sunday.

Ray Rays Hog Pit Franklinton

The German inspired brunch here from 10am-2pm is delicious. The restaurant brews its own beer here as well. Prost!

Gemüt Biergarten

This great brunch spot is a Columbus classic! Sydney always gets the hen’s in a basket and Spencer always gets the famous pancake balls!

Katalina's in Harrison West

If you want to try something unique, don’t miss this Japanese inspired bakery! They have a wide variety of flavors so everyone can find something they like. There are more mainstream flavors like strawberry, chocolate, and matcha, but also unique flavors like red bean and ube! This bakery is part of the Japanese mall that has other stores as well.

Belle's Bread Japanese Bakery and Café

If you haven't been to Columbus before, you might want to take some time to walk around campus. Don't forget to walk by the Shoe- notably the home of the Buckeyes and where Taylor Swift played to a nearly sold-out stadium during her Reputation Tour!

The Ohio State University

Friday Evening

Here are some suggestions for evening activities if you decide to come into town on Friday.

This is a classic Columbus pizza spot!

Forno Kitchen + Bar

Another one of our favorites is Chapman's Eat Market in German Village. The chef, a James Beard semifinalist in 2023, crafts delectable dishes that showcase the best of local and seasonal ingredients. Definitely get the beef fat french fries! Chapman’s is really hard to get a reservation at, but you can always sit at the bar and eat (which is what we usually do).

Chapman's Eat Market

Spencer found this hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant! If you want to go, book far in advance. It's always booked out, but for good reason!

Basi Italia

This is a fun place to go for an after-dinner drink. Pro tip: it's directly below Forno if you go there for dinner beforehand.

Ginger Rabbit Jazz Lounge

If you want a good view of the city, this rooftop bar is the place to go!

Mandrake Rooftop

Enjoy your time exploring our neighborhood, and we can't wait to celebrate this special day with you!

Things to Do

Registry

Schedule

We are excited at the venues we selected - here's some history about them we'd like to share:

The Ohio Statehouse

The Ohio Statehouse serves as the state capitol building and the central hub of government for Ohio. Within its walls, you'll find the Ohio General Assembly, which includes both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Senate. Additionally, key offices such as those of the governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, and state auditor are housed here. The ceremony will be taking place in the Rotunda. Stretching 120 feet from the floor to the skylight, the Rotunda is filled with 12 different colors and distributes light to other areas of the building. The floor of the Rotunda consists of nearly 5,000 pieces of hand-cut marble from around the world. The salmon stones are from Portugal; the black and green marble is from Vermont; and the white marble is from Italy. There are two famous pieces of original artwork in the Rotunda. Perry's Victory, painted by William Powell of Cincinnati, commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie. The painting depicts America's effort commanded by Commodore Oliver Perry to reclaim control of Lake Erie from the British during the War of 1812.&nbsp; Also situated in the Rotunda, the Lincoln-Vicksburg Memorial, sculpted by Thomas D. Jones of Cincinnati, consists of a white Carrara marble bust of Abraham Lincoln and a marble relief of the Confederate Army's surrender at Vicksburg.&nbsp;The bust is the only portrait statue that Lincoln sat for during his lifetime, and is considered a good likeness. When asked by the artist what he thought of the work, Lincoln replied, "I think it looks very much like the critter."

Lincoln At the Statehouse

As you walk around the Statehouse, you'll notice there are probably more references to Abraham Lincoln than any other person and for good reason. As the Statehouse was nearing completion in 1861, the United States was on the verge of the Civil War. Ohio played a crucial role in his election. Lincoln actually only visited the Ohio Statehouse three times. The first visit was in September 1859, this was before he became president. He spoke for more than two hours on the issue of slavery to a group of about fifty people standing outside on the east steps of the Statehouse.&nbsp;The second visit&nbsp;was on his way to Washington to be sworn into office in March 1861. He stopped in Columbus and spoke to a joint session of the Ohio Legislature in the House Chamber. Lincoln's last time at the Statehouse was four years and two months later, when his body returned for a brief stay after his assassination. The doors to the Ohio Statehouse opened April 29, 1865 shortly after 9 a.m. By 6 p.m. more than 50,000 people had filed through the Statehouse Rotunda to see the President’s coffin.

The Ellis

Since the early 1900s, this building has been integral to the Italian immigrant life in the neighborhood and is representative of the many manufacturing businesses that operated at one time on North Fourth Street. By 1921, the structure was the Columbus Welding Shop. The neighborhood's decline after World War II led to neglect of structures, demolition of buildings, and population loss. Many of the industrial structures along Goodale Street were demolished to create 1-70, and many were demolished due to neglect. By 1951, the Ellis was an electric service building that remained there until 2019. The building is now representative of the industrial architecture which once lined North Fourth Street.

Spencer & Sydney

Spencer & Sydney

Travel

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