Jean P.

I would give this place 3 stars simply because I can't think of an impersonal banquet center as more, but they were a gem for our wedding. We originally went with this location because it was the only place in the area that was in budget, big enough (300+) and not a dump. Seriously, scores well above places like Orlando Gardens or Andre's (though I would have considered Andre's West if it were big enough). They also worked it out for us to bring in our own wine. Having gotten engaged at our favorite winery, it was important to us to have Oliver Winery wines available to our guests. We asked everywhere we went, and most people were adamant that this wouldn't be a possibility if they couldn't get it from their distributor. They were also cool about our minimum. To get the whole place, we had to agree to a 350 minimum. We figured that with a guest list of 450-500 this wouldn't be a problem. Well, with a lot of those guests out of town and the economy in a slump, we ended up with 310-320. The Columns said no problem - just pay for your head count when they had every contractual right to make us pay for 350. Good choice on their part. We spent the "savings" on bar upgrades. The Columns was also flexible as could be on set up. I made my own centerpieces but took up quite a bit of room and needed multiple vehicles for transporting from West Co to St. Chuck. They managed to clear some space for us to store our centerpieces the day before, so we didn't have to worry the day of. Luckily, they didn't have an event the night before to make it a possibility. No complaints on the staff. Minor issue on the food - they brought a cold dish (one that hadn't been reheated yet) out to one of the buffets accidentally. Someone said something, and they fixed it very quickly. Food in general was pretty good for a stock banquet center I thought. They also contract with a cake baker (comes in the package). Elaine was very easy to work with and created a beautiful cake! I gave her pictures of my dress and invites, a general direction, and she really understood and gave me exactly what I wanted!