New York-Hudson Valley — The Knot Community

Vendor Reviews

Principesa3103 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:07:40 +0000

Hey everyone,
I always looked forward to reading everyones reviews so I promised myself I would write some when my wedding was over. I got married Sunday July 24th, at Beckwithe Point and it was beautiful

So here they are!!!!

Beckwith Pointe- Amazing, amazing, amazing! Everything was perfect, Linda and Mike made sure that everything was exactly how I wanted it, and our Maitre'd was AWESOME. Our cakes flowers wound up dying before the cake got there and when I asked about the flowers he said that he had to improvise and gave our centerpieces a little "hair cut" and our cake flowerss turned out even better than I originally had planned. Our wedding attendant was also fantastic!!!! Every time our drinks were empty he would get a refill, every time we left the table he would fix the chairs and reset the napkins, I cant say enough about the service! To move on to the food, everything was delicious! My one regret is not eating anything during cocktail hour, but luckily I was able to attend a wedding there two weeks prior so I got to taste everything then!!! I would highly recommend Beckwith to anyone! The view, the pictures, the service, the food....They get an A++

A Starry Night(DJ)- Carol was awesome and really easy to work with she kept our dance floor going all night, I had so much fun with her as our DJ, I had two small complaints and that a few of our must plays werent played and there was a mix up in parent dance songs, but really every wedding has their small gliches! I didn't mind too much. I will give her an A

Title Video- Tom did a great job, I love our video, we didnt get anything crazy just a very basic package for a really decent price. He gave us 3 dvds, a flash drive, and our raw footage, so we have plenty of back ups! I would recommend them to anyone looking for a simple wedding video. They get an A

Nelson Bakerman Photography- All I have to say is WOW! I have seen all of my pictures and they are amazing! I uploaded 300 of the 705 we got back because I wouldnt choose just a few, his candid shots were phenomenal, talk about a photographer with a creative eye, he gets those candids that you will look back on and remember what an awesome day your wedding was. I am IN LOVE with all of our pictures! He was FABULOUS!!!!!!! A+++

Jacqueline Marie(Make-up Artist)- She is a recent graduate from the Make-Up Designory. She did SUCH a great job on my makeup and traveled to my venue. She listened to my requests and made me look beautiful! She is new to the industry, but priced very well, I would highly recommend her! Her contact info can be found on this site www.jacquelinemarie.info (She did such an amazing job the least I can do is recommend her as she is starting out to fellow knotties!!!) She gets an A+

Salon 877- Salon 877 is in Ardsley and THEY ARE OPEN SUNDAYS! My wedding was on a Sunday and it was tough trying to find a place open who would do all of my girls hair and mine! Jennifer was my hair stylist and did an awesome job! I went to her for a trial and loved it, I was sold! I give them an A+

Crowne Plaza- very accomadating, unfortunately our wedding ended up 1030pm and when we went back to the hotel we wanted to keep the party going a little while longer, but they closed the bar exactly at 12 and refused to serve our guests after that time which was a little annoying, but everything else went smoothly. B++

Westchester Floral- I have to say I loved them and Vito especially he was an awesome designer, my centerpieces, bouquet, and gazebo turned out PERFECT, but I was slightly disappointed in my MOH bouquet, it was supposed to be bigger than the other bridesmaids, but I couldnt even tell the difference, and I was also upset that the flowers they sent over for my cake died before they even made it to the venue, I am not sure what happened, but I loved MOST of the things I got from them so I will give them a B+

Fontana Bridal Salon-I got my dress from Fontanas as well as my bridesmaid dresses. I really wasnt happy with my experience with either of them. My dress came in earlier than expected and without a phone call or warning they ripped the remaining balance of the dress ($2000+) out of my checking account. Luckily my bank called me to let me know(not exactly the way you want to find out your wedding dress has arrived). I thought it was highly unprofessional and wasn't happy with the service I received when calling to complain about the transaction taking place without a phone call. I had ordered my bridesmaid dresses with them two weeks prior to getting my gown, so they had ALL my business and I was NOT happy about it, I did however let them know I did not want alterations there because I was done dealing with them. I put that experience behind me and hoped for better service for my girls dresses, not the case at all. I called them mutliple times after the 6 week mark and asked for an update, it was always you will get a call back and never would, I was LIVID, my girls didnt get their dresses until 2 and a half weeks before the wedding, we never received an explaination for the tardy dresses, even though we ordered them the first week of February, I am not sure what happened and I am not trying to bash Fontanas, but I am just trying to give my honest experience. I hope for all you future brides if you are working with them you have a better experience. I give them a D

Pitti Tailor- AMAZING, he did a better job than I ever thought he could with my dress, it fit like a GLOVE! He was PERFECT! My dress was amazing!

If anyone wants any information on my vendors please feel free to PM me! I will still be checking my knot account! =)

Feast at Round Hill

ayier626 — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:15:32 +0000

Hi everyone,

I'm a new knottie and though I've been engaged since October, we haven't really started planning yet. We're thinking of doing an April or May 2012 wedding for about 100-125 guests. At first we really wanted to have it in NYC where we both grew up, but financially it just wasn't meant to be. But since we want to have an outdoorsy, garden feel, we thought the Hudson Valley would be a beautiful option.

I was wondering how everyone feels about Round Hill for ceremony and reception. We've scheduled a tasting there on March 20th, but would like to hear other people's views on the place as well.

And since we're from the NYC area, I thought it might be good to visit some other Hudson Valley venues that day- any suggestions in the area of Round Hill would be much appreciated!

Round Hill House

katiecoyle2010 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:26:20 +0000

Has anyone or will anyone be having their wedding at the Round Hill House in Washingtonville, NY? If so I have several questions to ask as my wedding is there in October!

Bridal Shop suggestions for dress?

Tretred — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:55:27 +0000

I went to one shop yesterday but would like to look around still. Any suggestions?

Vendor reviews - July 30, 2011

Shari16 — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:00:22 +0000

My husband and I are so happy with how the day turned out. There is not a thing we would change. Everything was truly perfect, including the weather, which I worried about the day the 10 day forecast became available! haha

Venue: Patriot Hills, Stony Point, NY – A+
From day one the staff at Patriot Hills was a pleasure to work with. They accommodated us in every way possible, including customizing a package that would allow us to stay within our budget. I worked most directly with Gina and she was always available to answer my questions and give me any input that I needed. The day of the wedding I was blown away by the venue, the décor, the food, and by Mary, our Maitre’d. Mary was incredible! Every time I turned around she was right there with a glass of champagne for me and a Guinness for my husband. She made sure we ate and even sent food home with us. We are so glad we got married at PH. They exceeded our expectations!

Photographer: Nicole Wagner, Custom by Nicole, Matamoras, PA – A+

One word: AMAZING!!!! I can’t rave enough about her work. She is incredibly talented and has an amazing eye for photography. She did our engagement and wedding pictures and we were completely blown away both times. She is laid back and easy to work with. She was very easy to communicate with via phone and email and was always available to answer the many questions that I had. Additionally, her prices were very reasonable. She was one of the least expensive photographers we found, which is amazing for the work she does. For the quality of her work, I am surprised she doesn’t charge more. The turn around time for photos is very fast. We had our engagement photos a week after the shoot and we had our wedding pictures (all 1,100 of them!) after returning from our two week honeymoon. Additionally, she did not charge us a travel fee for our engagement or wedding pictures.

Officiant: Jeanne Stark, owner of Hudson Valley Ceremonies, Rhinebeck, NY – A+

Jeanne was an absolute pleasure to work with! She was our wedding officiant, conducted our rehearsal and we ordered invitations from her. From day one she was helpful and prompt to give feedback and answer questions. We emailed reguarly, and she was even willing and available to meet whenever we needed to. She helped us customize our nondenominational ceremony to fit our vision. Not only were prices at HVC were the most affordable that we were able to find, but when you sign a contract you are able to receive discounts on invitations, favors and the honeymoon (though we chose to plan our honeymoon ourselves). When we met with Jeanne to order our invitations we took over 3 hours going through all the books until we finally made a decision... throughout that whole process she was incredibly patient with us. On the day of the wedding when I forgot our marriage license at the hotel, guess who drove back to get it?? Yes, Jeanne. She is simply amazing. We love her and so did our guests. So many people commented on how beautiful and personal our ceremony was!
Hair & makeup: Nicole Francavilla, Beauty by Nicole, Chester NY – A+ Nicole’s work is incredible! I had two hair trials (I paid for a second one to see how my style would hold up in the heat and humidity since I have very curly and frizz prone hair) and one makeup trial. From the first time I met her, I knew I loved her work. Because I had such a large bridal party, it was decided she would bring along another stylist. Nicole did mine and my sister/MOH’s makeup and hair for 4 of us. The other stylist, Janine, did the hair for 6 girls. Everyone looked amazing and I have never felt more beautiful. My hair and makeup lasted for more than 12 hours (pictures, wedding, and partying after). I will say that her work is pricey, but I have yet to find a stylist whose work isn’t. She is worth every penny!
DJ & uplighting: Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style, Poughkeepsie, NY – A+DJ Bri did the music for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. He also brought the necessary equipment to play the slideshow that my husband made and customized an uplighting color for us. He was the probably our most easy going vendor. He was very easy to talk to and always available via phone and email. He took the time to get to know us and that was apparent in his song choices during cocktail hour and the reception. Plus, he was willing to meet with us three times to discuss music and uplighting. He adhered to our “must play” and “do not play” song lists and the songs he chose on his own fit our tastes perfectly. Everyone raved about the music!Bri’s prices were very affordable. We did a lot of research and spoke to a couple of different DJ companies, but he was the only DJ we chose to meet with. We liked knowing that the person we met with was the one who was going to be at a wedding… that’s not always the case with DJ companies.Upon meeting him, we knew he was perfect for us. He did everything he said he would, there were no surprises and never a bump in the road. The only thing I would change is having a longer Hora. We hate organized dances and chose not to have any at our wedding, except for the Hora and Tarantella (for our families). DJ Bri did a mix of the two for us, but the Hora portion was only like a minute long. My family complained about that, but honestly, it’s nothing worth dwelling over, and it sure wouldn’t affect Bri’s rating!
Florist: Lee Vazquez, Lee Vazquez Floral Design, Piermont, NY – ALee’s work and creativity deserve an A+, but I gave her an A because I found her to be short and snippy with me via email. I haven’t heard anyone else say that about her, so maybe it’s because I ask more questions and am more indecisive than most brides, but IMO, a wedding vendor should be used to that. She wasn’t always short and snippy. When we first met her and for the first couple of months she was great. I was blown away by her work! When the personal flowers arrived at the hotel (she delivered them herself, which I really liked!) I cried, they were so beautiful! My bouquet was amazing, as were the MOH, bridesmaids, mother and grandmother corsages and men’s boutonnieres! From the beginning, I knew what I liked and disliked, but I never really had vision. Somehow, Lee made the vision, that I didn’t even know I had, come to life! I was later blown away again when we arrived at the ceremony and reception site. She made garland for the chuppah that my husband built, which was beautiful yet simple and tasteful. The centerpieces were the most beautiful ones I have ever seen (and I knew they would be because she made us a sample free of charge). She also made our cake topper and added floral accents to our escort card table. Everything was just so classy and beautiful! Additionally, my handyman husband was adamant about building our chuppah, and Lee was the only florist that would even consider decorating a chuppah other than her own. Every other florist we met with immediately shot down the idea, as it is a liability, and while Lee was hesitant at first, after meeting with my husband and seeing his sketch, she agreed. The only stipulation was that he had to assemble it the morning of the wedding, but we completely understood why. If anything went wrong, she didn’t want to be held liable, as she shouldn’t be.
The Town Shop, Poughkeepsie, NY -- A (dress), A+ (alterations), B- (service)I will do this one another day. I wrote the entire document in Word and saved this for last. As I typed my last sentence my computer froze and I lost this review. It was looooooooooooooooong and I don’t have the energy for it right now.
Transportation: Starlight Limousine, Blauvelt, NY – B+They were not our nicest vendors. While they always answered our questions and got back to us, in person, on the phone and via email they were always abrupt and seemed busy or preoccupied. Despite all of that, we signed a contract because of their convenient location and price. They were the most affordable company we found, for the service we selected. The day of the wedding both vehicles arrived early and the drivers were very nice to us and our guests.

Hotel: Comfort Inn & Suites, Nanuet, NY – A+Convenient location and very easy to work with. The rooms were nice and clean and we loved our (free!) bridal suite. It was large enough for 10 of us to hang out while having our hair and makeup done. They kept their bar open late for us so we could continue partying after the wedding. This was great until one of our guests started a fight the bartender and we all had to leave. I can’t hold that against the hotel… Oh, and as a last minute decision we did some pre wedding photos in the lobby and they turned out AMAZING! It was probably the best decision we made that day!

Married @ the Poughkeepsie Grand?

kristinadillon — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:06:46 +0000

Has anyone had there actual ceremony at the Poughkeepsie grand hotel?

I am getting married there in November and i am trying to plan decorating for the ceremony but i am having a hard time picturing it, was anyone married there and could give me some ideas?

Thank you!!

Patriot Hills Hotel Block Suggestions

[Deleted User] — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:27:42 +0000

Hi all,

My fiance and I are getting married next October at Patriot Hills in Stony Point, NY. Their recommended hotel for room blocks is Comfort Inn in Nanuet. We went to check it out and didn't love the bridal suites. We are going to have to get ready there and were looking for something bigger room-wise. Does anyone have any suggestions of other hotels in Rockland County where we can block off rooms for everybody, and get ready at?

Thanks!

Bridal Party Gifts???

jennashadow — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:20:29 +0000

My fiance and I are at a loss of what to get the groomsmen (especially our mature 6 year old ring bearer). I got the bridesmaids jewelry, but we have no idea what to get the guys. I got the flower girl a Barbie Bride and a necklace, but have no clue what to get my nephew. I would like to get him something he can play with at the wedding. I want to pick up flower girl and ring bearer coloring books for when they are seated. Does anyone know of a place to get the coloring books? Does anyone have any gift ideas? (Trying to keep the kids gifts under $20 and the groomsmen under $50.

Thanks.

venue search

art725 — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:52:53 +0000

hi..anyone know of any venues in westchester or rockland that is around 100pp for Sat day? Can be a restaurant and not a typical catering hall. Not looking for Fri or Sat night as I know the chances of that are unlikely. Any help is appreciated.

chris michaels band/faze 4

[Deleted User] — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:36:06 +0000

Anyone have any reviews? I'm loving them online and heard good things, but can't fine many reviews online! Thanks all :)

To toss or not to toss....

lep9977 — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:12:32 +0000

Hey Gals!

So here is my question because I am on the fence: Do we do the bouquet/garter toss or no?

I'd like to do it because the 20-something's will enjoy it & people do get a good laugh.

However, with that being said there is one young lady that will be there & will be all of 14. I feel that it is inappropriate for her to go up since everyone else is 20+ and should not be placing a garter on her leg should she catch it & I know her parents will allow her to go for fun.

I've thought of do a "anniversary" dance instead & giving the flowers to the longest married couple but just can't make up my mind.

Thoughts?!

Thanks!!!

Responding to previous post.

Danadan143 — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:08:12 +0000

I also wasnt happy with the airbrush look, so I told Jill and she insisted on giving me another free trial with traditional makeup. The traditional makeup was amazing to say the least! I booked her on the spot and cancelled all my other makeup trial!!!! 32 days and counting :)

Booked my makeup artist today!!!

LissyM83 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:39:05 +0000

Had a trial with Anne DeMarco today & booked her on the spot! She did an awesome job. I had two other trials with other artists and none of them compared to what Anne did! Highly recommend her!

Need some advice, ladies

rachael7183 — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:48:15 +0000

Hi! So, my fiance and I just booked our ceremony & reception at the Doubletree in Tarrytown (anyone have any good stories) - - we are now on the hunt for DJ's, photographers, videographers, cigar rollers, etc! This is going to be a pretty big wedding because my fiance is Albanian and we are going to have it be half Italian/American and have Albanian...ANY ADVICE??

Looking for an artistic Hudson Valley Photographer

msgallo33 — Mon, 23 May 2011 23:51:16 +0000

I am looking for photographers and feel very overwhelmed. Even more so then when I booked the reception site! I've seen many photographers and all the work is starting to look the same... I want talent! I want art! Any ideas?

seeking recommendations for photography/videography for Westchester County Wedding

ottotania — Sun, 01 May 2011 01:03:49 +0000

Hello,

I am getting married at Whitby Castle in Rye, NY on Oct 8, 2011 and I am looking for a good photographer/videographer. Please help!

:) Thank you!!!

Photographer in Lower Westchester

tally7 — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 03:30:20 +0000

Hi
I am trying to book a photographer for October of this year - I have been surprised at the cost - does anyone have any tips on finding a reasonably priced photographer in this area?

If you paid for your wedding....

Shari16 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 01:19:40 +0000

Did you give gifts to both sets of parents?

We plan on giving our parents a wedding album, but weren't sure if we should also get them a gift.

Thanks!

Ceremony/Church in Westchester?

Colleenboyden — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:50:43 +0000

Hi All,

Planning a Sept 2012 wedding in either New Rochelle or Rye and wanted to see if you have any recommendations for a ceremony site. My fiance is not at all religious, but my parents would like for me to get married in a church since I was raised Catholic. Any ideas for churches that would be willing to marry us? My fiance is not going to convert/I am not very religious...I am from MA but we live in the city so we are picking Westchester so everyone can meet in the middle, so I'm not totally familiar with what is available ceremony/church-wise...

For our reception, we are considering Greentree, Beckwith Pointe, Whitby Castle and the Fountainhead - has anyone had (indoor) ceremonies at any of these venues?

Any advice/experiences you have had would be greatly appreciated! :)

Magazines

tsteger — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 02:12:15 +0000

I have a collection of 30+ bridal magazines from the past year or so used for my planning and for ideas. Magazines include...

Brides

Bridal Guide

Martha Stewart Weddings

other local wedding magazines

Work and Live in Rockland County.

the whole lot for $25.

email me at steger(dot)tara(at)gmail(dot)com

Where did you get your shower dress?

kfsped23 — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:54:36 +0000

Hey!

So I have my shower coming up, and I've been in search of a shower dress for the past month. I can't seem to find the right one! I want a light pink dress, but something for the daytime. Any suggestions on where to shop? I'm thinking of going into NYC, but I need good dress shop suggestions... Thanks!!!

Babysitter Service

kristinadillon — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:45:04 +0000

I am getting married at The Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel and was wondering if any of you ladies from that area are familiar with a good babysitting service? My 3 year old daughter and 2 nieces are my flower girls and i need someone to look after them after dinner. Seeing as how everyone i know will be at the wedding i was wondering if anyone knew of a service i could use?

Hotels near Garrison

seemag09 — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:11:05 +0000

Hello ladies,

I am getting married at The Garrison next year. Can anyone recommend a nearby hotel for my guests? I know many people have used either Hotel Sierra or the Marriott Courtyard in Fishkill. I'd like to know though if there are any options in another town, preferably south of Fishkill. Majority of my guests will be arriving from Washington D.C. Friday evening, so I'd like to have them stay in a town where there will be things to do on Saturday before the wedding.

I'd really appreciate any ideas!

Christine Alia, Color Makeup Studio, makeup artist review

krodner — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:30:37 +0000

Hey guys,
Just a heads up for anyone looking for a makeup artist, Christine Alia at Color Makeup Studio as a dream! It seems like all of my vendors were hot or cold (really great, or a disaster), Christine was one of the easiest vendors of mine to deal with, she did great work, kind, and was very accomdating and even helpful with figureing out timeing and scheduling for my girls.
If you want one less thing to stress about, do yourself a favor and use her, you won't have anything to worry about!

albany ny area

tiffanyp928 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:54:30 +0000

hey I was wondering if anyone knew of some great wedding hairstylist within 30miles of albany ny.Iam getting married in 3 weeks and dont really have one picked out yet.I 'm getting married on the 4th of september which is sunday so there isnt a lot of places open that day.I would have looked sooner but didnt think it was going to be a big problem.thanks all

Vendor reviews

krodner — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:37:38 +0000

We got married in June, our vendors seemed to be hit or miss. I found vendor reviews incredibly helpful during our planning process so figured I should disclose our experiences. VIP Country Club: B+They did a wonderful job. They really blew us all away with the food. Yes it's a pricey joint but you get what you pay for- the service was great, I didn't have to think about one thing at the wedding, it all just came together. They were super accommodating and easy to work with and very thorough in making sure you get what you want. They are very professional and really put my mind at ease leading up to the wedding. The wedding day went smoothly. The only hiccup here was that my ceremony was supposed to be outside at the venue but due to rain it was pulled inside. The setup inside was weird, they placed a fairly large round table in the front of our room, so my husband and I were standing on either side of the table with the table between us, and there was nothing placed on the table, not candles no flowers, it was just sort of awkward because we were standing so far apart and had to walk in front of table to exchange rings. Also, (and I was told this afterwords so didn't know this happened) but when my guests were seated inside for the ceremony, there was loud hip hop music playing coming from another room from a radio that the servers were listening to, a guest had to run down the hall to have it shut off. Westchester Floral Decorators: AI worked with Vito and have a wonderful experience here as well. He really wanted to know what kind of vision I had for the centerpieces, bouquets, and boutonnieres and helped me figure out how to achieve it within budget. He had wonderful suggestions and was responsive to phone calls and emails. This place was really well organized and did great work Photographer/ Videographer- Regency Studios: C-I'm torn on this one. The quality of the photos and video that came out of the wedding was good, very dry and traditional, but good... none of the cool photojournalist images you see at the other places, just super posed photos. The video effects were a bit dated but the footage was very nice. I liked the guys that worked the wedding just fine, but I had a difficult time with the woman that you deal with when coordinating the whole thing, she is the woman you directly speak to when you call about the contract, who you have all the meetings with, basically she is your only contact at the place. I found Margaret was patronizing and I felt as though I was being talked down to and laughed at for my questions. I received my prints and video in a timely manor. As for the website, she sent me a shoebox full of all of the 800 prints (the actual printed pictures) she told me to pick 130-150 for the website, I asked her if she could just choose them for me as they are the professionals. No luck. Here's the thing, each picture has a long 6 digit number printed on the back of it. She made me mail her a list of the numbers of the pictures I wanted on the website. My most important detail when checking out photographers was to make sure I had digital images of all my photos on disc without watermarks. When negotiating the contract she told me she didn't usually do this but she would therefore my contract included discs of the digital images of the pictures. Upon receiving the prints with no discs, I asked her to them since it would be easier to go through the pictures that way, but she would not give me the discs. (Keep in mind, they have been already paid IN FULL). I said there must be an easier way to do this on the computer. Nope I had found myself in a sea of loose photos piles that began to all look the same trying to pick 150 for the website, AND THEN record the 6 digit number onto a list and send it to her. I had to recruit some friends for this in was a nightmare. AND she still got some of them wrong on the website she posted some pictures twice to the website and some not at all.After asking about my discs repeatedly, as my mother in law was dying to see ALL the pictures not just the ones on the website, I asked again for my discs of images several times. After a lot of non-replies to this question I finally called and asked... she said I will receive them "upon completion" as that is what is in my contract. I explained I didn't understand what this meant, the wedding is over, I have the pictures, the website, the video, and she has been paid, as far as we are concerned we are complete. She said I will not receive the discs until I receive my photo album. I still have to have a meeting with her to select the photos THEN it takes months to be produced. When I receive the finished album only THEN will I receive my discs. I don't know why she is holding my discs hostage. I find this very sneaky and frustrating. I just had my appointment with her to pick out pictures for the actual album included in our package. Our package included 60 images in our book. For every single image above 60, they charged $20/picture. Makeup: Color Makeup Studio: AChristine was so sweet and really good. She did my makeup and my bridesmaid, she brought an assistant and they did a beautiful job. I found her reasonably priced and really responsive to my emails and phone calls. I could not have asked for more. My makeup lasted the whole night. Band: John Bates Band: A+This was the most important part of the wedding to us. We searched high and low for the perfect band and we found it! The sound was incredible, if I could see them live, I would go to their shows. Jon was the absolute nicest and easiest vendor I hired. I would invite them all to Thanksgiving if I could I loved them that much- as a vendor, super professional and organized, as people just the nicest you could find. They learned songs that they didn't already know and they had everyone dancing the whole night. Jon was really interested to find out exactly what kind of music we wanted and they delivered! Hair: Hair on the Hudson in Tarrytown: F-This place was a disaster from beginning to end. I should have known from the beginning to go somewhere else as every single communication with them was awful, but I am out of town and didn't have the luxury to shop around and try out different places. I had BM's and the moms hair done here along with myself. They couldn't get the schedule straight, they couldn't give me prices, everytime I called I got different answers. There is no email and impossible to get this vendor organized. The hair came out bad and we were all charged a fortune. All of my BM's were charged $100 for just a blow out and some loose waves. They insisted that I pay for the whole thing on one credit card and then they over charged my credit card an extra $50. After being told that I would receive a check in the mail for the over charge, and not receiving it, I was told they would not reimburse my money, and that it was an error at the desk, that I was quoted the wrong amount and the charge will stay as is. My dad went down there to talk to the owner and get my money back. Angela the girl that did my hair was straight up mean. I had to give a deposit before the day, which is fine, but never got anything in writing, there is no contract, nothing. Customer service was clearly awful, this is not a business you want to deal with, especially as a stressed out bride, not to mention the end product was poor. My bm's had to do my hair over when we left the salon. Hotel: Rye Brook Hilton- FWe had a large block of rooms booked, guests made reservations on time, and when they arrived were told there were no rooms available. They were sent to another hotel. Their rooms were comped at the other hotel but this created a HUGE problem as my guests from out of town that don't know the area were scattered about. Some missed my ceremony because of the confusion which took a long time to sort out. Also I hired shuttles to take guests to/from hotel to venue, and now the guests were at another hotel. The rooms were clean and nice, but this error really screwed up the day for many people. Especially since they spent the day traveling to NY and now they were totally stressed, confused, and late. This killed the wedding for many people. Photobooth- Magestic Photobooth: BI don't know much about photobooths, they seemed comparable in prices to the others, and they did a good job. They were slow on responding to emails, but all in all no major complaints. Tuxes- Men's Warehouse: C-The boys' tuxes didn't fit well, even the grooms was big and baggy. Some said they went to pick it up and had to come back because the suit looked like it had been in a ball on the floor.

Spray Tanning: B+
Patti Glass did my spray tan and was super sweet. The tan looked great and not artificial. She traveles to you and makes sure the tan is even. The price was reasonable considering she travels to you.

Venue Previewed for ours this weekend (Villa Barone) Review

michaelm0377 — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:30:40 +0000

This past Saturday my friend hosted a wedding at Villa Barone Hilltop Manor. This provided a preview of what we can expect for our wedding this upcoming Saturday at the same venue. The place was fantastic, service/staff was professional, courteous, top notch. Food was fantastic. Guests raved over the food, presentation, atmosphere. It was a wonderful night. It was nice to feel that ours this weekend will be in good hands with no worries. They treat you like family since Day 1 when we made our first appointment with Johnny and met with Robert who will be our Maitre D and finally Vinny who we met to finalize and drop off favors etc. They are very helpful easy to work with cater to your needs and since time is ticking until our big day if we have any further questions or doubts we can contact them by email at 2, 3am etc in the morning and they will get back to us within an hour. This puts my fiance at ease as well as calm all nerves and fears knowing they are by our side 24/7. They provide captain, bridal attendant to help assist in any way possible which helps take the burden off of us. I recommend anyone looking for a venue there is no doubt you cannot go wrong with them.

360 Registry

christineditri — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:08:41 +0000

Has anyone used the 360 registry? I made up a long list using different sites but all through 360registry and now i cannot figure out how to link it to my free theknot website.

any help? thanks:)

New to Hudson Valley board

christineditri — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:08:09 +0000

Hi, I'm excited to begin planning our wedding in Westchester County but it's been hard since I live in New Orleans. Would love advice on how to put together a wedding on a budget from far away. Especially would like information on vendors such as photographers, florists, etc. Also, has anyone or is anyone planning their reception or ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Westchester ny? Thanks, Christine

Boudoir Pictures!

LissyM83 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 22:31:15 +0000

Girls, if you're debating on doing boudoir pictures, I highly suggest you do! I just came back from my appointment and I had so much fun. I used Jenerations Boudouir and she actually already sent me a few teaser photos. If anyone wants to see, feel free to PM me since I don't want to post anything directly to the board.