We were married this past September at Timber Lake Camp and had the wedding (and weekend) of our dreams 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. read more

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I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sandra O'Connell or Hudson Valley Ceremonies. Not only did she streamline 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. read more

If you are getting married upstate, your first priority should be to hire Jeanne. We hired her as our partial planner for our wedding in September. Jeanne charges a very reasonable price, and for that price you have access to: - Creative ideas and realistic recommendations on what will work for your budget - Positive, stress-free, can-do attitude - Jeanne can make anything happen for you. I saw that she recently helped another couple book biplane rides for their guests at their welcome dinner. - Plenty of free rentals from Jeanne - A rolodex of the best vendors at different price points, and these vendors will be more responsive because they don't want to burn their bridge with Jeanne. They'll also often give you a better price because of Jeanne! - Inexpensive staff, like bartenders, people to set up and break down the space, etc. I got married at the Basilica Hudson, which is a raw space that requires you to work with many vendors. I truly could not have done it without Jeanne. Coordinating with so many vendors is still a ton of work even with a planner, and it would have been impossible without Jeanne's relationships and hard work. Trust me, when you have a wedding in a raw space, there are TONS of logistical questions that are very difficult to answer without someone who already knows all of the answers. Here are just a few ways Jeanne really went the extra mile for me: - I really wanted the altar at my ceremony to look a certain way and I didn't have the exact photo that showed my vision - just some inspiration pics that were somewhat similar. I was so happy on my wedding day when the altar looked exactly how I had imagined (photo attached). - I ordered tons of flowers from a local farm and Jeanne arranged all of the tablescapes, planteliers, flower girl bouquets and more. It looked very professional and beautiful, and I only had to pay for the flowers. - Jeanne was super accommodating of my vegan guests for our farewell breakfast, and even had a little vegan station for them with a few simple items. I read Ev L's negative review below. At my wedding, there were also a couple of tiny things that were overlooked - I wanted votives in addition to the candlesticks I had on the table, for example, and there weren't any. But these issues were peanuts, not even worth mentioning, and I'm sure Jeanne had her reasons or yes, maybe she forgot, but forgetting 2 things off a 300-item to-do list is really no big deal. You get more than what you pay for with Jeanne. read more

Hudson Valley Ceremonies - Jeanne helped me bring my ceremony vision to life. Credit: Redfield Photography - Wedding Planning Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

My wife and I were very fortunate to have Sandra O'Connell at Hudson Valley Ceremonies as our Day of Coordinator! Sandra is incredibly kind, organized and solution oriented. She was present with us for multiple venue walkthroughs, offering recommendations and taking note of every detail. She even came over our house to go through EVERYTHING, which was amazing. After doing all of our vendor research and bookings, Sandra helped tie everything together; she filled in the cracks with ideas of her own and kept all of our vendors on the same page. She made a complicated process very simple and stress free. The day of our Wedding went incredibly smooth. Sandra was on the go the entire time, checking to make sure we were on schedule and checking in with my wife and I often. Although we didn't experience any day of issues, Sandra had been prepared with alternative solutions just in case! If you are looking for some peace of mind for your big day, look no further than Sandra O'Connell. Best decision we made. Thanks for everything Sandra! read more

The positive of this organization is that they do offer access to a variety of professionals and support staff. I am always grateful for "one-stop shopping" and my reverend was phenomenal. He was quick to communicate, easy-going, and a warm presence throughout our wedding planning process. I was also impressed with Sandra and her ability to maintain a professional conversation and receive constructive feedback. Unfortunately, the wedding planner I was paired with ultimately caused me more stress than help. I ended up feeling as though she was just another person that I needed to micro-manage and delegate to as opposed to her taking the initiative and thoroughly supporting me. My details were constantly confused with other brides which I found to be absolutely ridiculous. I reached out to HVC twice prior to my wedding to express concern about my wedding planning not going smoothly. I stayed patient as I was assured that my day of would run smoothly- but this was not the case. Many details on the day of my wedding were missed or not appropriately planned for. While I can appreciate that weddings require constant flexibility and "things will go wrong"- our things went wrong to the point of our guests noticing. Additionally, the support staff that we hired to help our planner were dressed TERRIBLY. I was told that these people are generally allowed a more casual attire as they often do more manual labor and move around behind the scenes.. but because they were so badly dressed they absolutely turned heads and caused some guests to wonder "who the heck are these random people?" There is definitely a way to be dressed down and functionally without looking disheveled. So for future brides- my review is not to say that you should not use this organization- but be sure to proceed with caution and to thoroughly interview the staff that will be supporting you on your big day. If I could go back in time I'd ask how many events my planner was supporting leading up to and at the time of my wedding. No bride deserves to feel forgotten or unattended to. read more

While we hired HVC for our wedding, we can only speak to the bartending services. Overall, my husband and I would say that we got what we paid for. They got the job done as far as keeping the drinks flowing, and their pricing was very affordable for the budget we had. It's also worth saying that the communication leading up to the wedding was excellent. However, on the wedding day, the bartenders didn't know how to make our signature drink. (We told them that it was an aperol spritz in advance. Also, the recipe is on the back of the aperol bottle.) That wasn't too big of a hurdle compared to the clean-up. We were told that the bartenders would help put away and stack the glassware. That wasn't the case. Thankfully, our guests were happy to lend a hand. read more

Hudson Valley Ceremonies was AMAZING to work with. We worked with Sandra O'Connell and she was a dream. She was organized, very quick to respond and a delight to work with. Sandra knew a ton of vendors in diverse price ranges and helped us with every issue we had. She knew how to advocate for us and ensure that we were able to get what we needed. On the day of the wedding, Sandra ran the show and put out fires that neither of us even knew happened. She was very attentive and had a quiet no bullshit attitude that was exactly what we needed on our big day. Especially during and after COVID, Sandra went above and beyond to help us find new vendors when we had to push our date. We worked with Sandra 8 more months than we were initially supposed to due to COVID. During a time when HVC was probably very busy, she made us feel like we were the only couple getting married in 2021. As an aside, Sandra is very warm and loving. Both of our families and parents fell in love with Sandra just as we did. We were so happy to work with her, and we were so happy to have her at our wedding! Highly HIGHLY recommend Hudson Valley Ceremonies and Sandra O'Connell. read more

We hired Sandra O'Connell through Hudson Valley Ceremonies as our wedding coordinator. A coordinator was not originally in our budget but as we started planning, I quickly realized that I was out of my depth and couldn't do this alone. I am SO glad we made room in our budget and hired Sandra. Sandra was phenomenal and went above and beyond what I would expect from a "day of coordinator". Sandra helped us find vendors, reached out for quotes, helped answer all of our random questions about wedding planning, connected with all of our vendors, made our wedding timeline, and made sure everything ran smoothly on the day. I'm an anxious person and Sandra (and her assistant Mary) made me feel relaxed and totally at ease all day. I knew that if any issues came up, they would be on top of it. They made sure everyone and everything was in the right place at the right time, distributed all our vendors' tips (and helped us figure out how much to tip them!), and even cleaned up at the end of the night and made sure all of our belongings got back to us. Sandra and Mary were on site for an almost 12 hour day. They went above and beyond and I'm so grateful for their help in making our day perfect! I cannot recommend Sandra enough. read more

HVC is a wonderful, sort of one-stop shop for not only finding the perfect Officiant, but they also provide a myriad of wedding solutions from discounts on favors, to providing travel or honeymoon assistance, etc. We worked with Jeanne, who helped us get discounts on favors with a partner company of HVC. She was always responsive and helpful, and our favors (via WeddingStar) turned our exceptionally well. Our officiant, Rev. Kevin Cook was also discovered through HVC, and he proved to be a consummate professional and the absolute perfect choice for us. His calm, and gentle, affable demeanor, truly put us at ease during the planning phase, and he was always supportive of our ideas, and helped us edit our vows to make it as unique and special as only he would be able to see. The ceremony ran smoothly in large part to his efforts and know-how, and we fed off of his warm and calm energy. We truly could not have asked for a better Officiant to orchestrate our wedding ceremony. We are so thankful to have met him and it was such a gift to have someone as kind as Rev. Cook marry us. I also found HVC very reasonably priced compared to other places I had researched. I would certainly recommend them to anyone in search of a wedding Officiant (and very specifically, seek out Reverend Kevin Cook). read more

Hudson Valley Ceremonies - Reverend Kevin Cook officiated our March 2015 wedding. Here we are right after the happy I Do's with our bridal party! - Wedding Planning Near Me - Rhinebeck, New York

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sandra O'Connell or Hudson Valley Ceremonies. Not only did she streamline 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. read more

Sandra and her team were an absolute dream! They stood by us for 3 years as we pushed out our dream day due to covid, lost our venue and juggled multiple vendors. She went above and beyond what we expected and our day would NEVER have run as smoothly without her expertise! Along the way she periodically held conversations with us to make sure we were on track, reviewed all of our contracts, came on a site visit with us and on the day of was running around to make sure our dreams were being met. We even saw her filling water glasses for our guests and cleaning tables. Like a great point guard she saw where other vendors were lacking, and she did what was necessary to take that burden onto herself. Personable, honest, straight forward, organized, encouraging and kind, she was by far the best vendor we worked with. The experience truly hinged on her abilities to bring it all together. Book her immediately, you won't be let down and your wedding will be a true success! read more

I will start off by saying that I am definitely a client of HVC's, as she tends to say negative Google reviewers are not her clients. To start off with the positive, HVC is extremely reasonably priced. Jeanne was able to pull off a miracle for my Welcome Dinner and made it look great on a very low budget. She is a lovely person and very knowledgeable about the Hudson Valley area and its vendors. In-person meetings are productive. I like Jeanne as a person, but I had a negative experience with HVC and would not recommend them. My take is that Jeanne is extremely overbooked. I experienced a real lack of communication and attention - her forgetting to reply to emails, not seeing them, constantly forgetting details that we discussed, etc. I feel I took on the role of planner by sending her meeting agendas and then recaps afterwards. She asked me several times what the day-of schedule was. I was her third wedding in one weekend - another planner I interviewed only took on 12 weddings per year to ensure each client received the appropriate amount of service and attention. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to run their business, but the lack of attention is not fair on any of her clients. I sent her a detailed to-do list (2.5 pages which she had printed out) for my wedding weekend because I knew there was no way she could remember all the details, and even then not everything was taken care of. A few examples of disappointments the day of: florals that I paid for were never laid out, the fabric backdrop that she made wasn't wide enough to span the niche (as we discussed it doing) and as a result, a moving blanket was very visible behind the altar and that is what guests were looking at, she lost something for the reception I'd given to her for safekeeping,. All things considered, she caused me more stress than helped me and I would have preferred to pay more for a planner I could rely on. I actually would have happily paid a lot more, but my venue told me I had to hire her. I would not call what I received full-service planning. I think she could be a good fit for a couple that wants to be very hands off and not worry about details. She is a definite pass for someone detail-oriented. read more

I used Hudson Valley Ceremonies for my wedding this September and I was so glad I did! We got the Rose Package. You can really have any kind of ceremony you'd like put together and there are a variety of different officiants you can choose from. I actually spoke with a few on the phone to see who would be the best fit. We chose Barbara Stark as our officiant. We spoke with her on the phone a few times and met her in advance. Barbara was great! She was very organized and helped us work through the ideas for our ceremony. Always there if we had any questions and let us revise multiple different times. At the rehearsal she helped get everyone in order. She took care of filing the documentation needed for a NY marriage license. I would highly recommend working with Hudson Valley Ceremonies! read more

My daughter was married on June 8, 2019 in an outdoor ceremony at a boathouse on a lake in the Hudson River Valley. We knew from the moment that she announced her engagement that we were going to need help! I contacted several wedding planners but felt that Hudson Valley had the best package at the most reasonable price and I certainly made the right decision. Sharon O'Connell worked with us beginning last June. I couldn't have been happier working with Sharon and I knew almost immediately that our celebration would be in good hands. Her knowledge of planning the details of a wedding, coordinating a large event and her knowledge of vendors in the area together with her skills in negotiating with vendors made a hugh difference in how smoothly the planning process ran. Communication- Sharon was available by email, text and phone and always replied to my messages promptly. Her follow through on questions asked was always complete. Identifiying vendors- Once Sharon has an idea of the kind of wedding we wanted and the price range of what we were willing to spend, she recommended numerous vendors that we needed: caterers, flowers, photographers, DJs, music, rentals, hotels and bus transportation among others. She has relationships with a wide swath of businesses in the region and her recommendations were top notch. Developing a time line- Sharon helped us to develop a time line for contacting vendors and securing contracts. Her insider tips and suggestions helped this process run so smoothly. Detailed planning for the day of the wedding- Our daughter's wedding was held at a non-traditional event space so nearly everything had to be brought to the location. Sharon was extremely helpful in the walk-throughs recommending spacing, timing, items that needed to be rented etc. Negotiating through problems- We had a problem with one of the vendors prior to the wedding and one during the wedding. Sharon made recommendations of how to deal with both sets of problems that led to smooth resolutions. The bus company delivered our guests about 30 minutes late and I was pleased to see how calm Sharon was in a stressful situation mediating between our caterer and communicating with us. We never felt that we were responsible for solving the problem. All ended well! Planning a wedding is a big job. As the mother of the bride I wanted to savor every moment of my daughter's wedding. Being able to enjoy the planning process, which is so much a part of the celebration, was important to me and to be able to "be in the moment" during the wedding festivities was an important goal. I felt that with Sandra there with us every step of the way, Claire's wedding day was true bliss. Sent on 06/18/2019 read more

After COVID cancelled our wedding, we decided to do a small wedding upstate by Hunter mountain. Having only about 6 weeks and no clue where to start, I am so glad we found Hudson Valley Ceremonies. Not only did they connect us with our officiant, Rev Stuart, who was absolutely perfect, but they gave us suggestions for photographers in the area as well. Rev. Stuart was kind and patient with a touch of Brooklyn humor which we appreciated growing up in NYC. He made the process so easy and helped create our perfect wedding day! Thank you ! read more

Hire Jeanne immediately! This is a no-brainer. She helped us so so so much. Perfect for DIY'ers especially. She made us feel so calm and confident even amongst the craziness of the whole thing, From all the planning to shopping for last minute things and even having her husband deliver a video projector at the last minute so we could play a super special video. We have recommended her to every single person we have met. Even people who are already married! read more

We used Rev Stu for our ceremony. He got to know us as a couple and was able to create a ceremony that was perfectly tailored to us. People were commenting on how perfect Rev's words were and how it really represented us, not just a cookie cutter ceremony. Thank you Rev Stu, we are so grateful! read more

Our wedding was complete perfection thanks to Jeanne and her team. She consistently went above and beyond to make our 240 person celebration a success. From catering our welcome and farewell events with delicious food to organizing every single one of our vendor details, Jeanne is the best in her business. She allows you the exact amount of control that you desire (I wanted to be very involved but use her expertise) and I couldn't be more pleased with the way it all turned out. Our wedding weekend at the Basilica Hudson was perfect and I wish others the same joy that Jeanne allowed us to have. We knew we could be worry-free in her hands. She is attentive to details and always quick to respond to questions. When something didn't quite fit our budget she came up with other options to serve our needs. When it began to rain she had three plans ready to go and nobody knew anything had changed! The cake fell over upon delivery and it was fixed and replaced before we even knew anything had happened. She is absolutely one of a kind and we are so very grateful! -Danielle and Janine read more

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Hudson Valley Ceremonies helped my dream wedding come true. We had our small wedding 2 hours from us in Rhinebeck and I didn't know any vendors to choose from. I am so glad the one person in town I knew recommended Hudson Valley Ceremonies. Even though my wedding was small they were very helpful, responsive and kind with a great list of resources I never could have found otherwise. My wedding officiant, Rev. Abbey, my caterer, and the flowers were all perfect, Thank you! read more

Sage to the rescue! The best thing we did was hire Sage. It poured the morning of our wedding and into the time we had planned for our outdoor ceremony. Sage and her assistant Mike moved the ceremony indoors and it was just perfect, maybe even more so then what we had originally planned. The ceremony was intimate and guests sat on overfilled couches in addition to the chairs which outlined the aisle for the ceremony. The leaves falling in the background really added to the beauty in the great room and everyone had a smile on their faces. That would have been enough but nope HVC didn't stop there. The BBQ, which was delicious, loaded up its truck at the end of the night and due to the wet conditions from earlier in the day got stuck in the mud! We did not even know this happened until awhile later when the tow truck pulled up to help - Sage had taken care of it all. Even need someone to go on a booze run? They've got it covered :) read more

It was an absolute joy to work with Hudson Valley Ceremonies and specifically Reverend Stuart Chernoff. I can not envision anyone else marrying us. Working with Reverend Stu was a breeze and he really got to know us and tailored our ceremony specifically for us. I had so many people compliment the ceremony and Reverend Stu specifically. It really helped calm our nerves to have someone experienced and down to earth guiding us through this big moment. read more

I highly recommend Sandra O'Connell from Hudson Valley Ceremonies if you are looking for wedding planning services and a day of coordinator! Sandra had wonderful vendor recommendations throughout the entire wedding planning process. She has great relationships with vendors in the area and she made the vendor selection process easy. Her vendor recommendations were excellent and she always worked within the budget parameters provided! She saved me so much time from having to vet vendors myself and I was 100% happy with all of the choices I made. Sandra set aside time on multiple occasions to meet with me and listen to my vision of the wedding day and give me great advice and comfort that the day would go smoothly! On the day of, Sandra was on point and made sure everyone was where they were supposed to be on time. You can tell she has years of experience planning and coordinating weddings. On the day of I did not worry about a thing as Sandra made sure the groom and groomsmen were ready on time, everyone got to the church on time, vendors arrived on time and were set up properly and made sure they were all paid at the end of the night. The day could not have gone more smoothly and I know that was because of Sandra's hard work! We paid for the partial planning and day of coordinator service and thought the price was reasonable and affordable for all that's Sandra did for us. Highly recommend! read more

I worked with Sandra recently at a wedding as a photographer and Sandra was wonderful to communicate with prior to the event and a pleasure to work with on the day. She did a wonderful job - the wedding was really fun, everything went very smoothly and the couple seemed very happy and relaxed. read more

From the moment we spoke to Jeanne Stark on the phone we knew she was the perfect answer to help us pull off one of the best days in our life. Not only was she always on the ball but her expertise was apparent with all of her great suggestions and solutions to potential problems that we would have faced on the day of. We highly recommend Jeanne Stark and Hudson Valley Ceremonies. We couldn't have done it without her! read more

Sandra is incredible!! When we started planning our wedding, we didn't think we needed a coordinator. We thought we could coordinate all our external vendors, the venue, and everything else on our own. After getting into the weeds and booking at a "non-traditional" venue (that did not have an in-house maître d', bridal attendant, etc.) it became clear that we needed some help. Sandra at Hudson Valley Ceremonies was recommended to us and she was absolutely amazing. From the first phone call we had, she made us feel calm and comfortable. She was so much more to us than just our Day-Of Coordinator as she was truly there for us every step of the way through the planning process, helping us brainstorm ideas, giving us suggestions for rental vendors, decoration ideas, and everything in between. She helped us navigate some tricky situations with our vendors and always stayed professional. On our wedding day she was fantastic, coordinating deliveries, catering set up, and helping us with odds and ends to make sure everything went seamlessly. We were so thankful to have her and Mary (her assistant) there! It is clear Sandra has a ton of experience and knows exactly what she's doing! There are not enough nice things to say about Sandra - she is a fantastic wedding planner and all around wonderful person! We would very highly recommend Sandra at Hudson Valley Ceremonies! read more

We opted to have my cousin marry us but due to NY's ambiguous stance on the Universal Life Church, we decided to have Hudson Valley Ceremonies fill out the paperwork. The 'Friend Officiates' option was really simple and allowed us to have a very personal and heartfelt ceremony and then quickly sign the proper forms immediately afterwards. Melodie was responsive and easy to work with. She showed up just before the ceremony, had us sign the documents after the ceremony was over, and wished us luck. Melodie took care of mailing everything in. I would definitely recommend this service to anyone considering a friend or family member marrying them. read more

Affordable and amazing! I can not imagine how anyone can have a DIY wedding without a planner. Jeannie was there planning with me from day one, answering my questions with confidence and information needed. Anything that I forgot she was on top of , and when we finally met her for our walk through, me and my fiancée felt like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders, because she knows how to keep you calm, and really knows her stuff. My mother kept saying she wished she had her around when she was married. Forever greatful!! read more

They are truly best there is! Jeanne Stark, of Hudson Valley ceremonies made our wedding flawless. Not only does she does everything perfectly, with such ease, and always with a smile, but she truly goes above and beyond her job. She is a bargain for the amount of time and money she helped us save, and for the tremendously helpful advice and guidance she provided us throughout the entire wedding process. She is fantastic to work with. We would HIGHLY recommend Jeanne and Hudson Valley Ceremonies. read more

Reverend Elizabeth Roth did a great job. She wrote our ceremony and really helped capture the feel we were looking for at our wedding. What I loved the most about her is that she was able to roll with the ceremony. One minute serious the next minute laughing. Guest are still saying its one of the best ceremonies they have been to, they never laughed and cried so much. Thanks Liz for all your support as we begin our journey together. read more

Jeanne was absolutely amazing from beginning to end. She was helpful throughout the planning process with any questions and concerns. We even had an issue with our venue and had to switch the reception location. Jeanne put me at ease about the change and made me feel confident that it would as great if not better on my wedding day. And then on the day itself, she was fabulous. She always thought a step ahead and was ready to tackle any issue before it even popped up. Highly recommend using her for your event!! read more

We worked with Brother Mike as our officiant. He could tell from our first meeting that we were pretty clueless on what we wanted but he was still able to draft up a ceremony for us. We took a little while to get back to him, and he had done the same. I actually hadn't hear from him until the Tuesday of the week of the wedding. But he showed up on time (even suffering from being sick), and had an assistant just in case. He was still able to do the ceremony and did a fantastic job! He had us all laughing and crying. We had so many compliments on the ceremony because of him! read more

My wife and I were married a few days ago, with the help of many wonderful vendors and a deeply committed, available wedding planner. That wedding planner did NOT come from Hudson Valley Ceremonies. When my wife and I first secured a wedding planner several months ago, it was Jeanne Stark, the owner of Hudson Valley Ceremonies. She, and the business, seemed to come recommended and we were excited to begin planning the wedding. Initially this process went smoothly. After a bit of time, however, Ms. Stark became not just unavailable, but completely unresponsive. Over a five-week period, we tried to contact her five times by email and four times by phone, both at her number and the company's number. We had many crucial decisions to make during this time, and were unable to proceed. This was quite distressing. Despite these many attempts to reach her, the only communications we received during that time were generic emails sent to the entire client listserv. Even when we responded to those emails, we received no response. We were very excited to work with Ms. Stark, but the process turned into one of deep stress. After several weeks, and noticing other complaints by reviewers complaining about HVC's lack of responsiveness, we decided to move forward with a different wedding planner and terminate our relationship with Hudson Valley Ceremonies. She immediately responded to this, saying she had had surgery and had been out of commission for, but had sent an email about this to her clients. We did not receive any such email but had received a generic email to the listserv a couple weeks earlier where Ms. Stark did claim to have returned from vacation "well-rested and recharged" and ready to get back to business. During this time, to reiterate, she did not respond to any of our communications. She only responded to us when we wanted to end our relationship. Her eventual reply to us did not seem an adequate response, so we asked for our $200 deposit back. Ms. Stark refused. "Working" with Hudson Valley Ceremonies was a complete nightmare. We cannot recommend enough that you avoid using their services. There might be other employees there that are competent and wonderful, but given our experience is with the owner of the business, we can only review based on what we know. There are wonderful planners in the Hudson Valley area. This is absolutely not one of them. read more

It's truly all the little things that start to accrue and drive you insane during the wedding planning process. The details and loose ends add up to an overwhelming mess of crap that you shouldn't need to deal with. Wouldn't it be awesome if someone else (and NOT a family member) did that crap? THANK GOD FOR JEANNE. Hiring her to be my day-of-coordinator was the best decision I made in planning my wedding. I cannot overemphasize the importance of having someone who can "stage-manage" everything and make it run smoothly. IT IS MONEY WELL-SPENT, believe me. If nothing else for your peace of mind, it's a tremendous value. But on top of that, Jeanne saved us money in other ways. She went above and beyond to do all sorts of things, like renting us vases, easels, and other props at a really low rate so we didn't have to buy anything we wouldn't use again (she has a tremendous storehouse of glassware, signage, decor, etc), installing lighting at our venue herself and splitting the cost between us and the couple who would be getting married there the next weekend, etc. Aside from the financial stuff, there was just the sense of emotional support and reassurance for both me and my parents. We met with her several times to ask a whole lot of neurotic questions, and she met them all with great answers, grace, a genuine smile, and a big hug. IF YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED IN THE HUDSON VALLEY, YOU'D BE CRAZY NOT TO HIRE JEANNE. She will make you a saner and happier bride, believe me--and your guests will definitely appreciate the smooth-as-butter running of the show. read more