We hired Tara 2 years ago when my daughter got engaged. My daughter was very specific about the…read morekind of wedding she wanted. She wanted a wedding with multiple day events (wine tour, welcome party, ceremony on the Cornell campus, two cocktail parties, reception and a brunch). We were also challenged with having 160+ guests from out of town. My daughter didn't want a traditional wedding banquet hall look, she wanted to have farm tables with lush greeneries and flowers, and lounge sofas for people to relax. It was hard to find a place around Ithaca to accommodate so many guests. Tara spent days with us in finding a perfect venue for the wedding. On the day of, we had photographers videographers, multiple banquet coordinators, bus drivers. Tara was amazing in coordinating everything and getting everyone to work together. She had 7 pages of the event schedule. She worked tirelessly to refine it with us, down to when food would be delivered for the bridal party to eat before the ceremony. At the end of the reception, when she saw I was going back to the hotel by myself, she personally drove me back. She then delivered flowers for the next morning's brunch to our B&B at 2am. On top of that, she showed up at the brunch to make sure everything was ok and helped us pack up everything. We had few crisis (or we thought) during the wedding, Tara was able to take care of them for us and more importantly calmed us down. All of our guests told us how much fun they had at the wedding and how beautiful the venue was. I think a lot of it was due to Tara's careful planning and diligence. I would highly recommend Tara as a planner for any special event.

Tara (Terra Rosa) was such a wonderful and integral part of our wedding team! She came highly…read morerecommended by a close family friend and owner of a local florist company - if other vendors say somebody is great to work with, believe them! Our venue, the Ithaca Farmers Market, requires an immense amount of planning and organization as you must bring in everything (rentals, food, alcohol, decor) yourself. In addition, set-up time is very limited so it pays off to have a team of vendors who have worked well at the market before and know what they're doing and how run of show should go! While we signed on for the month-of package, Tara was so helpful in providing recommendations for additional vendors throughout our planning process who not only have worked market wedding before, but who would be able to help us create our exact vision for the day. Tara was responsive and always made herself readily available, whether it was well-before the month of our wedding or in the days leading up to it. As a self-described Type-A planner, I was so grateful to have Tara on top of everything especially the day before and the day of the wedding so that I could kick back and relax to enjoy such a special day. She executed everything perfectly, - including when a guest stepped on the bottom of my dress and broke off a bustle hook! Not only did she have safety pins of all sizes on hand, she perfectly pinned the dress back into its proper bustle so nobody could even tell! I can't recommend her highly enough - every couple should be so lucky as to have her support, eye for style, and organization on their big day!

Ithaca Is Foodies was arguably one of he best food tours that I've ever had the pleasure of…read moreattending. Our guide Seth showcased Ithaca's diverse food scene (a lot of which was locally sourced fare, which was super impressive) while tying in interesting historical facts about the city of Ithaca--which was totally unexpected but definitely well received among the group as well as very much appreciated. A decent bit of walking, which was fine, but it's good to point out for our less mobile friends looking to partake. At every stop we had small drink and food portions, which after the 2-3 hours I was relatively full, which is always nice after completing a food tour. We started off at Moosewood Restaurant and worked our way through the Ithaca Commons to 6 total different spots, stopping along the way to point out fun facts about certain areas, murals, general historical tidbits as well as highlighting local business practices that may not be commonplace elsewhere (did you know that Ithaca commonly uses a "Collective" business model versus the generally practiced "Cooperative" business model, where individuals in charge share equal responsibilities/shares and others are welcome to work their way up through work efforts and such). I'm sure the general order/selection of restaurants rotates given time of year and availability so I won't go into much detail about where we went here, but all of the choices were awesome and accompanied by narration from either Seth or the owner of the restaurant about the food we were enjoying as well as a small history of the establishment. Overall a wonderfully thorough tour that left me wanting to know more about the city of Ithaca and it's quite interesting history. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting the Finger Lakes Region!

Mild disappointment. Ithaca known for great food and interesting venues. 3 of the 6 stops hit the…read moremark. Moosewood, Ethiopian, and F. Oliver's achieved on both. You could skip Ten Forward, underwhelming Star Trek theme and basic sandwich. Coltivare was an excellent tour and an even better tour guide, but surprised to see basic flatbread as our sample. Ice cream shop was ok but nothing special to make it onto Foodie tour. Not a bad way to spend a day, just needs a little work.

Always responsive and helpful. Love the equipment and the music. Really solid option. Thanks for…read morebringing awesome to the party.

Elephant sound was really helpful and went above and beyond to make the experience with my event go…read morewell. Bob was flexible in that he donated his DJing for the event, as it was a fundraiser for a nonprofit. He was also willing to let other DJ's spin if they wanted to, as long as they got in touch with him. Bob clearly cares a lot about his customers and does everything in his power to make the events successful and fun. Not only is Bob one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, but he has a passion for DJing and making the atmosphere of the party great from the start to the finish of the party. Even after the crowd predictably died down at my event, due to the time of the night, some partygoers did not want to leave Bob's tunes. Throughout the whole venue, which was quite big, the sound travelled well thanks to Bob's careful consideration. He lugged all the equipment himself with the assistance of one other helper, which I also appreciated. He was quick to produce any document I needed, such as insurance, when we were going through the process of setting up the event, which made things a lot easier on my part. It was a pleasure to work with Bob and rest assured, he carries my highest recommendation for any DJ/sound work that you may request. I worked with Bob due to the fact that he was suggested to me by another, and I will continue to encourage my organization to use his business and also recommend him to others as well.

We ordered Thanksgiving dinner from Serendipity catering this year and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! The…read moreturkey was perfectly prepared and delicious. I'm not much of a stuffing person but I ordered it for the rest of the family. Serendipity's stuffing has made a convert of me! Perfectly spiced, lots of mushrooms and veggies with terrific bread. The gravy was almost like Mom's. I loved their take on cranberry sauce. I ate it cold instead of warming it up. Can't say enough positives about the whole experience from ordering to pick up to warming everything for dinner. Easy instructions and flawless flavors. Thanks to the team!

Do not use this catering company! If I could give this establishment zero stars I would. After…read morecommunicating with them for the past six weeks to cater two small events for my daughter's graduation and having a verbal commitment they ghosted me last week. I called them today and they said that they had sent emails canceling the events due to "staffing shortages". (They did not.) When I expressed my dissatisfaction Sharon hung up on me. I now have to scramble because all of the restaurants are full and the other caterers are booked. After reading other reviews it looks as though this has happened with them before. See screenshots of emails between me and the caterer below.

I came in for the first time since it opened. I noticed the white staff member didn't greet me, but…read moreinstead made a point to greet every white customer who came in shortly after me. I was pointedly ignored, even when I was in the same area of the small shop within eyeshot/earshot. I was the only customer in the store (and only PoC) before the two (white) customers came in separately, one after the other. This is treatment I also received at another shop at Ithaca mall (incidentally also with "Willow" in the name). Feels bad, man. Terse service when I asked a question of the staff member there. There's an anecdotal half-joke among us QPoC that a white person with colorful hair typically means "safe" staff for BIPOC/queer folks, but that was not the vibe I got here, sadly. It's too bad that Asian customers are treated this way at an establishment that sells so much Asian-inspired merchandise (kawaii goods, food items). I won't likely be back, even though it is a cute, very modern boutique. I will just head down to Michaleen's Florist & Greenhouse down the road and the farmer's market instead for plants, soaps, gifts. I feel more welcome in those spaces, even if they're predominantly white.

All is I can say is STUNNING. David and his team did an absolutely incredible job creating the most…read morebeautiful, fresh, and vibrant bouquets and centerpieces for my October wedding - and I am so thankful! David was so gracious and easy to work with; I came to him with such a late request for these centerpieces and bouquets and he made it happen in just a couple of months' time. We had one great, efficient call and, after that, I didn't have to worry about a thing. The team at Willow Floral used such high-quality plants, my sunflower and greenery centerpieces lasted almost 3 full weeks after the wedding. My greenery bouquet of ferns and eucalyptus is still beautiful and I will be drying it out to preserve it forever! If you're looking for a great deal on amazing flowers/plants and easy, kind, and accommodating service to match, I cannot recommend Willow Floral Studios more. Thank you again to the whole team!

We were EXTREMELY happy with Paul as our DJ. As a matter of fact, Paul was the smoothest, most low…read morestress part of our wedding! We could not have been happier with his service! Numerous people have asked us for recommendations and we thought it might be helpful to showcase how amazing he is with a Q&A someone asked us to fill out: Please continue to read on... Q - What kind of DJ was he? A - He was polite and extremely professional. He listened to our ideas and preferences and performed accordingly. He did nothing we did not like. Q - Did he talk to the crowd a lot or not? A - He talked to the crowd as appropriate. Enough to keep them involved but not so much that he bothered the guests all night (we requested he be more on the quite side, my husband and I hate it when DJ's are extremely vocal - to us that feels cheesy). I am sure if you tell him you would like him to be more involved he would be happy to do that. Q - Was he corny or more laid back? A - I don't think Paul has a corny bone in his body. He was very confident and laid back for the entire reception. He has an air of calm, confidence about him that we really loved and so did our guests! Q - How comfortable did he feel with the microphone? A - He seemed completely at home with the microphone, and all of his equipment. Again, he has a confidence that radiates and his experience is resoundingly evident. Q - How was his song selection? A - His song selection was great - we gave him a list of songs to play, to NOT play, and other examples of what we like and he became our own "pandora radio" we couldn't have been happier. He was extraordinarily in tune with what my wife and I were looking for. Q - Did he work with you beforehand to understand your likes/dislikes, and did he incorporate those into the reception? A - Yes, absolutely, he met with us a few times before the wedding and gave us forms to fill out, explained everything he could/would do and then let us pick what we wanted and did not want and made other adjustments as we wanted. It was completely customized to our taste, needs and wants. I hope this review was informative. Paul made the most important day of our lives an unbelievable experience with as little stress as humanly possible. He was the advocate and stability our amazing day needed and we couldn't fathom it going any other way. Truly amazing.

From the owner: Weddings, Receptions, Wedding Ceremoniesread more

Hands down, one of the best decision you will ever make. From ceremony, cocktail hour, and all the…read moreway through to the last song. There isn't a detail that Scott doesn't think about. He innovative, and open and flexible to individualizing his role at your event. He guides and reads the crowd to make sure it is as much fun for them as it is for you. Scott MAY even have more fun then you at your own wedding!! From the very beginning, he wants to understand your vision, and does everything to pull it off better then what you had imagined. Between the meetings, and the emails, and phone calls, he and his team will undeniably take care of every detail with grace, class and professionalism. Like others have said he is way more then just a DJ

tt was awesome to work with! We got married October 24, 2020 and he made sure to work with us every…read morestep of the way to ensure it was perfect. He followed the CDC guidelines to make sure everyone was safe. He also sent us updated every month to make sure we were on track with wedding planning. 10/10!

Captain Dave was so easy to work with. He was extremely thoughtful, friendly, and helped make our…read moreengagement super special! Would recommend Ithaca Boat Tours to everyone :)

Very nice and relaxing Sunset Cruise along Cayuga Lake for a great price. We were about two minutes…read moreaway from when they were going to launch and Captain Chris called to check in if we were on our way before they left without us. Our tour guide was very sweet and made sure we were all comfortable during the two hour ride. They also have Eco tours, which we could definitely tell she was into. A smaller lake close by was closed off completely due to a deadly algae, which she then collected algae from the lake and took the sample under a microscope and invited anyone to come check it out. Her interest made it that much more personable and I enjoyed it. Not the bad algae though, obviously. She even offered to take pictures for us. The sunset was beautiful and on the way back we saw some water falls. Something to consider before booking. The difference between this sunset cruise and the Charter sunset cruise is because it is more private with 6 passengers per tour at a higher rate and starts at 6:30pm-8:30pm with daily cruises available, whereas Ithaca boat tours allows up to 24 people starting at 7:30pm-9:30pm with cruises only on Friday/Saturday. We didn't mind if there was going to be more people on board, but there were only about 8 of us on the boat that night anyway. I also like that it starts at a later time so we could relax and get a nice meal beforehand. I would recommend this tour. Don't forget it's BYOB! Have fun!

Hayley Anne was such an amazing photographer to capture our engagement. She was super sweet to us…read moreand helped us feel at ease in front of the camera! Such a good experience :)

Hayley is amazing!! My fiancée booked Hayley to surprise me with an engagement photo shoot at…read moreRobert H. Treman State Park. He knew based on her reviews and their initial communications, that she would be incredible. And she was nothing short of incredible. I'm personally uncomfortable with staged photos, but she made me feel at ease. She's very personable and the process was extremely easy and laid back. And the photos.... They speak for themselves. We are so thrilled with how they came out. The sneak peek was out very quickly thereafter and we even received our pictures earlier than we anticipated. They are PERFECT. We absolutely love them and could not recommend Hayley more!!!

Word of Mouth catered our wedding and we couldn't have dreamed of a better experience. Everything…read morefrom the hors d'oeuvres to the salads to the entrees was phenomenal, our guests were raving about the food all night and well into the following week. On top of the food being fantastic, Emily and Isaiah are great to work with. They're super professional, very accommodating, and up to the challenge of just about any dietary restriction. They source as many of their ingredients locally as they can and donate excess food at the end of an event to local organizations. When you combine their community impact with their talent and great prices, there's really no better option than Word of Mouth.

Best food and amazing service. Do not hesitate to book this place for your next event as soon as…read moreyou can.