The Clubhouse at Patriot Hills/Inncredible Caterers (Stony Point, NY):Patriot Hills was the first venue we visited. Our coordinator, Gina, was fabulous and she was a large part of the reason as to why we booked there to begin with. She was extremely knowledgeable, organized, friendly (not in a phony way) and very responsive to any questions we had every step of the way. Wedding planning was completely stress-free to us and we credit much of that to Gina as we never worried about anything related to the venue.We had our ceremony outdoors and the venue was set up beautifully. Our guests raved not only about the food but the service as well. We had a huge assortment of food at the cocktail hour (our only add-on was the fajita station) and many of our guests didn't realize that they were getting a sit-down dinner meal too - the selection was that good. Our maitre'd, Mary I believe was her name, was equally wonderful. Everything was set up and handled perfectly but the very minor requests that we had throughout the night (turn up the A/C, get an extra plate of pigs in a blanket for my husband) were handled within minutes. She wasn't in our faces but did check in with us from time to time to make sure we didn't need or want anything (we didn't). Overall, everything about Patriot Hills was perfect and we are very grateful that we decided to book with them.Rick Helman Photography & Video (Pearl River, NY):I've praised Rick on this board many times before because I believe he is extremely talented. We were impressed with his work before the wedding and after seeing our wedding photos - I am still blown away at how incredible an eye he has for composition and exposure. We will have a difficult time narrowing down all the wonderful photos for our album.On a personal level, Rick is an awesome person and my husband and I felt as though we got along with him really well. It made working with him that much easier and more comfortable (it certainly showed in the pictures). Professionally, he was very responsive and his turnaround time to view the photos were very quick. With that said, the quickness did not impact the overall quality of the photos in any way. When he did our engagement pictures, they were available for on-line viewing that night. When he did our wedding, they were available on-line four days later (before we even left for our honeymoon). To me, it showed that he really took the time to get the exposure right in-camera (as opposed to post-processing (PhotoShop, etc.)) and the photos came out looking much more natural. He and his videographer were not intrusive at all during the ceremony or the reception and it is hard to imagine how he got all these wonderful shots without being in the way at all! Rick was worth every single penny.Amish Outlaws (band) (Stony Point, NY):This band may not work for every type of reception (especially the "stuffy" kind) but it absolutely worked for ours. We've been following the band for many years and having them there on our wedding day as our band and as our friends is something that we will never forget. Our guests not only raved about them but have even gone out to see them while they performed in our area the last few weeks. They definitely made some new fans from coast to coast. Our families seldom dance at functions but they got everyone up to dance and the floor was packed all night long through the very last song. We coordinated the details with Eazy and he was really sweet and helpful. He even took care of recommending and coordinating with the DJ and ceremony musician (Jim West). The band learned our first dance song and has even added it to their regular set list. Even if you don't book them for your wedding - I highly recommend taking a night to go see them when they play our area. They are a LOT of fun and they are a group of the nicest guys you will ever meet!Dykstra Florist (Spring Valley, NY):We were originally planning on doing the flowers ourselves. A few months out we decided to get an estimate to see the price difference and I am so happy we did. While our centerpieces weren't anything too difficult (submerged orchids in cylinder vases) their pricing could not be beat and was completely worth the ease of mind in not having to do it ourselves. I showed them a picture of a bouquet that I liked and they recreated it perfectly. They substituted a few of the flowers out from the original picture to work within our budget and the results were truly amazing. We worked with Carol and Mary Ellen and they were both super-friendly, organized and creative (not to mention great to just sit and talk with in general). Christine, Color Makeup Studio (Congers, NY):I went with Christine based purely on Knot recommendations. Everyone's raves are totally justified. She is very talented and during the trial, she really took her time and tried out different things to get the perfect shading. I felt as though my makeup was natural and very "me". I didn't look over-done which is exactly the look I was going for. She did my mom's, maid-of-honor's and friend's makeup as well. They all looked beautiful. Christine was very responsive, easy to communicate with and really a lot of fun to have around the day of the wedding while we were all getting ready. Helen Bohn Bridal (Washington Township, NJ):I went to Helen Bohn at the suggestion of a friend of mine that got married a few months before me. I found my dress the first time I tried on gowns there. They have a huge selection in virtually every single price range. I worked with Jen and told her the kind of dress I was looking for and my budget. She brought out dresses that fell within my price range and if she thought there was something that fit what I was looking for but was $100 over my price-range, she would ask my permission before even taking it out of the bag. I appreciated the fact that they didn't try to sell me something outside of my price-range. I adored my gown and the seamstress took a lot of time in getting the alterations perfect. They are no Kleinfeld's (their shop is in an old Victorian-type house), don't fall all over you to get the sale and their honesty in what looks good and what doesn't may be a bit hard for some to take but I genuinely appreciated their help and thought they were great. My mom and bridesmaids also got their dresses and alterations done there. Royal Crown Limo (Ossining, NY):The driver showed up early and was really great helping to get me into the limo with my dress still in one piece. He drove us to our photo spot and then directly to the venue. I got the sense that they weren't AS organized as some of our other vendors but they totally pulled through when it mattered and we never had any problems with the balance that we had due or scheduling. I can't remember the gentleman's name who was our driver but I believe it was Tom (the owner's?) son. He was a younger guy but very professional and had a good sense of humor. Judge William Franks (Stony Point, NY):We wanted a judge to marry us and my Uncle suggested Judge Franks (who just so happened to know my father-in-law back in the day). We were very excited to have someone who was so connected to both of our families marry us. The ceremony was on the short-side (which was perfect for us) and the wording was very simple but beautiful. Overall, Judge Franks was very nice and had a great sense of humor. There were a few instances where we had a bit of a hard time getting in touch with him but it proved to be irrelevant to us in the end. Jim West - Ceremony Musician (Keyboard): We went to our band a few weeks before the wedding (think mid-August for a late-September wedding) and asked if they or anyone they know would be willing to learn a few songs for the ceremony music to play on a keyboard. They set us up with Jim West. I was a little nervous about our musical selections for the ceremony as they seemed a little thrown together (My husband and I picked the songs). The only thing we were dead set on from the beginning was what I wanted to walk down the aisle to (instrumental version of "I Miss You", Incubus). All I remember was standing in the hall waiting to walk down the aisle and I got goose-bumps at how incredible the keyboard player made it all sound. It was one of my favorite parts of the wedding. He nailed Incubus and nothing was out-of-place. It was incredible how he was able to do it all on such short notice. I think that about covers the major vendors! We were really happy with everyone we worked with. I think what made it so easy for us was that we had a general idea of what we wanted in mind but let the professionals handle how it all came together in the end. We kept our plans simple and if something started to get complicated, we either did away with it or simplified it. We just made sure we trusted and liked all of our vendors on professional and personal levels.The reviews helped me out alot during my planning so I hope this helps someone out!