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April 17, 2024 12 mins

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This week, Kathy Piech Lukas, wedding planner with Your Dream Day, sits down with the charismatic AJ Jones from the Bell Event Centre wedding venue. We're taking you behind the scenes of the upcoming wedding showcase at one of Cincinnati's most elegant and historic venues.  We also talk about questions you should be asking your wedding venue when you are seeking a space for your wedding ceremony or reception.

The Bell Event Centre's wedding showcase isn't just any event—it's a curated experience brimming with the city's most diverse and quality-driven vendors. AJ highlights the importance of live music's elegance and how to capitalize on the showcase to connect with vendors that can turn your vision into reality. We even tackle the best strategies for attending such a showcase, from taking advantage of exclusive discounts to knowing which questions will fine-tune your wedding planning process. So, grab your partner, a notebook, and let's step into a day filled with wedding wonders, expert advice, and stories that will inspire your special day.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kathy Piech-Lukas (00:10):
Hi, welcome to Your Dream Day's YouTube
channel and podcast.
I'm your host, Kathy PiechLukas, and today I'm with AJ
Jones of the Bell Event Centrein downtown Cincinnati.
How are you doing, Good?

AJ Jones (00:23):
I'm doing well.
How are you?
I'm super excited to be heretoday.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (00:26):
Oh, I'm super excited.

AJ Jones (00:27):
We got a lot to talk about.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (00:28):
We have oodles to talk about today.
I was singing Mr Jones in thecar on the way over here.

AJ Jones (00:32):
Oh yeah, my mom used to sing that to me when I was a
kid.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (00:35):
Okay, now you're making me feel old.
That song probably came outwhen you were a kid and I was
like in my in my college years.
I won't say our ages here, thenall right, I won't share that,
but yeah let's see, that wouldmake me no y'all can do the math
, y'all get me well, wonderful,well, we're here today because
you all have a wedding showcasecoming up next week.

AJ Jones (00:57):
We sure do, so we invite everyone that is
listening watching to our annualWedding Showcase.
It was formerly the Bridal Show.
It is a great opportunity hereat the Bell Event Centre to kick
off your wedding planningjourney.
So you can meet with top notchvendors, try some great food and
drinks and then overall just get some really good insight for

(01:18):
your upcoming special day.
So it takes place April 20th,right here at the Bell Event
Centre, located across from HardRock Casino, from 11 am to 3 pm
.
Tickets are free.
So you just got to visit ourwebsite, www.
belleventcentre.
com, and then register and thencome join us.
We're going to have a lot offun.

(01:39):
Now, if you haven't registeredalready, you might want to do so
, because we only have a fewspots left.
So definitely reserve your spotand we can't wait to see you.
I love our show.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (01:50):
The one thing I love the most about your show
besides the fact it's in theBell Event Centre, which is just
breathtakingly gorgeous, is Isee different vendors at your
show than I see at any othershow in the city.
Who are some of the vendorsthat we can expect?

AJ Jones (02:04):
Yeah.
So we have a variety of vendors, from florists to DJs to live
painters You'll see CSC SpecialEvents there, Bambino
International Photography,Images by Daniel Michael, Party
Pleasers DJ Services, Again, cscspecial events will be there,
Spoon Fulla of Sugar, and we'llhave live performances from

(02:29):
Elegant Violin, Midnight RoseTrio.
These are great additions toceremonies.
They have done tons ofceremonies here.
Live music it's so importantfor a ceremony.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (02:39):
Yep, we actually had a podcast.
Our last podcast was about livemusic versus pre-recorded music
and what is the difference andwhat would you say?

AJ Jones (02:49):
The difference is that something about having live
music adds to the experience forthe guests.
It's much more personal.
It's elegant yeah, very elegantit's just very classy yeah very
classy and I think you cantailor it more to the bride.
So I love, love, love whenbrides have live music.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (03:05):
Wonderful.
What tips would you have for abride or groom going to a
wedding show?

AJ Jones (03:09):
Yeah.
So one take advantage of allthe discounts that might be
offered.
So we have all these vendorsthat have various packages and
can cater to any budget type,and so definitely one come up
with some non-negotiables, somethings that you really want to
have.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (03:25):
Oh yes, absolutely.

AJ Jones (03:27):
And start with, you don't have to visit every single
booth at a wedding show.
Visit the ones where you werefor vendors that you don't have
for your special day, and sostart with those and then ask
the ones that you already havebooked, or similar vendors,
questions so that you're bestprepared.
So, for example, it's okay tovisit another photographer's
booth to ask them questions onhow to best approach your shots,

(03:51):
what shots you should get, whatshots they might feel are
important.
So, yeah, just making sure youhave your non-negotiables, be
ready to take notes and justhaving a good time.
So yeah, Absolutely so.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (04:04):
With the wedding show, yours is in the
evening, which makes it a littlebit different, correct.
More afternoon, yours is myafternoon, yeah yeah, so
mid-afternoon.

AJ Jones (04:12):
So a nice long day.
You'll be able to get throughmost of the vendors in an hour,
but with those live performancesas well as the mini fashion
show which we'll talk about hereshortly.
Fashion show.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (04:23):
Who's doing the fashion show?

AJ Jones (04:24):
Yeah, we have four different vendors, so we have
Lace Bridal and Couture that'sin the Reading Bridal District,
Peppe Ramoundo, on the west sideof Cincinnati, here King Me
Menswear and Tuxedos, and ReneeGrace Bridal.
They're all fantastic options,fantastic options, and I'll

(04:46):
actually be modeling a suit ortwo at the wedding show as well.
So just great options forwedding attire, entertainment,
decor, all of that.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (04:55):
So who are you wearing at the show?

AJ Jones (04:57):
Ah, I'll let that be a surprise, but I will say I am
extremely impressed with King Me, men's wearing tuxedos.
They absolutely have reallycool colors.
Colorful yes yes, I love hiscolor scheme.
Yeah, yeah, and they colorsColorful.
Yes, yes, love his color scheme.
Yeah, yeah, and they cancustomize any foods.
Yes, yes, yes, and I'm a shoeguy so I get to kind of have fun

(05:18):
with it as the emcee, so, yeah,Very cool, very cool.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (05:22):
So the Bell Event Centre is not just a
wedding show venue.
You're a wedding venue.

AJ Jones (05:28):
A period venue.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (05:31):
You're a wedding venue.
What would be some tips thatyou would suggest to couples who
are just getting started in theprocess and looking at venues?
What are some questions thatthey should ask before they even
pick up the phone or get on thecomputer to reach out to you?

AJ Jones (05:40):
The number one thing I would recommend is asking if
they have a day of coordinator.
We offer two coordinators withall of our packages to ensure
that our client's day isabsolutely exceptional, and so
at least one coordinator issuper, super important.
So that way it can kind of takethe stress off of you.

(06:01):
And I absolutely think it'simportant to have wedding suites
as well.
A lot of brides like to getready here at the Bell.
You want to make sure that theynot only have a bridal suite
for the ladies, but also a groomsuite for the men as well.
That's accommodating to yourbridal size.
So, yeah, yeah.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (06:20):
That's wonderful, and so they can get
ready here too.
They can, they sure can, theycan get ready here, they can get
married here and they can havetheir reception here.
How does the room flip processwork for you?

AJ Jones (06:31):
Great question, so one we accommodate up to 250 guests
for a ceremony and receptionand up to 300 guests for a
reception only.
So when we do a full ceremonyand reception, we actually have
the cocktail hour, weatherpermitting, outside in the
courtyard.
Clients are also able to rent atent and so we'll have the
ceremony.
We'll actually have all of ourtables tucked behind curtains

(06:53):
there.
If you ever come in for a tour,we'll show you some pictures
there.
But we have all the tablestucked back there, ceremony
chairs set up, guests are ableto view the ceremony, then they
go out to the courtyard for thecocktail hour, they come back in
afterwards and the space iscompletely transformed and so
we're able to do that for up to250 guests.

(07:14):
But really popular nowadays isdouble setup as well as Cali
style.
Cali style is, if you reallywant to just get to the party,
get to dinner, cali style is agreat option.
So basically, all of yourguests would sit at the
reception tables to view theceremony.
They're already there at thebeginning of the day and then
you know no flip.

(07:34):
We just get started withcocktail hour, dinner and then
right to that dance floor.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (07:39):
Go right into the party.
Yeah, right into the party.
Well, one of the things I loveabout Bell Event Centre as a
planner one, you guys alsoprovide a day of coordinating,
which makes my job easier.
Yes, but you also have veryaffordable packages, and people
would think, because you're adowntown venue, that you're
going to be crazy expensive, butyour pricing is actually very

(08:01):
affordable and that's why youbook out so far in advance.

AJ Jones (08:04):
Yeah, yeah, we cater to a variety of rides and their
budgets, and we have tons ofincentives to offset costs, and
the pricing varies depending onthe season that we're in, but so
we can tailor to any bride.
And then, what's really cool,half the space is decor alone,
so you only really need aflorist, your photographer, you

(08:27):
can opt to use our DJ partner,but you can bring in whatever
you'd like.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (08:32):
Candles, candles, bring in candles.

AJ Jones (08:34):
Candles look really good at the Bell Event Centre.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (08:36):
Candles look amazing.
One of my favorite weddingsthat I've ever had here at Bell
Event Centre there's a bigstained glass window because it
used to be a church back in theday.

AJ Jones (08:44):
Yeah, yeah.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (08:45):
And so there's a lot of stained glass
windows on the perimeter of theroom inside the Bell Events
Centre, and we had 300 candlesthat were on the "altar area
right underneath the stainedglass window, and it was just
breathtaking.
It was so pretty.

AJ Jones (09:00):
Yes, well, thank you.
So, actually, if you take alook at our website, because we
have plenty of pictures of ourhistoric venue and I want to, if
you don't mind, I want to sharea little history about the Bell
Event Centre.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (09:10):
The mic is yours, go for it.

AJ Jones (09:13):
Thank you.
Thank you, yes, tell us thehistory.
Yeah, so the Bell Event Centreis formerly St Paul's Catholic
Church.
It was built in the late 1800s.
It's now a historic venue anddecommissioned as a Catholic
church in the 70s.
The Verdins (Family) end upbuying the complex, and then the
Cafe Hospitality Group over thelast 16 years have owned the
Bell Event Centre, whichoperates out of the Verdin's

(09:33):
Belling Clock Museum, and so forthe past 27 years, as long as
I've been alive, it's been anevent center and it is
absolutely breathtaking.
I mean, I remember my firsttime walking in just to
interview and I just fell inlove with the space and I think

(09:55):
it is absolutely perfect forthose who want that church feel
but necessarily might not wantto get married in a church.
And I want to emphasizesomething too we are
decommissioned as a Catholicchurch.
It is okay to have a good timein a church because we've
transformed it, we've kept upwith a lot of our original
murals, we keep everythingupdated and fresh and we have
some great things coming laterthis year too.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (10:12):
If you follow us on TikTok or Instagram or
Facebook.
I'm posting a reel which givesyou, like a little bit of a
behind the scenes a one minutetour of Bell Event Centre, but
the Verdin clock outside andcocktail hour was part of the
Verdin legacy.
And then, like when you firstwalk in, you see the, the the

(10:34):
big V, the big V and you see aplaque that you know
commemorates the fact that itwas a decommissioned church, and
it's just.
The history of the building isso rich.

AJ Jones (10:43):
And history is super important to us and we try to
infuse that with our cateringand our services.
Some of our menus are namedafter the church and just
different aspects of St Paul'sChurch which we love to preserve
, and we get a lot of questionsabout our history.
If you ever want to come injust to take a look at the venue
, you're definitely welcome todo that as well.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (11:01):
Wonderful, wonderful to come in just to
take a look at the venue.
You're definitely welcome to dothat as well.
Wonderful, wonderful.
Well, we are so excited to bepart of your wedding show.

AJ Jones (11:11):
So be sure to check out Bell Event Centre's Facebook
page.
And how do they get to yourwebsite?
Yes, so visit our website atwww.
belleventcentre.
com.
You can register for freetickets to our wedding show
there.
Free tickets, and we're havinga Mother's Day brunch.
So even if you haven't attendeda wedding or want to try a
really good food and greatservice, you can do that.
It's Sunday, May 12th.
More information is on ourwebsite and we hope to see you
at our show.

Kathy Piech-Lukas (11:31):
Wonderful AJ.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Thank you for tuning in.
Be sure to subscribe so thatyou can get all the up-to-date
information, not only on theBell Event Centre Show, which is
in the comments section, butalso what is happening as far as
greater Cincinnati weddings andwedding planning tips that you
can apply to this very, verystressful but fun chapter of
your life.
So I'm Kathy Piech- Lukas withYour Dream Day, Happy planning!
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