Ceremonies and Event Planning of the Finger Lakes Reviews

Ceremonies and Event Planning of the Finger Lakes

Ithaca, NY

4.6 out of 5 rating, 15 reviews

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4.6 out of 5 rating

4.6

Very good

15 reviews

Recommended by 93% of couples

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Quality of service
4.6 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4.7 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
4.6 out of 5 rating
Value
4.7 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
4.6 out of 5 rating

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Megan Sent on 08/07/2021

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Perfect Ceremony

We could not have asked for a better officiant for our wedding than Barbara! First, we truly appreciated Barbara’s flexibility when we were forced to postpone our wedding due to COVID. It helped to make the transition to the new date so much easier! As for the ceremony itself, we were so impressed by the way Barbara made it so meaningful and personalized to us. We wanted a ceremony that really felt like us and fit our personalities, and to listen to our ceremony, you would have thought that Barbara had known us our whole lives, despite only knowing us a short time! We also appreciated the way she included us in building our ceremony. She gave us so many wonderful ideas for everything from the processional (we loved the suggestion to have the groom walk in with his mother!) to the vows. Afterward, so many people came up to us to tell us how sweet and romantic and special our ceremony was. That was exactly how we wanted our ceremony to feel, and that can definitely be attributed to Barbara and all of her hard work. We would highly recommend!
Eleanor Sent on 11/18/2018

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Absolutely wonderful

Barbara is amazing. She is warm and welcoming. She got to know my husband and I both individually and as a couple. She learned about our values and what we wanted in a wedding ceremony. She was attentive and responsive throughout the entire process. You can tell she puts a lot of time, energy, and thought into the work she produces. We absolutely loved our ceremony. We felt it truly reflected who we are. We received so many compliments on our ceremony, with many people saying it was the most meaningful or most personal ceremony they’ve ever been to. Highly recommend!
Jesse Sent on 09/20/2017

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Barb was the officiant for our wedding in June 2017. She did a fantastic job, and wrote us a lovely, personal ceremony that was perfect for our event. We worked with her for several months before the wedding, meeting with her several times and answering extensive questions about ourselves and our relationship that let her personalize our ceremony. She worked with us to organize the processional and recessional, as well as the ceremony, and incorporated readings that we chose. She held the rehearsal with us the day before, and showed everyone their part and place. The day of, she coordinated with our other vendors to pull off a lovely ceremony.

Overall, it was an extremely positive experience for us, and many of our guests commented on what a lovely and personal ceremony we had. Several told us it was the best ceremony they had been to in many years.

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User1340025 Sent on 09/21/2013

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It gave me the opportunity to be a guest at my daughter's wedding rather than having to worry about details. That was worth everything
User1296782 Sent on 08/21/2013

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Jennifer worked with us for 2 years plus to arrange a graduation weekend in Ithaca for our Cornell grad son, our family and friends. She was creative, professional, detail oriented, and responsive. She found our house for the long weekend after our search of bed and breakfasts and other homes was not fruitful, and also located the perfect caterer and bartender for our party for 50. She told me where to go for flowers after meeting with them herself and sending a photo of a sample arrangement!, She also showed me where to purchase added food items for meals at home other than the party, and recommended someone to lead a private wine tour on one of the other weekend days. We think she is fabulous!
Katrina Sent on 07/28/2013

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Planning a wedding from out of town, I was looking for someone that could could provide a personalized wedding ceremony and incorporate some traditions from the Jewish faith. By searching through the local Jewish humanist synagogue, I got connected to Barbara. From the first email correspondence we exchanged, I felt an immediate connection and could tell she was truly committed to providing just such an intimate, personal wedding ceremony. We corresponded via email for awhile and over the phone, then we met in person. Each time, Barbara impressed us with her professionalism and investment in providing us a ideal ceremony. She had some great resources and ideas and was very open to our ideas.
One of the things that stands out is the way Barbara really made things personal. When we met in person, she "interviewed" my fiancee and myself individually about our love story and then incorporated these personal pieces in our final ceremony. We hadn't heard each other's reflections and this made for an incredibly emotional experience. I cannot emphasize how beautiful the ceremony was. Rarely is the ceremony the highlight of a wedding, but our guests never stopped telling us that this was the most beautiful wedding ceremony they ever attended (we, of course, thought so too). After the wedding excitement was over, we got a copy of the ceremony and treasure this as a great memento of our day. From a bride perspective, it is a really intimate experience to be up at the alter with your fiancee and another person. I appreciated having someone as caring as Barbara there with us- it really emphasized what a personal experience the ceremony was.
Barbara and Jennifer were extremely organized and a pleasure to work with. I consider both family friends after the wonderful experience we had with them!
Toni Sent on 07/17/2013

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Our 50th anniversary was bigger in every way than our original wedding and Barbara and Jennifer made it work beautifully. We contacted Ceremonies and Events when we realized we needed help and this pair really did the job. We outlined what we had in mind - a full weekend of events. They did the legwork and presented us with options for venues and vendors. We made some choices and they did the rest, handling negotiations and execution all along the way. They even set up a comparative chocolate tasting so we could pick the local artisanal supplier that suited us best. They helpfully suggested possibilities we hadn't considered. Our Fri. hospitality, Saturday ceremony and luncheon, family reunion picnic and Sunday brunch were all superbly done. Barb and Jennifer even custom blended trail mix for our guests' welcome bags!

As our working relationship developed, I discovered I could relax. I no longer woke a 3 a.m. with details racing around in my head. These ladies were taking care of the details!

Each site was beautiful, all the food was delicious and attractively displayed and the entertainers they recommended were superb. The mood was right throughout!
Marc Sent on 07/15/2013

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Working with Barb from Ceremonies and Event Planning was a GREAT experience! She had wonderful ideas and contacts throughout the Finger Lakes area that made a big difference! If it wasn't for Barb we never would have found the incredible location for our ceremony and reception (Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine in Lodi, NY).

We did not intend for Barb to be "the wedding planner" - and we knew that it not typically how she works. Instead, viewed her as our "wedding coordinator" who kept things in order, helped us stay super-organized and on task, and provided us needed information as needed. It was a wonderful collaboration. For instance, Barb helped get us potential contacts for florists, but then we went to the florists ourselves and made our selection of who to use. Then, Barb looped in our florist to the other plans for the ceremony/reception and was the key liason between us and all of our (many) vendors.

We had a WONDERFUL and unique wedding weekend and we would not have been able to do that without Barb's help, organization and knowledge. She is super easy-going, friendly, personable and knew how to tactfully help the two of us figure out some tricky planning issues. (I sometimes joked that she acted as a couples therapist at times mediating our different views!)

I would HIGHLY recommend Barb and Ceremonies and Event Planning to anyone having a wedding in the Finger Lakes area!!!
Marci Sent on 07/12/2013

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Jennifer (and Barb) were wonderful! My daughter's wedding was the most elegant, joyful, well-planned affair I've ever attended and there's no way that could have happened without these lovely, attentive ladies. For two days - the rehearsal and the dinner which was opened to all the guests, and then the day of the wedding, when anyone had a question, they just had to turn and find one of these wizards. They made sure everyone and everything was where they needed to be, and amazingly my daughter was able to relax and really enjoy all the fruits of the meticulous planning and execution. We so highly recommend these warm, wonderful planners!
Sarah Sent on 12/30/2012

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We worked with Jennifer was was awesome. She understood our vision and made our dreams come true. She worked behind the scenes to ensure everything was perfect. I would very much recommend!
Jessica Sent on 09/29/2011

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We hired Ceremonies and Event Planning of the Finger Lakes to help with our wedding planning needs a little over 2 months before our actual wedding day. We used their "day of" planning services with several hours of advanced planning added in as well. I had been planning the wedding by myself for 9 months prior to that point (so all of my vendors etc had already been booked) but the logistics were getting very complicated. I was living in NYC at the time and planning an Ithaca wedding (which included 200 out-of-town guests staying at 4 different hotels...and we were providing transportation from each hotel to the ceremony, from the ceremony to the reception 15 minutes away, and back to the hotels at the end of the evening). I also had vendors coming in from all over the state of NY, both inside and outside of Ithaca, many of which had never been to either of my venues. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and I decided that I needed some official help. I could not have asked for a better teammate than the one I found in Jennifer Lawrence Birnbaum. From the start, Jennifer was very professional and highly efficient, which I really needed. She was also understanding and compassionate during the times when I was feeling stressed, which I also really needed. She kept me focused and she got me organized. She ultimately made me think about things that I had not even considered before working with her, but which ultimately led to a smoother wedding day for me and my wedding party and a better overall experience for my guests. Jennifer is well versed in what goes into successfully hosting a large wedding in Ithaca and she knows what works and what doesn't. Throughout the months leading up to my wedding Jennifer was more than generous with her time, often exchanging late night phone calls and e-mails with me, and she was extremely responsive. I was pretty stressed at times, but ultimately I took comfort in knowing that Jennifer was there for me and that she would be with me, helping me, on my wedding day. She organized my entire rehearsal, which I was incredibly grateful for, so by the time we were at the chapel on wedding day everyone was completely relaxed and prepared. On my wedding day, I was finally able to relax a little myself and I let Jennifer take over. We had worked out a wedding day timeline for ourselves as well as for each individual vendor and I knew that I was safe in Jennifer's hands after that. I cannot thank her enough for all of her help in making the most important day of my life such a happy one. I could not have pulled it off half as well without you!!!
Lisa Sent on 07/15/2013

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Ceremonies and Events did everything we had asked and more. I hired Barb to do our ceremony, and she delivered exactly what we asked for. I had no idea how to plan the procession, recession, music, candle lighting, timing, etc. She did it all and it was great. Jennifer was our day of coordinator with a little of advanced planning. By the time I hired them I had almost everything figured out and they helped put the final pieces in place. Jennifer did our day of excel sheets, with timelines, who was bringing what, etc. She reminded me about little things like coffee and tea, things that I would have never thought of on my own! I did contact almost all of the vendors on my own, mostly because I had everyone booked up already. She helped a lot with suggestions and advice about who to talk to. On the day of Jennifer was running around and making sure everything went smoothly. I was certainly disappointed with several of my vendors, so I am by no means easy to please. But Barb and Jennifer did exactly what we had agreed upon, and they did it well. Jennifer helped out beyond what was expected with her vendor recommendations during the final planning process. So if you are a bride that is trying to do everything herself, and needs just a little help in the right areas, I think Ceremonies and Event Planning of the Finger Lakes is perfect for you!
Catherine Sent on 08/14/2016

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Barb and Jennifer did an AMAZING job working with me long-distance coordinating various whimsical touches (Egyptian Zaffa, belly dancing, circus activities, live animals, & bounce house just to name a few) to make our wedding most enjoyable for our guests of all ages! They were on top of every single detail and incredibly responsive. With their assistants, Mel and Emily, they also made sure our every want and need was met for the entire day. All our guests raved about how much fun they had! Best Wedding Ever!
User1241308 Sent on 07/14/2013

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We worked with both Barb and Jennifer, and were very pleased with the experience. In terms of planning, they were both attentive to our desires and offered helpful ideas and guidance. They let us take the lead where we wanted, and jumped in where we were most nervous. The day and night of the event, Jennifer worked tirelessly to ensure that everything went smoothly (and it did). We were able to really enjoy the evening, without worrying about any of the many things that she was taking care of.
User1226672 Sent on 07/03/2013

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Brides beware.
Unorganized, horrible at time management (a one hour meeting would always go over and I would be charged!), highly emotional, does not understand sticking to a budget (or keeping one updated) and expects to be a guest at your reception (yes, sit down with the guests and eat dinner with you!)!
I had my wedding in the Finger Lakes region, but they were unfamiliar with the area and kept finding/pushing vendors that were based in Ithaca (which is roughly 30 minutes away from the ceremony & reception locations). I was not presented with options but talked to death about what I should do and then expected to actual execute the idea (contacting the vendor, discussing with the vendor what I was told by the wedding planner, negotiating the contract and making sure I followed up with any vendor questions).
So am I the wedding planner now???
The worst part, yes, it gets worse, they had the perception that my future mother in law did not like them so refused to do day of coordination at the ceremony location (re: highly emotional)! They expected ME (the bride!) to run the show (yes, tell the musicians when to start playing, line up of the bridal party, etc…run my ceremony!).
They also told my other vendors - who in turn told me - that she was 'losing her a**' planning my wedding! All of the vendors thought this was her first wedding planning event! It’s not!
So because of all of this stress and drama, I had to find ANOTHER wedding planner!
The new wedding planner was able to get everything organized (in a very timely manner) and my other vendors loved her. The wedding wouldn’t have happened without this other wedding planner – My now husband and I are SO thankful for her!
I honestly have nothing nice to say about CEP. If you need someone to plan your wedding – actually plan it – you are not going to get it from this service, but you are going to pay A LOT of your hard earned money to listen to them talk but never execute.

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