Red Maple Vineyard — Attraction in Town of Esopus

For some reason they were able to hide my review in the past so reposting it now bc I still find this whole experience so upsetting

From the moment I discovered RMV while looking for wedding venues, I thought for sure this was going to be where I got married and celebrated with my nearest and dearest. The venue was exactly beautiful and what I was looking for. I contacted Gary early in January to learn more about the venue and set up a tour. To my disappointment, they weren't doing tours or holding dates/accepting deposits until 3/18 so I made an appointment for a tour on 3/19. On 2/27, Gary sent me an email confirming our appointment for 3/19 at 12pm. When I replied to confirm, I told him how interested we were in RMV and that we'd been holding off on committing to any other venue until we could see RMV.

The morning of 3/19 my fiancé and I drove up from the city with our checkbooks, excited and ready to put a deposit down. We arrived a few minutes early and headed into the barn area where Gary was sitting with another couple. He looked confused, clearly had no idea who we were, and came up to us asking if we had an appointment? He then proceeded to tell us he must have overbooked and asked us if we would drive up and take a look at the ceremony spot while he met with this other couple... keep in mind there is MULTIPLE FEET of snow on the ground at and no clear path to get to this ceremony spot. However, we decided to go back outside and see if we had missed a plowed path... we didn't. At this point my fiancé and I are feeling a little discouraged but we went back inside hoping the appointment would improve from there. Unfortunately, Gary completely ignored us for the next 30 min while he was with this other couple and we walked around aimlessly. Finally, about 40 min after our scheduled appointment gary was able to "meet" with us. Things did NOT improve from there. He was not warm or welcoming and didn't really walk us through the details of what RMV provided, what was included etc. In addition, he never ONCE asked if we had any questions (which other venues did MULTIPLE times). When I thought it couldn't get any worse, at least 5 other other couples on separate occasions came into the barn and interrupted us during our "tour". When this occurred gary basically cut us off and went to talk with these other couples for 10 minutes each time. I could not believe how unorganized everything was, how disrespectful and inconsiderate gary was, and I honestly could not begin to fathom how RMV could manage a wedding if they couldn't handle a 1 hour tour.

At the end of our so called "tour" gary had us pick 3 dates (of available dates) that would work for us and said he would email us that night with a contract. There was never an option of putting a deposit down to secure a date right then and there. That night he did email us and told us only 1 of those 3 dates we had picked was available... excuse me? How did it go from all 3 of those dates being available to 1 when there wasn't an option to secure a date after the tour? Gary then told us we had a week to decide on if we wanted that date or not. No surprise... we didn't book. Words can't describe how disappointed i was. As beautiful as the property was, I just could not bring myself to trust the most important day of my life (and large amount of money) in someone who was so disorganized and and even worse, so unfriendly. My fiancé and I saw 12 other venues during our search and never had an experience that even came close to the one we had at RMV. Im still not really sure what Gary's issue with us was.. maybe because we only planned on having 125-150 guests? If gary only wants weddings with 200+ guests, let potential brides/grooms know that upfront instead of saying you have a "100 person minimum" on Luckily, my fiancé and I found a more perfect and beautiful venue with a friendly and organized staff that will help us plan and celebrate...

Words can't describe how amazing RMV is. I had my wedding there 8.23 and it was beyond anything I could've dreamed of. From day one of touring the venue with my husband, we were blown away. Not only is the space breathtaking and can speak for itself, but the staff was so warm & welcoming and offered help every step of the way. Amy left no question unanswered in our email exchanges and offered her help during the planning stages. Our tasting was a personal experience where the staff paid attention to every detail or what we preferred for our menu on the big day and they catered to our allergies/preferences by having options ready at the tasting that we could chose between. I was a DIY bride and I was able to drop off my center pieces and some other decor the day before the wedding since there wasn't a wedding booked that Thursday - this was a huge weight off my shoulders. Then the big day - absolutely speechless. The staff laid out my center pieces and decorations exactly how I wanted them. The timeline we were given by the venue was flawless, we were able to get the usual wedding events (speeches, mother/father dances, cutting cake, etc) in an order that didn't disrupt the flow of the dancing, but also didn't rush the events themselves. We were able to show up a few hours early for our wedding photos at the venue and the staff was ready to help with anything they could. We had a few staff members that would check in with my husband and I and made sure we were on time to be where we needed to be during the day. When it was time for us to go to the ceremony/get together to go into the reception, we were notified and everyone was already gathered before we were so there was no waiting around when we came down. After the cocktail hour we were pulled to a private balcony over looking the vineyard to enjoy alone time together while everyone was going into the reception space. They had set up tasting plates and some champagne & our specialty cocktail in case we weren't able to grab a bite while making our rounds at cocktail hour. The food was exceptional - farm to table, double protein plates, who could ask for more? The cake - made on premise, to die for, & beautiful! One person that made our wedding as extraordinary as possible was Gary. Gary was the absolute BEST. He had helped us through every single step of our time at RMV. He gave us the initial tour, he lead our tasting, he communicated through email, he made sure everything was perfect at our final walkthrough, and then he was by our side during the wedding and the reception. He checked in on my bridesmaids and my family to make sure everyone was doing okay or needed anything. He made sure things ran smoothly through the entire day. I honestly couldn't say enough great things about him and his staff. Our wedding is still talked about by our guests. I have previous worked in hospitality for many years, and I know there is a lot of behind the scenes work that we didn't see go into our big day and I applaud every single person that helped make our day so special. The flawless execution of their planning is really something to be celebrated. I would recommend every single person that is looking for a wedding venue to go to Red Maple Vineyard, there aren't enough words to say how thankful we found them. We will most definitely be going back to grab some wine...

My husband and I got married at Red Maple on October 15, 2017, and all I can say is, Red Maple met and completely exceeded our expectations through the entire process. If you can swing it, I would not look any further for your wedding venue. Red Maple has a professional and outstanding staff, from the waiters to the bartenders - everyone was incredibly friendly the night of our wedding. Gary, the owner, and Julia, the day-of-coordinator at the venue, are complete professionals, and answered my myriad of questions I had throughout the entire process in a timely fashion. I’m quite detail-oriented and had many questions, and the responsiveness and friendly nature was so wonderful to work with over 1.5 years from when we booked the venue to our wedding. Even after doing tons of research myself, we ending up taking all of Red Maple’s recommendations throughout the process in regards to timing and details, and we did NOT regret it. They really know how to throw a party seamlessly, and the food and drinks were flowing the entire night. The venue itself was absolutely gorgeous and many guests commented on how it was one of the nicest weddings they had ever attended. The reception tent was decorated wonderfully, and the view of Hudson Valley at the hilltop where we had our ceremony was stunning. You get the feel of an outdoor wedding when choosing this venue, and none of the risk as Red Maple as a lovely rain plan option of getting married under the tent. We wanted a rustic, autumn-chic feel, but where our older guests would be completely comfortable (indoor bathrooms, real floors in the tent, rain plan) - and Red Maple place nailed our vision. And, THE FOOD! My husband and I are foodies, and most of the time we never think much of wedding food. However, the food at Red Maple by the fabulous Corner Stone Caterers was absolutely DELICIOUS, and of the same quality (if not even better) than the same food we tried at the tasting. Guests in particular raved about all of the passed appetizers and farm station, as well as the boneless short rib entree. The vegetarian entree was also raved about, tons of delicious vegetarian options at the farm table. Red Maple even packed up some of the appetizers for us to take with us at the end of the night, and the next night we had a happy hour during our mini-moon with our leftovers! Also, Julia encouraged us to do post-party food, which at first we were not interested in. We ended up going for it, and the s’mores and fries were a huge hit around the fire pit. Every detail - from having hot cider waiting for our guests up on the ceremony hill, to knowing how many heaters we needed to rent, to assisting us with figuring where the wedding party should get ready, to helping us determine how long our shuttle should stay at the venue to shuttle older folks to and from the ceremony hill - I truly believe that our wedding went so seamlessly because of Julia, Gary, and staff’s expertise. Another important note, we carefully budgeted the entire time, often asking clarifying questions, and the final bill was exactly what we expected. My husband and I really could not have been more thrilled with our wedding at Red Maple Vineyard, and we would highly recommend this venue to any couple looking for a beautiful venue in the...