Constellation

In mid march we went to the NY Botanical Gardens to meet with John Garone to plan the wedding for our daughter that would take place on October 29, 2016. From that moment to 11:;00 PM on the 29TH of October, John took us gently by the hand and led us thru all the plans, every detail for a wedding that was wonderful, equally beautiful, and felt so personal! If we were to do this again, I would not change one thing! John is the best that you could possibly wish for! Go for it!

My husband and I were blown away by the event facilitated for us by Stephen Starr at the NYBG, most specifically the Director of Events, Stephanie Hill. This was our dream venue and it met our expectations tenfold. The location is, of course, absolutely gorgeous. The food was also excellent. Stephanie and her staff were incredible- so professional, flexible, responsive, down-to-earth, calm (and calming!), efficient, nice (not always easy to find in this arena), on-point and totally trustworthy. They did an impeccable job. Stephanie could be trusted 100% to guide us as well as the entire event in a stress-free manner. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect and I feel that one of the main reasons for this (if not the most essential) was the work that Stephanie and her team put into the event. During the planning process there were some bumps in the road with staffing changes, yet this did not affect the end result or Stephanie's work with us. I attribute that to Stephanie and her team's complete professionalism and talent.

It has been my dream to have a wedding at the Stone Mill at the NYBG. The day itself was perfect- the service offered by Stephen Starr was Terrible. Two of our event coordinators "quit/let go" so we had to change event coordinators as late as 2 weeks before our wedding! Then the night of our wedding they lost my husbands phone. He gave it to the coat check and when we went to retrieve our belongings, the phone was no where to be found, turns out they gave it to the wedding party from the morning. This also caused us to go over our limo contract and we had to pay an overtime fee for our limo. When we came back from our honeymoon, the phone was no where to be found and Jennifer Kelly acted as she never heard of our claim and the entire story. There was poor communication between the entire staff and it took my 3 weeks to get to the bottom of everything. At first they only agreed to pay for our phone and when i kept asking why they wouldn't compensate us for the limo charge since it was their fault, she would not respond. She only agreed to pay us the limo overtime fee after i threatened to go to small claims court. Its been over a month since my wedding and the check that they promised to send is still not here. I had to reach out to her again asking when the check is going to be sent and she replied telling me it takes a month to go through their accounting department... instead of remembering what a beautiful wedding i had, I have to be reminded that they lost my husbands phone and i'm still waiting on that check.

I had my wedding during the day in June at the Stone Mill. I always wanted to get married in a garden and after visiting the site, I fell in love. The Stone Mill is located right on top of a peaceful brook in a tucked away section of the gardens. The reception area has an adorable rustic decor and the outdoor ceremony space is amazing. Stephen Starr was the exclusive caterer for the site. Once I decided on the location, I didn't have much other choice on catering. Overall, I have to say I am extremely pleased with how things turned out. The venue was idyllic, the staff were really helpful and accommodating, the food was so delicious (everyone complimented), and since I did a day wedding, the price was very affordable. It was a great option as the gardens are beautiful during the day and I've heard the Stone Mill can be pretty dark at night anyway. Here's a breakdown of things that worked and didn't: - Stephen Starr events just took over the contract for the Botanical Gardens from Abigail Kirsch. They had a lot of issues with staff turnover and organization. I remember the contract I had to sign needed to be revised because I found inconsistencies from what they told me. For example, the end time of the wedding! They were very easy and pleasant about it when I pointed it all out, but I would be very diligent about reading and double-checking all the fine print. In addition, there was a lot of staff turnover this year. I worked with 2 people from their company for most of my planning that ended up leaving before my wedding. I was a bit freaked out at one point because my day-of event coordinator had left and her replacement was not meant to start until 1 month before my wedding. Communication with the company was not as easy as I'd have liked. I remember having to send lots of emails and make multiple phone calls to the director of catering because she wouldn't respond. She ended up leaving, but in general, I usually had to reach out to get updates or questions answered. Everyone was very nice when I did get a hold of them. Ultimately, it all worked out in the end, but it was a bit stressful. - On the positive side, there were really a lot of good things to say. Stephen Starr was super-accomodating with my requests. I wanted to come earlier to get ready at the gardens; they let me stay later in the bridal room, which was really helpful as I had planned a dress change; they were very easy about any special requests I had; they had a lot of really good suggestions during my walk-thru and we ended up leveraging the outdoor space more, which I'm so happy about in retrospect; they meticulously helped me set up all my special decorations for the ceremony and reception space; they would let me schedule meetings with them in the late evening or on the weekends; event staff were super helpful and on top of things - our "butler" was so great. He pretty much followed us around carrying my dress train when we had our photos and making sure my husband always had a full drink in his hand. Like I said, overall, I loved my wedding day and they were a big part of that. There are aspects of it that could have been easier, but when you consider the location, the food, the price, the level of service, I'd definitely recommend them.