Hudson Valley Ceremonies

re our wedding by finding us someone absolutely incredible last minute. She was so genuine and relaxed and calmed my nerves through the whole process. I was able to spend my wedding weekend ENJOYING because I knew she would execute everything perfectly and she did. I also cannot recommend the HVC staff enough. They pulled through to staff our wedding as well for service and bartending and were SO much fun while still being professional and making our guests' experience perfect. Thank you Amanda and HVC!

up our décor, and being our point person for any day of concerns and needs. She and her team made our day carefree and run smoothly. I highly recommend Jeanne and Hudson Valley Ceremonies to assist with your wedding.

th 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.

ng COVID restrictions in NY state and gave us excellent advice related to that. She stayed on top of paperwork and communications with our outside vendors and the venue, making sure that a lot of the important administrative and planning duties were taken care of, which really helped lighten our load. She was always very friendly, warm, and supportive as we struggled with planning a wedding during a global pandemic. She offered so much of her time in the form of video calls, emails, and other communications leading up to the day, even though she was technically just a “day-of” coordinator. She is a total professional and we are so grateful that she was a part of our wedding!

eceived a ton of compliments from our guests about Jeanne and her staff about how hard they worked and on top of everything they were. Jeanne had great communication, would help price out multiple vendors to get you the best quote, and I truly don't have one bad thing to say about the experience. I am a detailed person myself and never felt like I had to micro manage which was a relief after rescheduling and changing venues. I would highly recommend hiring Jeanne and her staff, especially if you are hosting your own event, it is definitely worth it.

were so many details (non venue related) that someone would need to manage—and I didn’t want that someone to be me (or the groom, or my mom, or anyone else who was supposed to be enjoying the day). We interviewed a couple of people, but the moment we got on the phone with Jeanne from HVC, we knew we were dealing with a professional. She had worked at our venue countless times, was detail oriented, calm, and friendly. In the few months leading up to the wedding Jeanne helped us refine our day-of timeline and helped us find a vendor for our shuttles. We also ended up renting some candle holders through her, and for a very reasonable price, she assembled and delivered our welcome bags to the hotels where our guests were staying (something that would have been a logistical nightmare for us to manage alone). Jeanne was present for our rehearsal the day before the wedding, ensuring everything ran smoothly. On the day of our wedding, Jeanne checked in on both wedding parties at the separate locations where we were prepping, and her smiling face welcomed us when we arrived at the venue. She helped wrangle family members for formal photos, and every time I realized I was thirsty (we got married in July) she was already standing there with water for me and my husband. At one point my bustle broke, and she was right there pulling safety pins out of her pocket to help fix it. It was also such a relief to know that if any of our vendors had issues or questions, she would be their go-to (not me!). I have no idea if anything went wrong on the day, but from my perspective, it was seamless. Thank you Jeanne! You are a treasure!

t 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!

ts happening at the same time and Sandra was on top of every single one. Whether it was setup questions from staff\vendors, hosting people that showed up early, decorating, or making sure the shuttles we able to reverse out of the driveway Sandra was there with a perfectly calm demeanor to make our day perfect and we are incredibly thankful. Many guests are still talking about how perfect everything was! On top of the wedding day she was also extremely helpful during the planning stages. Our food was coming up from Brooklyn, our band’s manager was three time zones away in California and she was able to adapt her schedule for onsite visits and phone calls outside of the standard business hours. The staff she recommended were all great as well, positive attitudes with helpful personalities. They all stayed to make sure everything was cleaned up after the wedding and the next morning when my wife and I came home, it did not even look like we even had an event in the backyard. We could not have done it without you, thank you Sandra.

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

r until the wedding day to answer any questions, send over vendor recommendations and work with us on our wedding timeline. On the day of the wedding, everything ran super smoothly and we really relied on her to keep everything moving - and it did! Sage is a true professional and a really nice person to boot! Thank you!

ay. She brought to the first meeting a strong knowledge of our venue and the local vendors in the Hudson Valley, several great ideas about wedding logistics and decor, and most importantly she made an effort to learn about us as a couple. She helped us begin to visualize what we wanted our wedding day to be, and ultimately managed to create an unforgettable wedding weekend that truly represented us. Amanda is highly professional and was courteous in her dealings with all wedding stakeholders (vendors, family, etc.), and was transparent in all communications, be them financial or otherwise. As well, she not only handled our flowers, rentals, vendor/service contracts, and other important details -- she provided a ton of expertise and sincere advice on the choices we were making, which was the kind of guidance we were looking for in a planner. Her time management skills were excellent, and she was always available to us and our many questions. What set Amanda apart and made us appreciate her as much more than just our wedding planner was her effort to support us on a personal and emotional level. We truly consider her as a lifelong friend. We owe our wedding day success to Amanda, as she provided everything we had hoped for and more. She coordinated every single detail seamlessly. You’ll find no hesitation in our recommendation of Amanda as an event planner who will go above and beyond to create a once in a lifetime experience for you.

at 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!

) PROS -She’s well-connected. -She’s affordable. -She’ll let you use any wedding items she has (many for free). -She allowed us to ship wedding-related items directly to her home. -She was in control on the day of the wedding. We made a master list of everything we needed her to handle. But we didn’t hire Jeanne as a day-of coordinator. We hired her as a planner. CONS -She’s unresponsive. Jeanne sometimes didn't get back to us for 3 weeks. We’d also receive group emails apologizing for her going MIA, only after the fact. One such email to her clients read: “Sorry for any delays, I had a 4 day very large Jewish wedding this weekend which had me going non stop for 5 days.” Not only would an “Out of Office” automated response have been better, but she didn’t address our question for 10 more days after that. -She’s defensive. Jeanne didn’t take care of something we’d asked her to handle. We found out 3 weeks later when the vendor called us to say we had to cancel that day or we’d be charged-We reached out to Jeanne at 3 p.m. to ask about it. When she didn't respond by end of day, we canceled ourselves. At 10 p.m., Jeanne emailed us to apologize: “I have been at a re-ordination seminar…and we aren't allowed to bring phones in. I sent an email back a few weeks ago and she said she had to get right back to me but said it shouldn't be a problem. So don't call, let me take care of this for you.” It was already too late and her instinct was always to blame someone else. We asked Jeanne for a phone call regarding our communication struggles. She responded: “Communication - please understand that you are not my only wedding, many times I am delayed with communication because I am onsite for a wedding ... or I am waiting for a vendor to get back to me.” “You are not my only wedding” is the top thing a wedding planner shouldn't say. We did not expect to be, and were understanding within reason. All we wanted was an OOO or an "FYI, here's where this stands" every once in a while. It was Jeanne who wasn’t understanding. -She’s not on her clients’ side. One of us has a lawyer for a father, who requested changes to most contracts. Jeanne was aware of that, and even made changes in her own for us. In the midst of a contract discussion with one of Jeanne's vendors she—who wasn’t involved in the convo—emailed us to say: “I just want to warn you that I know most of my vendors will not change their contracts. I know your dad is a lawyer and so I know he knows how much he charges an hour. So that being said, you can imagine the cost behind having to change a contract over and over again.” We signed with Jeanne in Aug. and this was Jan. Her email was condescending, her warning was long overdue, and it also wasn't true. We'd booked 6 vendors already, all of whom had made contract changes. Jeanne was speaking with this vendor behind our backs and clearly thought we were being unreasonable. This happened with another vendor later on. It felt like she never tried to see things from our perspective. -She makes her job feel like a chore. Constantly being reminded of how busy Jeanne is with her "you're not my only wedding" attitude was rude and unprofessional. If she couldn't take us on, we wish she had said so.

r 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. 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 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, a photobooth backdrop was haphazardly hung and looked very sloppy. 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 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.

rch, but the planner I worked with was not detail oriented and wasn't getting things done. I was planning from afar and she didn't get the tastings set up for the one week that I visited. Just stuff like that. I met with the owner and she was fantastic, but I couldn't even get her on the phone later to talk about switching, or ultimately canceling our contract. Too bad. I think they could be awesome.

booked and referred us to her team at HVC. My mom and I fell in love with the spunk and enthusiasm of Lauren Pasternak. Lauren was wonderful - but truly her biggest perk is her personality. There are some other planners with much more experience, but I felt like Lauren was my biggest cheerleader and truly my friend in planning the wedding. (I miss her now that it's over!) She was super responsive and quick to answer all texts and emails - even while she was away! - and helped get quotes from shuttle buses and referred us to our awesome DJ Nick at A Perfect Blend. Lauren also busted her butt to get everything perfect - from helping secure the table numbers (super super helpful that HVC has rentals!) to finding a card box at the last minute to bringing over tons of stuff to our venue the day before - Lauren worked really really hard to make the wedding great. (Extra plus - Lauren and her assistant did up my bustle after the ceremony - super important.) Legit - the only hiccup was that we couldn't find the extra extension cord. Thank you HVC and thank you Lauren!!! Huge recommendation to hire HVC and Lauren Pasternak.

our planning calls to help her learn more about us and put together the ceremony for us. It was a great process with her where she shared the draft and we were able to make edits to it and discuss with her - which was nice, and she also then put some nice surprise parts into the ceremony that made it a little more special for us on the day to make it something that we hadn't known all about. It was a beautiful ceremony and Carrie did a great job making it feel special!

anner 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.

nitial frustration was with the poor responsiveness of the company; for about 3 weeks, all emails, calls, etc. to multiple addresses and numbers were left unanswered. The lack of response (or adequate coverage) was unsettling, especially since we were potential clients. We finally received a call back from the woman who would be our day-of coordinator. She is very pleasant and friendly, and always seemed eager to assist whenever we spoke, but as the day approached, we grew more anxious due to what appeared to be an overall lack of organization and inattention to detail. This culminated in a wedding day that, while beautiful, involved a great deal of unnecessary stress for us. A few examples: 1) The "timeline" she sent us was sloppy and contained incorrect/incomplete info for several of our vendors. 2) During our site visits, she took no notes and had no plan, and leading up to the wedding she seemed to have no recall for basic details that we had discussed. 3) On our wedding day, while I was getting ready, she texted me about a vendor delivery (she had spoken to this vendor and arranged a delivery time but seemed to have forgotten the details). When I asked if there was a problem, she did not respond or pick up my subsequent phone calls. 4) At the reception, our guests didn't have water at their tables, and the bar line was out the door because she forgot our request that there be 3-4 bartenders. 5) She forgot that we didn't want to do a traditional bouquet toss and instead wanted to have a moment to honor some older family members, and instructed our emcee to announce a bouquet toss. I ran over to our emcee when he called "all the single ladies" to the floor, but it was too late-- we lost an important and meaningful part of our day because our guests were confused. 6) We gave her payment for all our vendors, but the caterer still approached my husband with the bill at the end of the evening. She did not notice these things; we had to spend time and energy on our wedding day to correct them. Ultimately, other than the bouquet issue, nothing was irreparable, and we ended up married and happy. But we were frustrated at how reactive (vs. proactive) and disorganized our coordinator was. We expected better for what we paid, and we expected better from HVC based on the reviews and recommendations we saw.

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

every step of the way with recommendations, assistance and advice. I was getting married in a city I was completely unfamiliar with and she was able to assist me with everything from driving directions and stationary to choosing some of our vendors. Every wedding day is busy, no matter how well you plan, and Jeanne was there helping the guys with their bow ties and boutineers to bring the girls more champagne and bustling my dress to directing our guests. She did it all with ease and a smile and helped us fully enjoy our day knowing any issue that arose she could handle. If you are putting together an all star team of vendors for your big day, start with Jeanne!

’t have had a better partner in Jeanne. It was easy to pick Jeanne because her reviews were exceptional, and when I spoke to her for the first time on the phone, it was a done deal. She had a very caring, organized but easygoing vibe, and a bonus: she knew our venue incredibly well. Once we got the ball rolling, it was smooth sailing. She had great ideas to solve anything tricky that popped up, she had excellent taste in vendors and readily passed along names and contact any time. We opted for just partial planning, but I really felt she went above and beyond both during the event, and during the months before any time I needed a quick hand in something. As a person who is creative for a living, on a personal note, I felt so happy to have someone with as great a taste level as Jeanne. I can be very picky and know what I want, and Jeanne totally got it every step of the way. Honestly the whole process with her was just easy. I felt confident in every step, and really never had to worry. When it came to the actual wedding day, her vibe set the tone: calm, collected, under control, and fun! What she did with our space was above and beyond beautiful. She took my vision and executed it brilliantly. You’d be lucky to snag yourself Jeanne and HVC as a planner. Cannot recommend enough! Thank you so much Jeanne and your team. xo

s and it could not have been more perfect. Thank you so much Naomi and Hudson Valley Ceremonies!

ommented how flawlessly everything went after our wedding was over and it was all thanks to Lauren. Lauren also went above and beyond to help us find the right vendors for our budget, which took quite a few rounds! The whole time she was nothing but kind, patient and all around just pretty darn great. She hand a huge hand in making our big day a success and I'm so happy she was there! I'd hire her again in a heartbeat!