Working with Cathy was amazing! Cathy helped us every step of the way and really helped to relieve…read morea lot of stress throughout the whole process. Cathy was incredibly organized and made sure we thought through every detail and provided input when we needed help making a decision. On the day of our wedding Cathy made sure everyone and everything was in the right place at the right time. When another vendor made a few mistakes, Cathy made sure we got a full refund from them and that we did not have to worry about it at all on the day of our wedding. The day after our wedding my wife and I joked that the worst part of the wedding being over was that we wouldn't get to work with Cathy anymore. We can't recommend her services enough!

Multiple times during our wedding planning process, we looked at each other and wondered out loud…read morehow any of this would be possible without Cathy. Working with her made any alternative completely unthinkable. There are not enough positive adjectives to describe how fantastic she is, both personally and professionally. Cathy and her staff were incredibly helpful and informative throughout the entire process, and were always able to respond to our many, many questions quickly and correctly. We met Cathy through The Farm at Pond Lily, but would unreservedly recommend her for any event of any size. Her wealth of knowledge about wedding planning is unparalleled, and she worked seamlessly with every vendor we used. Her reputation preceded her with everyone we contacted, all of whom had nothing but good things to say about her. Although the planning process can be overwhelming, Cathy remained helpful, comforting, and down-to-earth about everything. Her organizational prowess is awe-inspiring. Simply put, she gets shit done. Why are you still reading this? Go hire Cathy now.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sandra O'Connell or Hudson Valley Ceremonies. Not only did she…read morestreamline the bride's "to do" list by recommending musicians and florists, her excellent knowledge of wedding-day requirements helped ,  my Daughter in Law Amanda immensely, saving her lots of computer search time and false-starts.  Her help walking us through the rehearsal was vital, getting us organized the day of and "on our spots" at the right critical time. It's all such a whirlwind of activity. And the logistics at our farm were challenging, to say the least. I also greatly appreciated how, during the actual wedding and party afterward, Sandra and her assistant were there, in the background, keeping the caterer happy, moving tables, shuttling slightly inebriated guests to their cars, (thank you, especially for that. I think I would still find people walking the horse pasture fence, looking for their cars.) And for doing the behind-the-scenes things that rarely are noticed, unless they're not done. (For example, one of the porta potties malfunctioning). Sandra handled that with quiet speed. And mostly I appreciated how she took care of Amanda's mother's doilies, the family mementoes, tucking things away in the pool house for safe keeping. And for a good, general tidying up at the end of the night.

We were married this past September at Timber Lake Camp and had the wedding (and weekend) of our…read moredreams thanks to Sandra O'Connell at Hudson Valley Ceremonies. If you don't get to the end of this review and only read one thing: Hiring Sandra was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. She is beyond dedicated to giving you the wedding of your dreams, and her ability to execute and make it ALL happen is nothing short of extraordinary. Every wedding needs a Sandra! We had the pleasure of working with Sandra from the beginning of our wedding planning journey all the way through our 3 day wedding weekend. When we were stumped looking for venues that could accommodate our large guest list AND a weekend-long celebration. Sandra approached us with a "think outside the box" venue: Timber Lake Camp, a beautifully serene summer camp nestled in the Catskills. We were unsure about the idea of a summer camp wedding but trusted her instinct - and thankfully we did. The day we visited the camp we knew it was PERFECT. 500 gorgeous acres with plenty of room to accommodate ALL of our guests, that we could have all to ourselves for an entire weekend - camp cabins, facilities, staff, and all! It truly felt like she had pulled a rabbit out of a hat and that was only the start of Sandra's magic! Throughout the entire year and a half long planning process, Sandra lent us her ear and expertise: she listened to our wishes, concerns, thoughts; guided us through a million different decisions; provided alternative options/ideas to meet our budget; and found the perfect vendors to bring our vision to life. She sat in on our calls with the coordinator at the camp, and even made visits to the camp with us - including one visit during a snowstorm! She also managed our multitude of vendors (including 3 separate caterers!) from the initial inquiries all the way through to the end of packing up after the wedding. When the wedding weekend came around, Sandra stayed on site all 3 days and made every event run smoothly - we felt like she was somehow everywhere all at once! We had multiple events, including our rehearsal, a Welcome BBQ, Karaoke Night, late night bonfire, and activities throughout the camp. If there were any hiccups, we didn't know about them! The day of the wedding, between everything she was coordinating and the multiple vendors on-site, she somehow still found time to check in with us to make sure we were okay. But honestly we truly felt at ease with Sandra running the show. Her professionalism, calmness, and get-it-done attitude made every part of the weeknd run seamlessly! And on top of it all, she made our marriage official by signing our marriage license. :) A total bonus that she is ordained and a special memory to share with her as she was such a big part of our special day! Our guests are still talking about how magical the weekend was. Many specifically commented that even with so many events and activities going on, it was one the most well-coordinated and organized weddings they'd attended. It was definitely a huge effort to pull off a 3 day wedding weekend on a 500 acre camp, but teamwork truly made this dream work! We could not be more grateful to Sandra, her team, and all of our amazing vendors for giving us a wedding better than we could have ever imagined! We can't recommend Sandra and HVC enough.

If You Are Considering Hiring Katie, STOP LOOKING. HIRE HER. I genuinely don't know how to put into…read morewords what Katie meant to us throughout our wedding planning process and on our wedding day. Our wedding would not have been anywhere CLOSE to as successful, seamless, fun, and stress-free without her. We hired Katie for month-of services, but one of the things we loved most was that she met with us once a month after we hired her to keep us on track. She was there long before our wedding month, helping us navigate decisions, answering questions, and making sure we were actually accomplishing the things we needed to accomplish. And then, when we reached the inevitable stage of wedding decision fatigue, Katie took our hands and showed us the way. Katie is the rare person who can simultaneously be your wedding planner, therapist, friend, biggest supporter, and absolute bulldog when something needs to get done. She will fight for you. She will advocate for you. She will tell you what you need to hear. But she will also make sure you feel heard, validated, and supported every step of the way. Her knowledge and attention to detail are truly INSANE. She created the most incredible weekend timeline for us, complete with floor plan diagrams and little details we never would have thought to include. Whenever we had a question, Katie either already had the answer or immediately had a solution. And some of her advice ended up making a HUGE difference in our wedding experience. She taught us how to maximize our time with our photographer by staging our send-off earlier in the evening. She helped us figure out the most convenient time for everyone to sign our marriage license. She constantly encouraged us to let other people help us instead of trying to do everything ourselves. One of my favorite examples of Katie's attention to detail happened during our ceremony. She intentionally placed my family on the opposite side of the ceremony from me and my husband's family on the opposite side from him. At first, we didn't understand why. Then she explained: so our families could see OUR FACES instead of the backs of our heads. We immediately went, "OH. DUH." It was such a small detail that we never would have considered, but it made our guests' experience so much better. That's Katie in a nutshell -- she thinks about things we didn't even know needed thinking about. Katie also connected us with some of the BEST vendors we worked with, including our seamstress and transportation companies, and she already had relationships with some of our favorite vendors, including Bars Without Boundaries, Vara DJ's, and Tremont Tents. Her relationships and reputation in the wedding industry were invaluable. If you want the best of the best, Katie will make sure you know who they are. And then there were her helpers, who were absolutely INCREDIBLE. They were kind, attentive, helpful, and made us feel so taken care of throughout the entire day. Which brings me to the actual wedding day. I had ZERO worries. Not one. We trusted Katie completely, and we simply let her gently guide us through the day. She made sure we didn't miss a single important moment, kept everything moving, handled the details, and somehow made sure stress never even came near us. She also literally FED ME. At one point, I was so busy being a bride that I apparently forgot how eating works. Katie was feeding me while I was standing there, and when food started falling out of my mouth, SHE LITERALLY CAUGHT IT WITH HER HANDS SO IT WOULDN'T LAND ON MY DRESS. If that doesn't tell you what kind of wedding planner she is, I don't know what will. She was watching out for EVERYTHING. By the time my husband and I were leaving our wedding, we literally looked at each other and said: "THANK GOD WE HIRED KATIE." Because we truly could not have done this without her. Katie is patient, kind, incredibly smart, organized beyond belief, hilarious, fun, sassy, fiercely protective of her couples, and clearly doing exactly what she was made to do. She has this incredible ability to be both a total bulldog when something needs to get handled and the most calming, reassuring person when you need someone to tell you that everything is going to be okay. She doesn't just coordinate weddings. She takes care of people. And on one of the biggest, most overwhelming, emotional days of our lives, being taken care of was exactly what we needed. Katie, we love you. We appreciate you more than we can possibly put into words. You made our wedding possible, and you made it feel effortless for us. You are an absolute angel/godsend on Earth, and we are so incredibly grateful that we found you. If you're looking for a wedding planner, HIRE KATIE. Seriously. Our wedding would not have happened the way it did without her. And we wouldn't change a single thing.

We love Katie. You don't just get a wedding planner, you get a friend. We live in California, but…read morewas planning a wedding to have in New York. Where do I start? I found Katie and she was amazing. She was a God sent. She gave us options for everything and walked us through everything. The time difference was a struggle, but she was up late repling to all my messages. I'm the type of bride, where I just wanted to show up and everything was taken care of. Since we were planning from a distance, she made that happen. She went over and beyond with great ideas. On our way to the airport to NY, for our wedding, we found out my husband's suit never arrived in NY. Since we were about to get on a plane, I texted Katie our situation and when we arrived in NY, she had taken care of everything and his suit was being sent overnight. She is absolutely amazing with kids. My son and nephew got a bit wild and put their swords on top of the closet and they were told they would get it back once they were done getting ready and behaved. They called her "the boss" and kept telling my sister in law and I that "the boss" took it. We applauded her. My 2 year old grandson was extra crazy and wanted to run around as we were waiting to go into our reception. She scooped him and kept him in line till we were announced. She feels more like family and a friend. When you are planning the most important event in your life, make sure you have Katie on your team.

This is what we wrote the chef the next day ,…read more..... We three cannot stop raving about what you accomplished for us last night. You are truly a master of your craft. Thank you so much for providing an evening we will always remember. Best wishes. Steven, Judy, Daniel ,......... Let me add: Chef Danyell is a magician with great charm who swept into our kitchen and 2 hours later created one of the great meals I've ever eaten in my 84 years, including repasts in NYC and Paris etc. He and I collaborated on the menu; he then added some wizardry to plus the entire experience. I will remember his contribution to my birthday forever.

Chef Danyell is a talented chef and his team was unbelievably professional at our event! Georgia…read moreRay's catered our wedding and received rave reviews from our guests. The food was delicious and people were going up for seconds. Chef Danyell worked with us at our price point and helped us come up with a menu that we were very excited about. He is eccentric for sure and loves to talk but he is extremely passionate about his work and so good at it, too. His team was incredibly friendly and helpful, and Susan personally made sure that everything ran smoothly (and that I ate!) all night- she was an incredible master of ceremonies. I absolutely recommend Georgia Ray's !

I hired Linda a year before my wedding. It's my first wedding, i have no clue what i'm doing, and…read morei'm a mom, work full time, and go to school full time. So needless to say, i put a lot of trust into her to help coordinate and facilitate. I had my initial appointment with her, which went well. She told me she was going to do all these things, and help with all these things. After that very first appointment, i started to immediately notice that she didn't follow through with the things she was saying. I had to stay on top of her asking if she did this or that, and the answer was always no with some excuse. Then she started canceling appointments. About 3 months in, i wrote Linda an e-mail expressing my concerns. I felt that my wedding wasn't a priority for her and if she was to busy with other clients to please let me know. She swore up and down she would get better about keeping appointments and giving my wedding the attention it deserves. Well, that was a lie too because she continued to cancel appointments. In the 6 months that i hired her and was paying her monthly, she did not keep 1 single appointment with me (besides the initial one to rope me in), and did not do a single thing to help plan my wedding. She never contacted vendors, never visited the venue, wasn't having monthly meetings with me, she literally did nothing. So finally 6 months in, i gave her one more chance, and i said if she cancelled this venue appointment i was firing her. Low and behold, 4 days before the reservation to visit the venue (for the 5th time) she cancelled. So i told her i was cancelling our contract for all of the above reasons. Linda quickly became very rude and acting very better then. She had excuses after excuses after excuses. She refused to give me so much as a penny back, she told me i just didn't understand billable hours and that i wasn't entitled to get any of that money back. I payed her $900 over 6 months. She did however offer me $250 to not write a bad review, which i declined because i would rather warn the next bride and keep her from wasting her money and adding a lot of stress.

These folks were amazing! Everything one could want and more - even helped put the arbor back up…read morewhen it blew down just before the ceremony. We engaged them late in the process for support on the day before for the rehearsal and the day of the wedding, and they exceeded all our expectations. Highly recommend!!

I do not know where to begin with Jacqueline and Darryl. As the groom, my Involvement did not much…read moreexceed the food tasting and tux fitting. To be honest, I was pretty useless. However, as the groom, I absolutely did not have to endure a 'bridezilla.' Jacqueline and Darryl were the primary factors for this. Jacqueline was at every dress fitting, and the bridal shower. She helped form the strategic plan, but was on point with the smallest of details. The contacts they had for every imaginable service made planning a breeze. Although they are very busy (for obvious reasons), they promptly replied to every email, text message and phone call. They went above and beyond to serve as referee, counselor, mediator, and fixer. I cannot accurately describe how reassuring it is having a go-to (or two) to put out any fires or better yet, prevent them before they started. For brides-to-be, you will not find a better planner with more solid contacts in the industry. For grooms, cut the check! In retrospect I would have paid triple what they charged for the quality of life and piece of mind leading up to the events, and for the smile on the face of my beautiful bride on the day of. Stop searching, you have found your people!

I cannot recommend Jacque and Lifetime Events by Jacqueline highly enough! From start to finish,…read moreJacque went above and beyond to create an unforgettable winter ski getaway and an incredible 50th birthday celebration at Whiteface Lodge. Every detail was handled with precision and care--from crafting a daily itinerary of winter activities like skiing, ice skating, and dogsledding, to orchestrating a spectacular birthday bash complete with shuttle service for guests, stunning décor, catering for food and beverages, a fantastic DJ, photographer, and even fun photo booths. The list of what she managed is endless! What truly stood out was Jacque's professionalism and calm confidence throughout the entire process. Even when things were uncertain, she never wavered. Jacque made me feel completely supported, as if I had a trusted partner who always had my back. Her ability to anticipate needs, solve problems quickly, and keep everything running smoothly ensured that I could relax and enjoy every moment knowing I was in good hands. If you're looking for someone who combines creativity, organization, and grace under pressure, Jacque at Lifetime Events by Jacqueline is the one. She turned my vision into reality and exceeded every expectation. I am beyond grateful for her hard work and dedication! Thank you Jacque!! Keisha Grant-Heslop

I recently hired Bianca to help plan our 15 year class reunion. Bianca responded on the very same…read moreday that I emailed her. She made herself available for a phone call within the next day, and got me a quote the day following. While all of that sounds like maybe it's standard, I called other planners who took days to reply between exchanges, if they replied at all! Bianca's timely communication continued as we worked together. She quickly made progress in getting quotes from caterers, reserving fun activities for kids, and setting up systems for RSVPs. Bianca was also extremely reasonable on price and quick to come up with fun but affordable ways to make our reunion feel special. She was also just really cheerful and pleasant to talk to. Sadly the reunion ultimately got canceled (absolutely nothing to do with Bianca's work, just internal disagreements among alum about the plan) so we didn't get to see her work come to fruition but I'm confident it would have been great. Upon my canceling, Bianca kindly and unexpected refunded me some of the deposit I had paid her, which I thought was above and beyond. If I ever need to plan another event in Dutchess County I will be calling Bianca. Thanks Bianca!

From the owner: As Day of Wedding Coordinators, we're there to make it happen. Our goal is to have as much…read moreknowledge as we possibly can about your details, logistics, and dreams for the day. We are the main liaison with all the vendors. We are your voice when a question arises and have your best interest at heart in all decision making. We put out fires before they even happen. It's our duty to ensure your vision is implemented and managed the entire day so you don't have to!

Hiring Angela as our Day of Coordinator was one of the best decisions for our wedding. She and her…read moreteam helped our big day to run smoothly which allowed us to enjoy the evening to the fullest. From creating a schedule that fits for our venue to google docs with all important information, Angela made sure everything is covered. A couple weeks before the wedding she handed the coordination with our vendors, many of which she already knew thanks to her years of experience. On our wedding day, Angela, Shaye, and Haley were on top of everything!! From directing vendors to setting up everything exactly how we discussed it, directing guests, checking in with my wife and I regularly, to the smallest of details like hanging ear protection headphones over the highchairs for our little guests. We would not have wished for a better team to have on our side that day! If you are planning your wedding, hire Angela and her team at Elite! They are absolutely amazing!!

Unfortunately, I do not recommend Angela of Christofora Events. My daughter hired her for the day…read moreof coordinator because it was required by the venue. Two weeks before the wedding, Angela recommended that my daughter change her choice of tables telling her why her choice would negatively impact the success of the day. She also discouraged my daughter by telling her the venue hadn't done too many weddings. We found Angela to be inflexible. It was raining the morning of the wedding. The venue was willing to wait until an hour before the ceremony to determine whether it would take place inside or out. Angela tried to pressure my daughter 5 hours before the ceremony to make a decision. Thankfully Angela's unnecessary pressure was ignored, the rain stopped and my daughter was able to have the outdoor wedding she wanted. At the reception, all guests were seated and ready to begin food service. Angela insisted they stick to her schedule and wait even though guests were hungry and the kitchen was ready to serve. My daughter asked the venue manager to begin food service which they did. While the bride was eating her salad, Angela went over to her and scolded her for not going through "the chain of command." Finally, Angela left the reception, leaving her assistant behind, without ever notifying the bride. Angela should have been a source of comfort and encouragement for the bride. Instead, it almost seemed like she was going out of her way to add stress.