The Kaaterskill Reviews

My husband and I got married here on 10/19/2019. From the moment I pulled up to this venue I knew this was where I wanted to get married here, I literally almost cried. This was exactly the type of style we were looking for. The staff were extremely helpful throughout the entire process. Although it’s very DIY, I couldn’t have chosen a better place.

From beginning to end, the staff at Kaaterskill made our wedding experience a dream come true. We’d do it all over again and again!

The Kaaterskill is the type of venue that makes writing a succinct review in this format quite difficult. We were in search of a simple yet distinct nature-centered venue where we could host our mostly DIY-style wedding for 110 of our closest family and friends. In this venue, we found a truly inspiring setting with a personality and life of its own that served as the perfect backdrop for celebration. The depth and detail of The Kaaterskill must be experienced in person to be understood, but we will attempt to highlight the most useful characteristics in regards to hosting a wedding.
Our initial visit to the property was all we needed to be sold on the vibe. Anna responded promptly to our request, and set up a time for us to come visit overnight. Alex, the property manager greeted us warmly, and showed us around the stunning grounds. The “wow” factor is immediate- the farm is even more beautiful in person than the pictures, and the peace, quiet, and serenity create an immediate calming effect. Ducks come and go from the pond, and the farm animals graze amidst horses farther out in the pasture. Everything is well maintained, yet rustic and real- the people and creatures belong there. The barn is perfect for a low key yet charming reception. It's open to the fresh air of the farm, with plenty of space for vendors to work and 3 comfortable restrooms.
Alex showed us the accommodations, and our decision was even more definitive. The six suites in the main house are absolutely perfect for the immediate family/wedding party. We could all stay in close proximity yet still have some privacy when we wanted it. The spacious and well stocked kitchen perfectly serves meal-centered socializing, and the eclectically decorated common area provides even more room to spread out. The guest house across the driveway has 3 additional bedrooms and common space perfectly suited for other relatives and close friends attending.
The Kaaterskill is conveniently located within a few minutes drive of Catskill, Palenville, and Saugerties. While the rustic setting makes it easy to unplug and feel far away from the city, these towns have most everything you may need when it comes to groceries, wine/liquor, and supplies.
While the facilities provide all of the necessary concrete needs for a wedding, it is the staff that delivers the intangibles. The groundskeepers Alex and Sandra are fully dedicated to the mission of the property, and invest a deeply personal level of care and attention into making things easy and comfortable. Alex was always available to answer any logistical questions in regards to the grounds, and provided invaluable advice on so many things that didn’t cross our minds. The staff exceeded all expectations, and became and essential part of planning a DIY wedding like ours.
We could not be any more earnest in our recommendation of the Kaaterskill and their staff for your wedding celebration.

Amazing place and the staff were awesome in answering questions and assisting us in the process.

The Kaaterskill venue is absolutely beautiful in the fall. The red barn and boat house give a quaint and warm feeling to the property, while the farm house rooms provide luxury and relaxation to everyone staying on the grounds. Leading up to our wedding, we had ongoing good communications with the NYC administrative staff and excellent communication with the Grounds Manager, Alex. Whenever we needed assistance, we were able to call Alex regarding size, amenity and location-specific questions. Moreover, we stayed at The Kaaterskill prior to our wedding, at a small discount, and were able to assess and plan everything better while at the venue. The grounds themselves are well maintained and provide for multiple options on how you can set up your own wedding at the venue. We felt right at home walking the grounds and picking our wedding ceremony location, cocktail hour, and reception set up. Note, The Kaaterskill does not handle wedding coordination for you, but rather offers use of the entire grounds and buildings and you must figure out all the details that you desire. We would highly recommend The Kaaterskill if you are looking for a farm wedding and want to customize the times, themes, and overall feeling of your wedding.

We loved working with the team at the Kaaterskill to plan our wedding weekend. The venue and property were exactly what we were looking for. We worked very hard to make our wedding unique and special and that it was! The scenery is beautiful and peaceful , the animals friendly and fun! The team was accommodating and let us come as much as we needed to help build ideas for what was the perfect wedding! Alex is a godsend! And we can’t thank him enough for all of his help during this entire process. Our wedding party and family stayed on the property with us and we truly enjoyed every moment! I hope to be back for our one year anniversary!

After looking around venues in the Hudson area, we really fell in love with The Kaaterskill. Tucked away and in a secluded space - the venue truly felt like it was our own for our entire wedding weekend. We wanted the centerpiece of our wedding decor to be the nature - and the Catskills in the background and the beautiful grounds of the venue was a perfect fit for what we envisioned. Working with the owner, coordinator, and grounds keeper was seamless and easy. They were very flexible with our stay and our planning. If you want an easy going, DIY, make it your own type of wedding - I would highly recommend this venue. You do have to source and bring in most of the components so if you are looking for a one-stop-shop this isn't the place for you. We loved renting the space for an entire weekend, having our close family and friends stay on the grounds with us, and really enjoying our wedding into the late night. Thank you again to Julieta and Alex for helping us with our day!

The Kaaterskill is a beautiful venue where you can let your creativity run free. If you are looking for a venue where you can truly make your wedding unique and meaningful, this is the venue for you. Not only is the scenery stunning, but they are an animal sanctuary as well!

When we stumbled upon The Kaaterskill during a July 4th trip to the Catskills, it exceeded expectations. I love this venue because not too many people have heard of it (coming from NYC, many wedding guests have been to most "INCREDIBLE" venues within the tri-state area). It's a MAGICAL, I repeat MAGICAL venue. We fell in love the moment we drove into the long drive way, to meeting the rescue farm animals, to setting eyes on the adorable pond house, to touring the entire property and seeing the main house, etc. Treat it like a big property you can rent to make your dream wedding come true if it fits your atheistic (and you have a vision). I can't wait to have a 10 year wedding anniversary party at The Kaaterskill, can't come soon enough. The Kaaterskill's ability to host as many guests as we needed and work with us for an indoor/outdoor wedding was perfection. You definitely need a rain plan and be able to work with various vendors in order to execute the big day. It seems overwhelming but it's not. The team is extremely helpful in making suggestions to make your event a huge success.

The Kaaterskill is an amazing property with multiple areas to utilize for the wedding weekend festivities, including an inn for the wedding party to stay at. Kate Arel was our venue coordinator, and truthfully, she's nothing short of a dream to work with. Myself and my team of wedding pros absolutely loved her -- she was extraordinarily responsive and helpful, she guided us in finding local resources when requested, she gave us very little restrictions when it came to executing our creative ideas (in fact, she welcomed them!), she was there personally for our multiple venue visits and the entire wedding weekend, she coordinated with my planner and design team in perfect harmony ... the list goes on. While the venue is fantastic on its own, she's truly brought out the best in it. As someone who works in the wedding industry, it's very rare to come across a venue coordinator who cares about the couples as much as Kate does, and I know our wedding weekend wouldn't have been as successful as it was without her.

The Kaaterskill as a venue is amazing and Kate Arel made it perfect. She is together, responsive, has your back and gets things magically done quickly and efficiently. We had a crazy rainstorm the day of our wedding and she took control and made it all perfect regardless of the storm. We loved everything about our experience at The Kaaterskill and with Kate.

This is a beautiful place to get married. We have no regrets. We appreciated the flexibility of The Kaaterskill compared to other venues. All of our wedding party stayed on the property. Kate was great to work with. There are so many great locations for photos on the property. The lodge is perfect for the wedding afterparty. Our guests loved getting to see the animals. If you are on a budget, you'll need to plan for your rental costs and who will do set up and clean up of your rentals. We were lucky to have a lot of help from friends and family!

Beautiful venue to create anything you want. Super flexible to do what you want. The staff lead by Kate is very helpful in anything you need and couldn't have been more friendly.

We had our wedding at the Kaaterskill, a place we have been visiting for years. It was a wonderful experience and all of our friends and family fell in love with the place -- just as we had when we first starting visiting it years ago. The property is beautiful and the staff was great to work with.

When Olivia and I pulled into this venue for the first time we knew it was the place we would be getting married. The setting was beautiful, the Catskill mountains as our backdrop and the gorgeous barn and inn. The animals, and perfectly well kept grounds. The exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable staff (Kate Arel the venue coordinator and also our day of wedding coordinator is phenomenal!). It's everything we wanted and more. Our families, our friends, and of course us never had a drop of worry at our weekend wedding. Everything was taken care of. It felt like I was in my back yard having our wedding. It was comfortable, warm, and like I was on my family farm. (I don't have a family farm, but if I did this is what I would dream it to be.) If you don't choose this place as your wedding venue you are seriously missing out. You can't get a better place than The Kaaterskill. You just can't.

The Kaaterskill is an amazing venue and Kate was/is THE BEST. The space itself beautiful beyond description (picturesque barn, mountains in the background, shimmering pond, adorable animals) and the accommodations on the property are top-notch. This venue is perfect for anyone going for that rustic vibe but still wants to have a lot of comforts :) As the venue coordinator, Kate was incredibly knowledgeable about the area (which was helpful since we don't live nearby) and gave a lot of advice and recommendations, all of which ended up working great for us. We have absolutely no regrets about this place and I've already recommended it to others. WE LOVE THE KAATERSKILL!!!

I could not have wished for a better venue to have our wedding. It was sincerely the best day of our lives, up to this point, and SO MUCH of that had to do with The Kaaterskill. It is one of the most peaceful and relaxing places I've ever been. The inn is homey, charming, classy and full of incredible antiques and awesome kitsch. I think one of the best things for us was that we had several days at the venue leading up to our wedding, and a couple of nights after our wedding up there as well. If you can do this, I would highly suggest it! It made the whole experience so much more full. The staff at The Kaaterskill make you feel like family, and you have so much freedom on the grounds.

We had an amazing time at the Kaaterskill. Our guests loved staying in the Inn over the weekend, and the wedding was beautiful. Kate Arel was incredibly helpful as our coordinator, and helped the evening run seamlessly. She was also very responsive to any questions/issues leading up to the event.

The Kaaterskill was my dream wedding venue, and after my wedding I can safely say it was all I wished for and more!

The grounds are gorgeous and are totally yours for the entire weekend. Kate at The Kaaterskill was incredibly helpful in answering all of our questions and making sure our day went smoothly.

We had our rehearsal dinner outside on Friday, our wedding on Saturday, and a post-wedding brunch on Sunday. I highly recommend the lighting option as the vintage chandeliers complimented the barn wonderfully. We also had a bonfire post-wedding which was magical.

Our entire wedding party stayed at the inn which was also fun, like a giant slumber party. While this venue does require you bring everything in yourself (event rentals, catering, etc.), most of the vendors in the area have worked there before and are very familiar.

Highly recommended!

The Kaaterskill was the only venue we looked at. I knew as we drove up the drive that it was the absolute perfect spot for all of our events. We initially didn't get our 1st choice date, but when a couple pulled out, the Kaaterskill graciously offered to switch our weekends. It was a bargain considering all the events we had over the weekend: rehearsal, rehearsal dinner for 125, variety show in the barn on Friday night, family fun play day on the grounds Saturday, wedding for 150, huge dinner, killer dance party, late-night campfire and then a Sunday brunch for 125. We packed it all in and the property was big and varied enough that each event felt like it was taking place at a different location. Having our entire wedding party staying at the Inn helped enormously, both emotionally and practically---free on-site labor! My husband and I took a private yoga class in our room Saturday morning, which the venue had arranged for us. Perfect way to start the day. We also got crazy lucky, because the weather that weekend was ludicrously perfect the entire time. Kate and the entire team at the Kaaterskill were amazing and just so professional. We were so well taken care of. Can't recommend this place enough!

Words cannot express how amazing this venue and the people who run it are. We chose the Kaaterskill because we wanted to have a wedding weekend but not have everyone travel so far. We and most of our guests are from NYC so spending a weekend at the Kaaterskill felt like an escape. The grounds are stunning and made my photos look amazing! We went hiking around the property and even set up a bon-fire. The ceremony was outside, the cocktail hour was in the pond house, and the reception was in the barn. It rained on and off most of the day, but we discussed a rain plan months before so I wasn't worried.

The inn is beautifully decorated and fitted all of my wedding party.

I feel very fortunate for Kate and her team. Every element was of that day was perfect all because of their hard work. When you are a bride, there is so much to think about and so much to do. Kate answered all my questions and was very good at communicating so I felt at ease and taken care of the entire weekend.

This farm is beautiful. My wife and I have visited here and liked it so much we decided to get married there too. It's a bit hidden but I think that's what we liked about it. A good place to get away from the city.

Rented venue for the entire wedding weekend. The Inn, Barn, & rest of the grounds were all cleaned and in perfect condition when we arrived Friday morning. The coordinator at the time was great in assisting with any last minute needs we had. The option to rent out the Inn was also great, to have the entire wedding party stay on the grounds helped with day before preparations & a smooth wedding day. Held a small rehearsal dinner in the Inn, my family loved exploring the inn and the unique decor. There is also adequate space on the ground floor of the inn to store things for your wedding and complete any DIY tasks in which I had A LOT. With the exception of a small hiccup with shuttle buses, my wedding day was perfect and more than I could have ever hoped for. Even a year later all my family and friends still talk about how much fun they had at the wedding & so much of it had to do with the Kaaterskill with their beautiful grounds & ability to call the place your own for the whole weekend.

We wanted an elegant, warm and relaxed country atmosphere for our 100 person wedding. The Kaaterskill had accommodations for our wedding party, a finished barn with restrooms, acres of green grass, trees, and meadows for ceremony options, and the wonderful Kimberlea Kressal-Jaffe to coordinate our wedding needs.

Emails and calls were answered within 24 hours without exception. Our caterer, officiant, and photographer were all referrals by Kimberlea and we could not have been happier. The deposit was returned within 10 days after the wedding. Contracts and fees were 100% reasonable and within our budget. Compared to other "rustic barn" venues in the Hudson Valley area, the Kaaterskill outshone them not only in amenities and aesthetic, but also value. A huge plus was that the barn itself had restrooms. Other venues required port-a-johns, not exactly what I envisioned at my wedding.

The weather happened to be perfect (if humid) that day, so we had our ceremony in a meadow then to the barn for dinner and dancing. We originally planned for rain and the barn is spacious enough for a 200 person event should it have rained.

After the ceremony, the barn happily held our 100 guests and throughout the evening they danced, ate, and discovered the farm surroundings at their leisure. Not everyone wants to dance the night away; guests had the choice to stroll, enjoy the outdoors, and relax without feeling excluded from a party just because they don't dance or drink!

The Kaaterskill Inn is an optional add-on to renting the barn venue and I HIGHLY recommend this for the additional cost. Having the wedding party immediately on-site for rehearsals and set up and so forth was incredibly helpful.

The rooms themselves are spotless. Bathrooms are pristine, furnishings are tasteful and fun and the kitchen and common areas were amazing and comfy. Only downside is no cell service! Be warned!!!

I would have my wedding all over again at the Kaaterskill! A+++++