Scioto Reserve Country Club

The Layout

The club has a Wedding Garden for outdoor ceremonies – it isn’t quite done but should be completed soon and in full bloom.  Ceremonies will have a backdrop of the waterfall and the area has a view of the golf course.  So many people are looking for outdoor ceremony locations – this could be a very good one.

The reception room is a nice sized space with floor to ceiling windows on half the walls – lots of natural light and views of the golf course.  The room is a little oddly shaped – more rounded with some areas that extend out near the entrance and the bar.  I probably wouldn’t put tables in those areas unless necessary as your guests would feel a little out there.

There is a built in bar area with a large TV that can play a DVDs or regular TV.  Those screens also tie to two large screens which come down from the ceiling in the reception area – great for playing a video or slideshow of the two of you.

One really cool, very well thought out feature of the club is the bride and groom’s rooms.  The restrooms on site are basically large locker rooms with personal lockers for every member of the bridal party to store their belongings.  The ladies room is large and very comfortably appointed with chairs, couches, areas for hair and makeup, etc.  The men’s room has the lockers, chairs and couches, a large TV and a pool table to keep the guys occupied while waiting for the ceremony to begin – as I said, well thought out.

The Details

Wedding Minimums/Fees (valid as of May 1, 2010)
Ceremony: $1200

Wedding Reception Minimums:

April 1 through Thanksgiving:
Friday Evening – $7000
Saturday Afternoon (10:30 am – 4:30 pm) – $8000
Saturday Evening (6 pm – Midnight) – $12,000
Saturday All Day – $16,000
Sunday – $7000

Day after Thanksgiving through March 31:
Friday Evening – $5000
Saturday Afternoon (10:30 am – 4:30 pm) – $6000
Saturday Evening (6 pm – Midnight) – $10,000
Saturday All Day – $14,000
Sunday – $5000

*Sundays on 3 day holiday weekends will have the same minimums as Saturdays.
**These minimums DO NOT include the additional 20% service charge and 6.75% tax – that will be added to the food and beverage totals.

The unique thing about Scioto Reserve is that lots of things can be applied to the minimum – not just your food and beverage total.  You can contribute to your minimum with rehearsal dinners at Scioto Reserve or their sister club, Kinsale, child care at the onsite child care room during your wedding, a one year membership at either Scioto Reserve or Kinsale, rounds of golf, spa days at Kinsale or valet service – I really like this, it means that smaller weddings actually have a chance at hitting the minimums and the cost can be spread out throughout the planning process.

Catering and Alcohol
Food and beverage is all done in house.  Plated meals begin at $32 and go as high as $57 per person – that includes 2 stationary and 3 butlered hors d’oeuvres, bread and butter, coffee, salad, choice of entree and wedding cake from The Cake Studio.  Again, you need to add the additional 20% service charge and 6.75% tax – so for realistic budgeting purposes, the prices range from $40.99 per person to $73.02.

All bar packages are 5 hours and start at $18 per person for a beer and wine only bar package.  It goes up from there to a house package for $23, call package for $28 and $33 for their premium package.  You can also do a host bar based on consumption and be charged per drink instead.  The plus/plus of 20% service and 6.75% tax need to be added to this as well so again, for realistic budgeting the packages would be  $23.06, $29.46, $35.87 and 42.27 respectively.

Capacity
Scioto Reserve says they can seat 270.  I would say 200 would be tight but I am VERY conservative on space planning – I hate a crowded reception room!  150 to 180 would be very comfortable.  It really depends on how many you want to seat at each table, i.e. 8 versus 10, and how you want to set the room.  Using those off shoots I mentioned would be less than ideal for your guests.  Also, it depends on whether you have a DJ or band, how big you want the dance floor to be.

Included in the Rental Fee
The Ceremony Fee includes ceremony site, rehearsal time, white padded chairs and sound system.

The Wedding Reception minimums include 60″ round tables (comfortable for 8 guests), basic linens in either ivory, white or black (although not floor length), metal Chivari Chairs (they look like fruitwood and the pads are light ivory vinyl but you can easily rent covers for them), other basic tables like DJ and gift tables and a champagne toast for all your guests.

Indoor and/or outdoor spaces
Ceremony could be inside or outside.  An inside ceremony would require a room flip during cocktail hour which would impede on the space you have to play with for cocktails.  Cocktail hour could be inside or out as well but the only reception space is indoors.  I will say the large windows do give lots of light and a nice view so it does feel very open.

Location
I do have to mention the location because while the club is beautiful and would be a nice wedding site – it is really far north.  It is about 8 miles or 15 minutes north of the Sawmill Road exit off 270.  There are no hotels nearby – the closest are actually up in Delaware.  Otherwise, Polaris, Crosswoods or Dublin would be the best choices.  It is a bit of a hike up to the club but if you are doing everything in one spot, it isn’t that big a deal.  I would suggest a shuttles for your guests from the hotels to the club so no one gets lost.

Contact Info

Scioto Reserve Country Club
7383 Scioto Parkway
Powell, Ohio 43065
Phone: (740) 881-9082

Watch for more Site Visits coming soon and if you have any sites you would like to see featured, just drop me a line!

The Loft at Smith Brothers

The Layout

The Loft is two levels. Downstairs has a large bar, floor to ceiling windows (which let in great light but don’t really provide much of a view – this is an urban location after all), exposed steel beams overhead and polished concrete floors. This is a nice location for pre-dinner cocktail hours and after dinner dancing.

Behind the built in bar, a staircase connects the upstairs and downstairs.  Above the staircase is a very cool modern chandelier.  There is also an elevator on the other side of the room in case some guests cannot navigate the stairs.

The upstairs is the largest part of the venue and where dinner would be held.  Like the downstairs area, it has exposed brick walls, steel beams overhead and nice natural light from the windows but the floor is carpet rather than hard flooring.

The Details

Room Rental Fees
Fridays – $1975
Saturdays – $2475
Sundays – $1000

Catering and Alcohol
While you must select from one of two caterers, either Cameron Mitchell or Zuppa Catering, and you can bring in your own alcohol, there are no minimums. You have control over the menu and the bar so that could be a nice little cost savings.

Capacity
The Loft says they can seat 230 but I would say 200 would be tight – it really depends on how many you want to seat at each table, i.e. 8 versus 10, and the flow of the party itself like dancing upstairs or downstairs and buffet versus plated dinner.

Included in the Rental Fee
Tables, on site parking and 5 and 1/2 hours of time are included in the rental fee.  Plus one extra thing that I don’t think any other local venues are offering at this point – see those chairs in the upstairs picture above?  Those are Fruitwood Chivari chairs and they are included standard in the room rental fee.  Since those rent for at least 8.75 each from local rental companies, that is a nice little included feature.

Ceremony and/or Reception
You could easily hold both the ceremony and reception on site with a little moving around. I would say that the best flow would be ceremony upstairs, cocktail hour downstairs, dinner upstairs and then back downstairs for dancing. Between each event, the rooms would have to be flipped – ceremony into reception and cocktails into dancing but that is certainly doable.

Indoor and/or outdoor spaces
While the vast majority of the event space at The Loft is indoors, there is a covered patio that you have access to as well. It could be a nice extension of the cocktail hour but it is not within sight line of the rest of the event space (have to wind around a little to get there) and you share it with The Venue.

Contact Info

The Loft at Smith Brothers (They have not updated the website with info for The Loft yet but the contacts are the same)
580 N 4th St
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 464-0700

A big thank you to Nicole Dixon for sharing the photographs!