My husband and I were married on a beautiful Saturday in May in Poughkeepsie, NY. We, and all of our guests, were from out-of-town (many from the NYC, DC, and Houston areas).
Ceremony - The Catholic-Jewish ceremony took place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Poughkeepsie. The church was very accomodating and worked with us to include a rabbi co-celebrant for the ceremony.
Rehearsal Dinner - I cannot say enough amazing things about Canvas, the private space owned by Artist's Palate. The food was out of this world delicious. The private bar and dining space was perfect for our 50 person group.
Pre-wedding Pampering - The bridal party and mother of the bride enjoyed massages and facials at the Buttermilk Falls Inn. They were heavenly! Everyone had nothing but compliments for their service. I wish we had spent more time by the pool and sauna relaxing.
Reception - We picked the Grandview because of the beautiful location overlooking the Hudson River. It did not disappoint. The wedding day service was top notch - above and beyond expectations. The food was delicious. We added on the chilled seafood to cocktail hour, and it was a bit hit. The cake (amaretto with rasperries and rasperry mouse) was melt in your mouth delicious and gorgeous. Being from out-of-town, I was disappointed that there was no way to do one private tasting to try all the food we wanted to serve. Instead, my parents, the groom, and I trekked up to Poughkeepsie for three different tastings to try a wide variety of the food on their menu.
Florist - Petals by Alice did an amazing job with the flowers. Alice did a great job working with my budget and vision of low and long arrangments of lush, garden-esque arrangements of hydrangea, roses, tulips... The wedding flowers were absolutely gorgeous! I loved the bouquets and table arrangements especially.
Photographer - I haven't seen the photos yet, so all I'll say is that I really loved working with Dave and Sandy of Dave Richards Photography. They flew in from Southern California with zero issues, and they were happy to accomodate our Hyde Park tour of photo locations and extension of service during the reception.
Limo/Transportation - We used Settembre Limo for a standard limo from the hotel to the church to pictures and back to the reception. We also had a town car take us to the airport the next day. No complaints!
DJ - Enriquez Entertainment did a good job as our DJ. I must admit that I probably should have given more direction/details, but it all worked out in the end. The father daughter and mother son dances didn't occur until nearly the end of the reception, causing us to extend our photographer's hours. Otherwise, the music selection was great and we enjoyed the MC.
Hotel - The Poughkeepsie Grand was part of the Grandview package. The best part was the trolley that ran until 2am for all of our guests to get from the hotel to the reception and afterparty and back. The group reservation system was a bit confusing in that people who forgot to use the group code or mention our wedding when booking over the phone were not included in our list. Although the rooms were sold out a few weeks prior to the wedding, others became avaialble and none of our guests had any problems not being able to make a reservation. One complaint is that I had requested to have the bridal suite early on the day of the wedding. Given that checkout for the night before was at noon, it would have been nice to have the suite ready by noon. Unfortunately, that didn't work out and we stayed in the standard room until the suite was ready.
Hotel Brunch - We had a private room for brunch for our guests the morning after the wedding at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel. It was a nice way to end the festive weekend. The buffet was served in a wedding ballroom, and the food was very good.
Dress - I bought my Ulla Maija wedding gown at Gabriella's on 14th Street in NYC. Their staff and service was the best of all the places I visited. I highly recommend their shop!
Veil Restoration - I had my mom's veil cleaned, re-beaded, and adjusted at Bridal Veil Falls in the Lower East Side in NYC. Margaret's hand work is beautiful. She adapted the veil, and even exactly matched the lace to repair various parts. I highly recommend her!