Chris and his team were absolutely incredible to work with throughout our entire wedding planning…read moreprocess in Ithaca! I'm a detail-oriented person myself so deeply appreciated Chris' professional, highly organized, and fun presence throughout our wedding process. Chris handled so many components of our wedding - from the amplification for our ceremony, to cocktail hour music, to being our MC for the night, to the lighting, to the reception with live musicians. Everything ran so well and the dance floor was packed the entire night with guests from all walks of life and ages - family, friends, aunts and uncles alike. Before planning a wedding, I didn't realize just how critical a DJ is to making a wedding run smoothly. That person ends up being the key coordinator for the night - handling introductions, announcing and facilitating key components like first dances and speeches, and making sure the flow of the music engages all guests. Thanks to Chris, my husband and I were confident that each aspect of our wedding would be covered seamlessly. Chris also went above and beyond to make our wedding special. When we asked if he could help us find live musicians to perform alongside him, he sourced a drummer and several saxophonists for us. It made our wedding so unique, and afterwards, many guests specifically said how amazing they thought Washburn Entertainments was. Thanks SO much Chris for everything you did to make our wedding possible, you're the best! (The photos included with this review are by Chris Szulwach at The Story Photography)

Settle in for a long one, although the other previous 23 5-star ratings speak for themselves, I…read moremust add. Chris and his staff went utterly above and beyond for my wedding. Not only at the wedding itself but from the moment I inquired about him almost two years ago. During that long process, he always knew who I was, knew exactly when my wedding was and what we had talked about, and never forgot any detail at all. When I told him I wanted to make a slideshow for my mother and grandfather instead of a dance he said, "you've got a lot on your plate, would you like for me to make it instead?" OF COURSE I jumped all over it - all I had to do was give him the song and it was absolutely perfect and all three of us - my mother, grandfather, and myself were crying on the dance floor watching it. I changed first dance songs on him last minute - no problem. Needed our new song cut down and processional edited - he was on it! Then sent them to me on the agreed upon date to listen and review and, they were exactly what I had asked him to do! In fact, I wanted a fade out instead of a cut off and he was on it and on the day of we got our perfect fade out! He was perfect and spot on with our music tastes - an eclectic, strange range - playing disney instrumental before the ceremony, bluegrass and blues, elvis and michael buble and then almost entirely Rupaul for our reception (at least from what I remember!) there was enough for everyone! He was incredible at reading the crowd, spoke when necessary, and mostly just hung in the background making sure people stayed engaged and present. The highlight, BY FAR, is his use of TVs. He had taken footage of us leaving our ceremony, posing for pictures alone and with our party, and a little during our first dance which was so essential for me to have some concrete memories of the day. It all goes by so quickly, and I had a bit of wedding amnesia, and his video and pictures were essential to commit the day to memory. But OF COURSE we got all the raw footage he took in a Dropbox for us to review and use as we'd like. His staff were friendly, professional, Tori was just the right amount of professional and fun - I dare say she upstaged me at my own wedding with her sweet, sweet dance moves and I loved every second of it! THANK YOU CHRIS & TEAM! I just wish we had more family events that we could hire you for more often!!

We ordered Thanksgiving dinner from Serendipity catering this year and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! The…read moreturkey was perfectly prepared and delicious. I'm not much of a stuffing person but I ordered it for the rest of the family. Serendipity's stuffing has made a convert of me! Perfectly spiced, lots of mushrooms and veggies with terrific bread. The gravy was almost like Mom's. I loved their take on cranberry sauce. I ate it cold instead of warming it up. Can't say enough positives about the whole experience from ordering to pick up to warming everything for dinner. Easy instructions and flawless flavors. Thanks to the team!

Do not use this catering company! If I could give this establishment zero stars I would. After…read morecommunicating with them for the past six weeks to cater two small events for my daughter's graduation and having a verbal commitment they ghosted me last week. I called them today and they said that they had sent emails canceling the events due to "staffing shortages". (They did not.) When I expressed my dissatisfaction Sharon hung up on me. I now have to scramble because all of the restaurants are full and the other caterers are booked. After reading other reviews it looks as though this has happened with them before. See screenshots of emails between me and the caterer below.

The accommodations were beautiful and the host Wanda was amazing!! We stayed in the Polish Jacuzzi…read moreroom which is on the main floor of the main cabin where breakfast is. Speaking of the breakfast it was so delicious and a great way to start the day. It felt like a home away from home for the weekend! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking to get away and visit the surrounding area.

I was here about 9 years ago and just came back for another stay. My experience was just as good as…read morethe first time! Wanda is extremely hospitable and friendly. Our room (the balcony room) was absolutely gorgeous, and breakfasts in the morning were delicious. Great location for everything there is to do in Ithaca.

Joanna was so artistic! I picked what I wanted but she made it even more beautiful and detailed!…read more She also worked quite quickly so she could do a lot of us in a short period of time!

I had an incredible experience working with Joannah for my wedding henna. Joannah provided henna at…read moreour welcome party in Ithaca, doing henna for over 50 of my friends and family that night! She also came the night before to do my bridal henna and some close family. She is an incredible artist, very detail oriented, and creative. She has a deep reservoir of knowledge about the art of henna and she can do nearly any design ideas that people have in mind. She also was so lovely to work with. She is very kind, easy to talk to, and overall a wonderful person to be a part of my wedding. I am so grateful that we found her!

Loved seeing City and Colour here. They have a larger bathroom upstairs for ladies, with many…read morestalls. They had snacks and beverages available. The adult beverages are pricey, limited, and not large. So just be prepared. But the soda & snacks were reasonably priced

Saturday's attempt at enjoying Michaela Anne and The Wood Brothers was my first and likely last…read moreexperience at the Ithaca Theatre. Short and to the point, its effort to be a social club and theater simply doesn't work...the establishment caters well to neither when combined. While I enjoy drinking and good music as much as the next, there is little room for movement, drink sale lines compete for bathroom lines along stair wells, and face-to-face communication can only occur standing in clogged thoroughfares. For those who attend to enjoy the performance, good luck with that. There is constant clamorous socializing occurring, even during a primary, otherwise spectacular event. The audience is never settled, endlessly getting up to grab another drink or to go to the bathroom, requiring all those between them and the isle to exit the very narrow seating rows, to let them out, then in, then out,...You get the picture. Think I'm kidding? Reach out to Michaela Anne (opening performer), who initially threw the audience a clear "hint" that performing amidst the clamor was not easy. For her finale, she explicitly asked that listeners attend to the important message within her next song (ironically, about respect for others), though to no avail. Dismissive or oblivious to either plea or the 'shushing' of those who wished to listen, the socialites did not yield. Despite clear signs stating that no photos or videos are allowed, ushers could be seen capturing the performance with their phones. For those who do not partake or care for exposure to a certain plant and practice that was recently legalized in New York...beware. Eventgoers were subjected to a notable amount of second-hand smoke from the lucrative herb. Did we not get rid of second-hand smoke in enclosed public spaces? I guess this smoke is different. The last bit of folly and experiential impact is the lack of seating etiquette and encouragement by staff. Rather than take to the isles or rear to move or dance, participants simply remained in their seating space, often brushing or hitting those beside or in front of them. Accordingly, once one group gets up in place, so do those behind them if they wish to see the performance...then those behind them, and so on, until everyone in the audience has to stand if they are to observe any of the performance...all to the disappointment of children and those less able to stay standing. Need I say more? Don't believe me?...You'll see.

We hired the backtalk band for our wedding in Skaneateles last week, and they were absolutely…read morefantastic. They capped the event so well. Jim was an excellent MC--he has a great voice, nice personality, and didn't talk too much (like a lot of other DJs or MCs do) but created such a warm atmosphere. Their guitarist played dinner music. At one point one of our guests turned to us and we realized-wait, this isn't pre-recorded music?? They sounded so grreat and the dance floor always had lots of people on it. They play older music, but the good thing is that older people feel more comfortable dancing to it and the younger people will dance to everything, and young or old, you already know the songs. They also learned several new songs for our first dance, father/daughter dance, and were very accommodating. After how fantastic they were at our reception, we would never even consider a DJ or any other band for that matter.

need flowers or a showy new plant for your partner? I…read morereally recommend this nice little shop in Cayuga Heights. Good quality plant material and I always find something special each time I go there. Owners work the store and are a wonderful couple to know. Support local.

I have used this florist for years and they always deliver beautiful arrangements. Highly…read morerecommended

Went to a wedding this past weekend. The grounds are gorgeous. The waterfall was beautiful. It had…read morea good flow. The best was they might so we could hear the bridal and groom say their vows. The house was cute parking was limited, so it was a lot of work for them to put together, but they pulled it off and it was beautiful.