Catskill Weddings at Natural Gardens

solute perfection. This property is their home, and they care for their guests like their own family; they put their heart & soul into this venue, and do the same when caring for their bridal couple. My husband & I were originally looking for a venue in Hudson Valley, but our guest size, desire for a weekend event, and Fall-timed nuptials prompted us to expand our search further into the Catskills. Thank goodness it did! When did our venue visit in Sept, and the grounds were beautifully lush and green, with blooming flowers. We were won over by the treelines, ponds, and gardens. Steve is a horticulturist, and has cultivated every inch of the property with love. We knew it would the tree-lines would be perfect for our fall wedding, complete with yellow, orange, and red foliage (and it was!). On that day, Steve and Cathy took us on a tour of the property, and we loved that there were plenty of options to host multiple events, and have it feel like a ‘different’ venue for each aspect of our wedding weekend. We booked with them about a year in advance, and they stayed highly responsive and communicative right up until our wedding. They also invited us to come back at any time to take photos (including engagement pictures), or make plans for our wedding weekend. We didn’t end up doing so because we live in New York City, but it was helpful to know the option was there! During our wedding weekend, we ended up using the property for 2 days. Friday, we held a Color Wars style game day for our guests, followed by a welcome dinner in the forest. On Saturday, we had an outdoor ceremony, followed by a reception in the barn, topped off with a s’mores bonfire under the stars. The weekend was magical, in large part thanks to Steve & Cathy. Unfortunately, we had a wedding planner who under-delivered, and Steve & Cathy were well aware of the stress and hardship that this caused us. But they made sure that we were well-taken care of, and graciously took on MUCH MORE than they should have had to ensure the weekend was as successful as possible. From ensuring our cake was on display for our guests, to golf-carting us around the property to get photos/video in as many settings as possible, to combing the property for lost items the morning after, Steve & Cathy went above & beyond our expectations. And our guests absolutely LOVED all the photo ops with the beautiful fall scenery. We couldn’t have picked a better venue. PS - A few things to know/be mindful of: There’s no mobile/wi-fi service (yet), but they are working on it. But we loved that we (and our guests) were able to completely disconnect. It made for a better party! There is an onsite bridal house with plenty of couches, a bedroom, and sizeable makeup/hair space for prep. This bridal house was my LIFESAVER - it was a great place to retreat, get my zen, and prepare for the long day of wedding festivities. Steve and Cathy are constantly making upgrades to the venue - so ask about what they may have in store for your target dates. In between our booking and our actual wedding weekend, they built out some restrooms by the bonfire area which was also near we were had our “games.” It was a perfect addition that was totally unexpected!

lowed us to transform the venue to just that tulle and flowers, the grounds were magical! Our friends were so stunned as the venue tucked off the main area is like the "Sterling Forest" of yesteryear! Natural Gardens needs to be seen to be appreciated as one of our guests said, the pictures don't do it justice! Walking the grounds you feel the zen of nature, butterflies and ponds with coy fish! The peace that Natural Gardens creates is amazing! Thank you for sharing you beautiful home with us and treating us as family!

n't believe what a stunning location we found for our wedding. Pictures don't even do it justice! Besides it's obvious beauty, one of the best parts about the Natural Gardens is that your wedding is completely customizable. We were able to choose all of our own vendors, which allowed us to save a lot of money on catering and have food that we actually wanted. We rented the grounds for the entire weekend, so we were able to have our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and brunch all in one location which made the day of logistics so much easier for us and our guests. There is even an adorable bridal cottage on location for the girls to get ready in! Steve and Cathy were always there to help and offer suggestions. Cathy is so warm and friendly. She always greeted us with big hugs and kept encouraging us to come back as many times as we needed! The Natural Gardens is an absolutely breathtaking venue with amazing owners and we feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten married here!

ease. The landscape is incredibly serene with beautiful gardens, hops orchard, ponds and pathways. Bordered by lush ferns and forests, the venue feels like a magical oasis. During the planning process Steve met our numerous questions with prompt and thoughtful responses. He and Cathy seemed personally invested in our comfort, and that mentality extended to their entire staff. All friendly, down-to-earth professionals, they worked seamlessly with our array of vendors, and collaborated to make the event run smoothly and assist our guests when needed. Whether it was something as small as an unsolicited cool glass of water at the right time, or as big as stepping in to help receive rentals when our wedding coordinator failed to show up, the entire Natural Gardens staff played a key role in the success of our wedding weekend. Their attention to detail also blew us away. From clearing low-hanging branches around our ceremony site, to purchasing an A/C unit for the cottage to keep us comfortable, to furnishing lanterns along the entrance with locally made candles, to building us a beautiful campfire Steve, Cathy and the entire staff couldn’t have been more thoughtful. The size of the Natural Gardens allowed us to utilize completely unique sites for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. We held our ceremony toward the back of the property where the wedding party was hidden from guests by large evergreens. Steve provided a pop-up tent to help keep us cool, and once guests arrived, the NG crew used golf carts to transport those who had difficulty walking to the site. The cocktail hour was held outside toward the front of the property, and the guests took in the scenery while relaxing in Steve and Cathy’s newly built Adirondack chairs. There were no shortage of gorgeous photo opportunities, and our guests mingled freely throughout the property. For the reception, we moved to the pavilion and had a large bar and photo booth just inside the front entrance, a full buffet on the far end, plus a 10 piece band on the broad side of the barn. 160 guests fit comfortably inside leaving the dance floor clear for guests. I should note that with a full catering kitchen running out behind the barn with refrigerators, freezers, ovens etc. on top of the band, the generator Steve has was more than sufficient. The band went until 12am but could have played later as the venue is doesn't have any close neighbors. At the end of the evening we exited the barn under cover of stars and sparklers to see mist rising from the ponds and hear the music of bullfrogs. As we walked down to the campfire, we felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation for Steve and Cathy who cultivated this amazing property. My husband and I couldn't be more grateful for the perfection The Natural Gardens helped us to achieve on our wedding day. Steve and Cathy’s warmth and positive attitude, along with their ability to anticipate our every need made for a wonderful, unforgettable experience for us and all of our guests. We look forward to visiting The NG for years to come, both to remember our wedding day, and spend time with Steve and Cathy, who we now consider part of our extended family. - Dara & Joel Freimark (Married June, 2016)