Have It All with a Wedding at Creekside

This story first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of Columbus Weddings, published June 2019.

As Angela and Curtis Moody sorted through Columbus-area venues for their July 2018 wedding, one stood out. Several friends and family members recommended Creekside Event & Conference Center in Gahanna after attending weddings there; once Angela visited, it was easy to see why.

“It’s kind of a one-stop shop,” Angela says. “My family is from Dayton, so it was nice to be able to have them come in, do free parking, and they didn’t have to drive to multiple locations and figure things out. The whole wedding—ceremony, cocktail hour and reception—was all in one place.”

Greg Lewis, the venue’s sales manager, agrees that the newly renovated space’s contemporary beauty, versatility and free, on-site, covered parking make it a great choice for single-location ceremonies. “We’re customizable to any group, any style, indoor or outdoor ceremonies, with on-site catering and a modern, upscale ballroom-type feel overlooking the Creekside waterfront views below,” he notes.

The venue comfortably seats up to 300 guests and features a large ballroom equipped with two built-in, circular, hardwood dance floors; this space is able to be divided into two to four smaller salons. For instance, a ceremony could take place outdoors or in one of the back salons, with a cocktail hour to follow in a front salon—perhaps as the couple takes advantage of the pastoral park setting for photos—with the entire ballroom utilized for the reception.

Lewis also touted the venue’s experience and commitment to service as reasons Creekside was recently named one of the top five area wedding venues by NBC4 viewers. Each wedding has exclusive access to the entire space, meaning that couples need not worry about competing noise from other events, and last-minute Ohio weather snafus are easily managed.

“We always have an indoor space set up, just in case” bad weather threatens an outdoor ceremony, Lewis says. “A lot of venues do just have the outdoor space, but we offer both and can usually move a wedding indoors due to inclement weather with as little as about an hour’s notice.” Couples also enjoy access to pre-event dressing suites, included setup and tear-down services, and an included event manager for tastings, preparation and day-of coordination details.

“They were very professional, responsive and easy to work with,” Angela recalls. “When we booked, I was paired off with Karlie [Halverson], the event manager. She was awesome—nice, cheerful, lots of ideas and very experienced. When we had a question about how to handle a certain detail, she would say helpful things like ‘people usually do this.’ ”

Though Creekside generally books 12 to 18 months in advance, Lewis notes that closer dates may still be available, especially for couples flexible with dates who are willing to look at non-Saturday options.

As for Angela, Creekside Event & Conference Center provided expert planning and a beautiful setting for her big day. “After seeing it, getting quotes and comparing, it was an easy choice. We had a great experience.”