Emslie Florist & Gifts was wonderful to work with! They took my ideas and created a bouquet that…read morewas even more beautiful than I imagined. Throughout the process, they were kind, encouraging, and easy to communicate with. I was amazed by how organized they were on our wedding day--I never would have guessed they were managing multiple deliveries because they were right on time and kept us updated every step of the way. We couldn't have been happier with the flowers and the service!

I called on a Monday to order flowers delivered to my sister. The delivery was made promptly, the…read morearrangement was beautiful and the flowers are still fresh a week later. I couldn't be happier with Emslie's service. Bonnie

Thanks to Jenny who arranged and sent the most beautiful and delicate sympathy arrangement to a…read morefriend. She adored them. Service here is perfection. Jenny held my order until my friend returned to VT from the services, followed up with me, ensured the flowers were exactly what we discussed, and delivered right on time. I highly recommend Pink Shutter Flower Shop and would give more than 5 stars if I could! Thanks, Jenny!

This is one of the nicest flower and gift shops in Central Vermont…read more They also do amazing special events, weddings and Civil Unions. Wonderful to work with and very creative. Please take a moment if you're in the area to stop by.

Rod came to our place to do a laser tag birthday party for my son. He was on time, brought high…read morequality equipment, and did a great job handling a pretty rambunctious group of 14 tweens. 10/10. If our son wants to do it again next year, we will have no hesitations.

I've never attended a laser tag event but finally got the chance to do so in July 2018 & it was a…read morelot of fun! Both the kids and adults had a great time. Rod, the organizer/owner, was fantastic with communicating instructions and facilitating team work and suggesting strategies to both the adults and kids. He was very engaged and clearly wanted all to have a fantastic experience playing laser tag & everyone did!

Portraiture for your pets! Kelly takes pictures for the Chittenden Humane Society and also has…read morestudio time for people and their pets. I ordered a print from her and was so happy with her promptness and professionalism and the quality of the pieces I received. I have not had the pleasure of studio time with her, but would use Mountain Dog without hesitation for fury family photos.

My husband and I were married at the Skinner Barn Columbus Day weekend 2014. Feeling a bit…read morenostalgic after a recent trip back to the area, I decided to look up the barn on Yelp. I was completely shocked to see some negative reviews, and felt compelled to share my own experience... My husband and I met with Peter after finding the Skinner Barn online. We live in MA and drove up to meet with Peter and check out the barn. It was the first venue we looked at, and we were completely sold on the absolutely stunning, picturesque barn... But also on Peter. He was very kind, and he was happy to provide us with a great deal of information on not only his venue, but anything and everything we asked about. He very clearly has a system. If you run a decent business- you better have a system to keep it running that way. Cars are to be parked in a certain area. He guides the guests to where they need to go. He is around for the whole night making sure that everything is running smoothly. The music can not be excessively loud- he has neighbors. Yes it's your day, ladies, but we can all still be considerate of others don't you think? Anyway, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Peter or his attitude. My makeup artist actually told me that I was the most stress free bride she had ever seen. Mostly because my view was that getting married trumps all of the details. Every single one of them... but I'm sure that Peter being so kind, caring, and accommodating had a little bit to do with that as well. Excuse the novel I've got going here, but it is very upsetting to me to see people say anything negative about this very nice man and his gorgeous venue. My husband and I loved it so much that we are planning to renew our vows at the Skinner Barn on our 10th anniversary. I suggest you check out the Peter and Skinner Barn for yourself before hopping to any false conclusions.

As the MC and brother-in-law of the bride for a wedding at Skinner Barn this October, I am obliged…read moreto write the following review in order to warn others of the hidden costs and tyrannical nature of the owner, Peter Boynkin. I should start by saying my family had a wonderful time and a beautiful wedding at the barn. The setting and the interior are great, perfectly rustic, and we could not be more thrilled with the outcome. Most importantly, the bride loved it. However, the interactions with the owner, Peter, were inconsistent in their messaging from day one, and ended very poorly. Peter is a former actor who moved to VT and bought the barn where he hosts performances in addition to weddings. Being an actor, he is adept at turning on the charm and selling you up front as he did my sister-in-law. However when it comes to the week and day of the wedding he shows a different side: 1) Springing hidden, not previously mentioned costs at the last minute when its impossible to back out. $75 PER HOUR to set up and rehearse. Why not charge a flat fee and put it in the contract? 2) Walking around micro-managing various aspects of the wedding day, including being rude to guests who don't follow his meticulous parking instructions. 3) The topper: at the end of the night with the wedding party understandibly looped and on a high, demanding that we BREAK DOWN THE ENTIRE venue THAT NIGHT (we did a lot of the wedding ourselves). This was at 10pm at night! Unbelieveable because Peter had agreed up front (verbally) to let us come back the day after to pick up our items such as tablecloths, a photobooth, table settings, etc. He also said several times "well it's in the contract" (news to us) and showed zero empathy when we reasonably explained we were in no state to do so, had not been informed of this UNTIL THAT MINUTE, and would be back tomorrow to pick up our things. It was thankfully a minor blemish on a wonderful night. But it left a terrible taste in our mouths. The next day when we returned to gather our things, Peter had left them outside the locked barn, and would not even cross the street from his house to speak to us. Maybe he was practicing a new role: bi-polar asshole. If so, well done Peter, we think you nailed it.

Lauren is amazing. My wife and I had our wedding at Windekind Farm and we, along with all of our…read moreguests were blown away by everything she put out. Going into the wedding planning process, we heard two contradictory things. First, we were told that food is the one thing to splurge on. On the other hand, everyone uses wedding food as the example of gross, boring, overcooked banquet food. Well we didn't have a fortune to blow on our catering and having spent 3 years in San Francisco, food is an fundamental priority in our lives. Lauren was perfect. And here's why: 1) The food -- 5 stars. Lauren knows Asian food inside and out and it's all about the flavor. The food is beautifully presented, but her priority is the taste. We continue to rave about the food. Guests continue to rave about the food. 2) Lauren's professionalism -- 5 stars. Lauren was always focused and well organized. Nothing fell through the cracks. She also made sure to set us back on track if we began to get overly ambitious. She gave us a quote for the food and labor and hit it perfectly. 3) Lauren's commitment to locally sourced food -- 5 stars. Sourcing vegetables, fruits, and proteins locally is usually more expensive than the industrial option for obvious reasons, but it is a priority for Lauren to do her best within the budget she is given. 4) Working with our vision -- 5 stars. Throughout the planning process, Lauren was always innovating new ways to fit our crazy visions. When we wanted family style small plates, she made it happen. She had an idea to host a dumpling station...which was amazing and delicious!! Even though we hadn't thought of how the lanterns and candles would be lit, we turned around and her staff had lit them all. Lauren does all the right things for all the right reasons. She's smart, talented, adventurous and on the ball. There is too much good to share. The only way to fully understand how amazing she is to see for yourself. If you want to have food that people will talk about for the rest of your lives, hire Lauren.

Lauren recently catered our wedding for 100 guests and I can't imagine it could have been handled…read moreany better. From her amazing, locally sourced ingredients to her incredible staff to her calm, focused approach to dealing with inclement weather, she shined in every way possible. She was an absolute rock throughout, easy to talk to, knowledgeable about do's and don'ts on a wedding day, and flexible flexible, flexible! I wish I could give her and her great staff 10 stars! Oh, and the food is spectacular! This is one of those people who when you're around them, they exude such a sense of professional expertise that you can't help but feel at ease knowing that they will take care of their end, no problem. What a pro!!!

Thank you Nancy for all you did to create the most romantic and unforgettable destination wedding…read morefor my son and his beautiful bride! We could not have imagined a more magical setting and deeply appreciate all you did to make this very special occasion surpass all of our expectations!

I'll be honest - I was a little nervous coming here. I actually visited for a weekend work retreat…read moreand although I'm not much of a camper per se, I loved every minute of it. They had several unique cabins on the property as well as "suites" with bathrooms in a larger building that also had a community area. The property is gorgeous with mountains overlooking the treeline, a large field (with Quidditch goals if you're a HP fan), a stunning lake, another community area with a kitchen attached, a barn, campfire area, and trails. There is something for everyone to do here but what I loved the most was being able to look up at the sky at night and see all the stars! If you're looking for a place to reconnect with nature, this is it!

We've gone for the family camp twice and we were there this weekend for their twentieth anniversary…read moreweekend. We are returning again this July. My kids talk about camp all year long and it has become an important part of our lives. We all love it. It's my piece of heaven on earth. We stay in the cabins. There were plenty of beds. Bunk beds and twins with a little piece that goes between two beds pushed together that eliminates that uncomfortable gap. There was plenty of shelf space for clothes as well. Some people stay in tents, others in the Eco-lodge. There are coin operated washing machines, which is important when traveling with little kids. We brought sheets, pillows, sleeping bags, lanterns and towels. There's no electricity in the cabins but there is in the dining hall and the Eco Lodge. You can charge your devices there and connect with the world if you really want to. We stayed screen free and didn't miss it at all. During family camp there are plenty of activities and kids go to Kidville for three hours in the morning. I love hiking up the mountain, relaxing by the river or taking dance classes. Others prefer glass blowing, art class or playing instruments. Activities vary by week. It's relaxing, people are great, and the campus is contained so I can give my kids more freedom than when we're at home. In the afternoons/ evenings there are organized family games like Quiddich and scavenger hunts. There's no pressure to participate but it was a lot of fun. The food is vegetarian and delicious. Meals are planned with kids in mind and there are kid friendly options. They even published a camp cookbook. For me what makes the camp is the people. Camp was built little by little and with a lot of love. The tiles in the bathroom were 2005 camper art projects, and many of those families return every year. The people who run it live what they believe and they are active in the community, they use solar power and they work hard to decrease their carbon footprint. A tour of all of the features of the Eco-lodge was fascinating. They run different camps for under served populations. Camp Kaleidoscope is for families with autistic children, Camp Outright is for LGBTQ teenagers and they run a camp for families in the midst of high conflict divorces. They don't shy away from hard situations. All families are truly welcomed and it's a non-judgmental, cooperative environment. Communication is real and the friendships are genuine. There is a bit of sticker shock but there is a sliding scale and I believe it is money well spent. The food is high quality and fresh. They invest in maintaining the property with ecologically friendly products, they provide a variety of activities for children and adults, and there are enough staff on hand to deal with issues as they arise. It has been an experience that has greatly enriched my life and my children's lives.