New York-Hudson Valley — The Knot Community

Vinum Cafe

jrpinkel — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:18:00 +0000

I was wondering if anyone has had their wedding at Vinum Cafe in Washingtonville, NY. I was interested in knowing about your experience and if any could share some pictures. Thanks for your help.

Generation Video Productions

AlliScott0414 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:44:33 +0000

Hi everyone! Just met with Rodney from Generation Video Productions, he's in New Windsor, NY - he's not on a vendor on the knot and we liked him, but we'd like to get feedback if we can! Has anyone heard of him or used him themselves??

Flowers by Reni - Fishkill??

Shannakang — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:07:53 +0000

Anyone use this florist and can give me some feedback? They seem good but would like to see if anyone has used them...

Thanks!

Wedding officiant

sftbllstr87 — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:21:28 +0000

Who are you using for your ceremony and how much is it costing you? we are getting married at the venue (Villa borghese) and I am looking for a priest or rev that will do the rehearsal and ceremony. Thanks!

impossible to contact site administrator

Blu Heron — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:58:59 +0000

Why is it so hard to contact a site administrator about someone who is being abusive?

Is there anyone out there....

Bride2be110511 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:07:38 +0000

thats heard of Southeast grille in Brewster NY?

This place was recommended to me from Hudson Valley Ceremonies. I checked out the website, and it is very plain. Not any pics, besides one. Jeanne from HVC told me about it. I had a budget and a small wedding guest list, and didn't know where to go with it.

I just came back from eating there with my fiance, tonight. When we first arrived, we thought, "really? this can't be it!" It looked like a dive from the outside. When we walked in, we were extremely surprised to find a beautiful room, with glass windows as the whole back wall, looking out to gorgeous landscaping, and a beautiful river view.

The view was beautiful, but the food was absolutely phenomenal! So... this could be the place!!! I am pretty excited. But, I just want to know, has anyone else been here? Have you had, or been to a wedding here? Do you have any pics?

Thanks!!!!

Westchester Ladies! -Need Places for the Following!

cusi229 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:52:55 +0000

Hi!
Can you guys give me recommendations of places to go to for the following:

Flowers
Invitations
Bridesmaid dresses that are affordable!

And I need more recommendations on where to look for dresses. So far I am having no luck!! :(

Thank you!!

Dressmaker

aprilfresh11 — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:12:14 +0000

Anyone know of a talented and reasonably priced dressmaker? I stopped in at the one I usually go to for alterations, etc and she's closed! I'm looking to have my gown hemmed, and dresses made for my 2 bridesmaids and FMIL. I'm in Rockland, but will travel to Westchester, Bergen, etc. Thanks in advance!

any lyndhurst castle brides?

.jae. — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:47:25 +0000

past present or future?i'm getting married there next july and i haven't seen anyone else on here have that as their venue but it would be nice to get some feedback! so far they have been amazing and i'm really excited about it. has anyone been to a wedding there or anything?

First day of Dress Shopping - Bridal Shop Review (Westchester Based Stores)

LissyM83 — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:57:13 +0000

So today was my first day of actually dress shopping. We just stayed local and went to two dress shops in Westchester. My mom, MOH (Matron of Honor) and one of my BM's came along.

First Store:
Fontana Bridal - Scarsdale, NY

We walked into Fontana and they were having a Stephen Yearick trunk show but since we were 30mins early I went downstairs with my friends and mom and had them try on two of my final choices for BM dresses (and I think we actually decided on one!!)

When it was finally my turn to try on dresses, the consultant (who was an absolute doll) actually came and walked around the store with us, pulled dresses and told us to pull anything I wanted to try on. I thought it was nice that I was actually able to pull specific dresses I wanted (without the consultant disappearing into the back room and coming out with dresses I never saw before).

My appointment lasted for about an hour and a half and I tried on about 10 dresses. I didn't feel rushed or pushed at all and specifically told them that it was my first time dress shopping and it was unlikely that I would purchase anything today. This didn't change the service I received at all.

I actually found a dress I really like but don't want to buy anything before I go to my other appointments which are scheduled in the city for later this month and beg. of Sept).

Onto Dress Shop 2...
House of Botticelli - Bronxville, NY

I have to say that I was honestly disappointed by the selection (or should I say lack of selection this shop had). The people were very nice but I felt like they were pushing me into trying on things I wasn't even interested in trying on. I know that some things look better on you than on the hanger but if I don't like the applique or material of the dress, then that isn't going to change when I try it on. We were in and out of the store in 45mins.

I had a lot of fun today and can't wait for my city appointments in the next couple of weeks! It's all starting to feel so real!

DJ selection

cait7lin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:50:20 +0000

We are seriously considering hiring Turntable Events for our wedding DJ. We spoke to them and they seemed to be on board with what we want. My only concern for a DJ is that we definitely do not want over-the-top cheesy, and we don't want an MC who will be infiltrating our crowd to try to recruit people for group dances. We just want someone who is fun and entertaining without being too intrusive and making the event about them.

Anyone the has used Turntable Events or another DJ have any suggestions or opinions??

Seriously Men's Wearhouse???

kinobeano — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:03:14 +0000

How do you not have pants or ties for people to try on? Also you do not know how to take proper measurements and your customer service STINKS!!
I'm ready to look somewhere else unfortunately half of the guys already put down a deposit when they got measure a few months ago. Shame on you! Why even have a store when there's nothing in it!
Sorry just very disappointed!

Scenic Ceremony Settings

KDurfee — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:09:40 +0000

Hi all,

I secured a reception venue for Sept 2012 in Garrison, NY, but am still exploring options for our ceremony. I'd really like to find a unique and scenic outdoor setting for the ceremony. We're big into the outdoors; plus, all of our guests will be out-of-town and I think it'd be nice for them to get a lovely view of the hudson river valley.

I'm not overly familiar with the region and having difficulty searching for outdoor spaces nearby Fishkill or Garrison. Maybe even an untraditional space that doesnt necessarily host receptions (as they will likely have another wedding that day). If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks!
K

Religious officiate help or a church?

FireGirl824 — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:02:58 +0000

My fiancé and I aren’t from the area and originally planned to have our ceremony at the site, which entails us needing someone to officiate the ceremony. Any suggestions?? However, the only reason we are having the ceremony on site is due to the fact we don’t have a church or know of a church in the area. We are not opposed to having the ceremony at a protestant church and would actually love to have it that way. If anyone has a Protestant church suggestion, we would greatly appreciate it. TIA for any information you can provide!

** Forgot to mention, the reception site is at Rolling Greens Country Club in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Rehearsal Dinner Venue (for 100 people)

seemag09 — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:56:40 +0000

I am getting married at The Garrison in September 2012 and am planning to have a party the night before for most of the guests (a Sangeet in Indian culture). I'm guessing that between 100 and 150 will show up. Ideally, I'd like to bring in outside catering (Indian food) and a DJ. I'm not looking for anything particularly fancy. In fact, if any of my family members lived close by, I'd just have it at their house. Does anyone have any suggestions?? I'd really appreciate it!! Places near Fishkill work too!

Henry's On the Hudson? Looking For Venue For Rehearsal Dinner

wdubin122 — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:23:01 +0000

My guest will probably be staying at The Inn On The Hudson and their restaurant, Henry's On the Hudson, has a buffet package for the rehearsal dinner but I can barley find any reviews of them. Have any of you eaten there or heard anything about it? I'm going to have about 30 people give or take so is there anywhere else I should check out? I don't want to spend more than $30 pp. We are getting married at the Garrison but a rehearsal dinner would cost $25 for only hot dogs and hamburgers.

Regency Studios, review of our photography/video

krodner — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Hi Guys,

We used Regency Studios for our photos and video for our wedding that was now over a month ago. I found them very expensive and difficult to work with, their finished product was decent but not worth the headache.

The finished product was decent. The photos were a little too traditional, posed and dry for my taste but to be fair they are good shots if that is what you are going for. The video's effects are very dated but the footage was good. Both videographer and photographer were easy to work with on the day of the wedding and kind.

The problem I've had is with Margaret, she is the person you will deal with from beginning to end. She is very pushy and patronizing. I like to think of myself as a fair and reasonable person, but she really pushed my buttons and continues to do so. I'm still dealing with them and still frustrated. Although they have been paid in FULL, they refuse to give me my disc of images until my album is finished and printed. The way I see it, we paid you, the wedding is over, you have the pictures, why do I need to wait for the production of my photo album to be completed (which takes months by the way) before you will give me my pictures that I've already paid you for. I still haven't gotten an answer to this after many emails and phone calls. She answers questions she wants to answer and ignores questions she doesn't want to answer.

Many of my vendors were a dream, such as VIP Country Club, Jon Bates Band, Color Makeup Studio, but Regency Studios, happened to be on of those that just added and continues to add more stress and aggravation than necessary, not to mention over-priced. Just some thoughts for you to consider when choosing a photographer. If I had to do it over, I would have gone with someone else.

KRODNER

Blu Heron — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:53:02 +0000

Is being abusive

Wedding hair extensions??? info. and recommendations please

krodner — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:59:48 +0000

I have thin hair and I'd love to get extensions for my wedding day. I've never had them and I'm a little nervous. I don't want a crazy long mane I just don't want my hair to get stringy and flat (as it tends to). I'm thinking, prob. just a few clip-ons to make it look fuller, but I need a pro.

Do you have any recommendations or info. that may be helpful?
What are your experiences?

I was referred to Kristy at Plush, but never got a response from them when I tried to contact them. Any other ideas?

Thanks!!!

Rye Town Hilon was a disaster- ran out of rooms and sent my guests to another hotel!

krodner — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:46:29 +0000

We just had our wedding in June in New Rochelle and reserved our block of rooms at the Rye Town Hilton. Complete disaster! DISASTER! We had a large block of rooms reserved and as guests arrived were told there weren't anymore rooms avail. at the hotel even though they had reservations. They were sent to another hotel that everyone seemed to have a difficult time finding. These guests also had to find a way to get from the hotel they were now staying at, back to the Rye Town Hilton to get the shuttles we had hired to take them to the wedding! The whole point of hiring the shuttles were so people didn't have to drive, now they were driving all over the place since they also needed to get BACK to their hotel at the end of the night also.
I had people miss my ceremony because they were late due to all the confusion. This created so much added stress for my guests and my family it was an unbelievable error that really messed up the weekend for so many people.

wedding hair and makeup

tiffanyp928 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:53:43 +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

Indoor Photo Shoot Spots Hudson Valley

Melsbels83 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:05:38 +0000

Hi!

Our wedding is next Friday August 19th and we had planned to take photos outside at a park in Wappingers Falls. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions about indoor spots where we could take out pictures, just in case it rains.

Thanks!! We're so excited!!!!

Melissa

Reviews and Married Bio (long)

beth5511 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:24:52 +0000

Well, it's a little late, but here are reviews from my 7/3 wedding. I'm not into the whole A+++++++ grading thing, so A+ is my highest grade. I've also made a married bio - with photos - which should (hopefully) link to the bottom of this page. Venue: Castle on the Hudson - A+The whole night was terrific - the food was amazing, and the rooms we were in were incredibly beautiful (especially the dinner room). I had many guests tell me it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever been too - and the food was incredible. We set up our wedding European style - the guests all ate together in the formal dining room, and then after dinner (before dessert) we all moved to the ballroom for dancing. It worked really well. And the Viennese table (outside of the ballroom) was unbelievable! And everyone we dealt with was very helpful and accommodating. The venue is pricey, but in my opinion definitely worth it. Flowers: Arcadia - AI know they have had some negative reviews lately, but I honestly had no problems with Arcadia. I called two weeks before my wedding to give a final count, and was told I could mail a check - and if I paid the week of the wedding it would need to be cash. Then I called three days before to confirm they received the check and confirm delivery time. Yes - they didn't call me, but to me, it wasn't a big deal to make the call myself. The flowers were delivered on-time and were absolutely beautiful! Actually much more so than I expected. The only negative thing was they brought the bag of rose petals for the aisle to my bridal suite, rather than with the ceremony decor. With the craziness of getting ready, the bag never made it to the people who were setting up. So - we had no rose petals to line the aisle, which truthfully wasn't a big deal to me.Photography: Peter Oberc - A+We loved Peter from our first meeting. He has tons of energy and made us really comfortable. He took so many AMAZING photos! And he does the album design himself (rather than outsource it) so we get exactly what we want, and the turnaround is really fast. We were married 7/3 and we're already working on our final layout. Video: NY Video Group (Peter Rodriguez): n/aHaven't see any footage yet - but Peter was really nice, and easy to work with.Music: SerafinaCeremony/Cocktail Hour/Dinner: A+We used live musicians for the first half of the night - a string quartet for the ceremony and dinner, and a jazz duo for the cocktail hour. They were great, and I got lots of compliments from guests about how much they LOVED having the string quartet during dinner, because it was so elegant. Dancing Reception: A-Once we left the dining room, and moved to the ballroom, we had a DJ and MC. They we good - but not incredible. They played all the songs on our playlist, but didn't do anything wonderful. The dance floor was packed all night - but we had guests who love to dance. I don't really have anything negative to say, I guess I just wish they interacted with the crowd more.Cake: Patisserie Lulu's: BI have such mixed feelings. The cake itself was unbelievable (and also the grooms cake). It was beautiful and delicious - even the fondant, which many people don't like. People told me it was the best cake they've ever had. BUT - they forgot our cake topper! I custom ordered the most adorable cake topper, and was so excited about it - and it never got put on our cake. We went there after our wedding to find out what happened and was told the person in charge was out the day we brought the topper in, and the guy who took it (probably a high school kid) really shouldn't have. So, they're making us an exact replica of our wedding cake - with the topper - and delivering it to us - all for free. We can have this done anytime up to our one year anniversary. Not sure what I'll do with another 3 tier wedding cake - but I never got to try two of the flavors that night, so it'll be fun to try them...Honeymoon: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora: A+It was an absolutely luxurious, amazing vacation - and the perfect mix of activities and relaxation. It is so beautiful there - the water was like nothing I've ever seen - it's turquoise. And our resorts were just unbelievable. The over-water bungalows were modern and beautiful. And the service was wonderful. I truly felt like a celebrity. I won't go into all the details, but if you're considering French Polynesia page me, and I'll give you the details.

Waterfront Wedding??

creatikate — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:00:08 +0000

Hi! Looking to have our ceremony and tented reception along the Hudson River somewhere...we are in Westchester but open to the idea of heading North....any suggestions???? Thanks!

Any Patriot Hills brides?

hopeful523 — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:42:30 +0000

My FI and I visited Patriot Hills yesterday and must say we did fall in love with the place, especially all of the windows! It was exactly what we were looking but since we're not from the area, we have never heard any reviews. If anyone has attended, had their wedding, or will be having their wedding there, we will love to hear what you think. Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions of places to take pictures in that area, we would also greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance!

like finding a needle in a haystack...

eclibra — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:06:38 +0000

On finding the videographer:

I haven't actually met with any yet because the sample videos I am finding online are not at all what I am interested in. Does anyone know, or can recommend a good videographer. I'm looking for a specific approach. I'd like to find something like this http://vimeo.com/paperbackweddings
but they are all the way in California, as have been other videographers I've liked. So unless I plan on picking up all my wedding plans and bringing them to California...does anyone have any suggestions?

Reasonable price for DJ?

kmeilak — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:13:30 +0000

We are getting married at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle next fall. We will be hiring a DJ to do the whole day - our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. Does about $2K sound right? We have heard nothing but rave reviews about this DJ, but I have no idea bout DJ pricing and what is and is not reasonable. If anyone has any input - please let me know!!! Thanks :)

Bands in Westchester

CEBNYC — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:11:22 +0000

Has anyone worked with the Tony T Orchestra before? They were recommended by our venue (Mamaroneck Yacht Club) and are super reasonable...or if you have any other bands in the area to recommend, please let me know! Thanks!

Intro & New Paltz Ideas

Honeybumble — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:32:15 +0000

Hi all, I'm somewhat new to these boards, so I figured I'd introduce myself. My name is Stephanie, and I live in New Paltz. My FH and I are eco-conscious and our wedding date is planned for Earth Day next year (April 22nd). I've enjoyed reading a lot of the local advice/reviews on here; they've been very helpful.

We are still deciding on a venue (hoping to have the ceremony and reception in the same place). We are looking at Minnewaska Lodge and Mohonk Mountain House (they're offering a MUCH lower price for smaller weddings). We are looking for an "earthy" feel, and are open to offbeat locations (such as a restaurant, B&B or park). We're going to be inviting about 50-60 people.

If anyone has any ideas for or experiences with weddings in New Paltz, I'd love to hear them! TIA!

Rockland Girls- Need Church!

arbart07 — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:44:31 +0000

Hi Ladies,

My fiance and I are originally from Orange County but are getting married near Orangetown in Rockland. However, I HATE the ceremony space at our venue and since its a January wedding, we must have it inside. We are looking to have the ceremony in a church, and essentially any denomination will do (neither of us are overly religious)- my only requirement is that the church be pretty on the inside. Anyone know of any in the area that they could recommend? Help!