Sound River Studios — Local services in New York

My husband and I had a fantastic experience hosting our wedding at Sound River Studios and our ceremony and reception were even more enjoyable than we could have hoped for. Sound River Studio is an amazing venue because of both the physical space itself as well as its great management team led by Una.

In terms of the physical space, SRS is a really beautiful and “industrial-chic” warehouse-type building that has great natural light. It is essentially a blank slate in which a couple has lots of flexibility to make their unique vision come to life. The building has garage doors that open to an outdoor patio with spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline. It unfortunately rained on our wedding day, but the views still wowed our guests (even the native New Yorkers) and we could still make full use of the outdoor patio with a tent. We would highly recommend renting the bridal suite as well. It’s a great place to get ready and relax before the wedding.

SRS is a great place to host a wedding of any size, but particularly 150 to 200 people, a size that we noticed was difficult to find in NYC. We toured many venues that could either hold less than 150 guests or that were massively too large and were intended for 250 people or more.

Beyond the physical space, Una was so incredible to work with. She is extremely transparent about pricing, logistics and what to expect, which was not always our experience when meeting with other venue managers. Una is not just a faceless employee – our planning process was much more personal and Una took the time to get to know us as a couple and what we were hoping to accomplish. She worked tirelessly behind the scenes to answer all of our vendors’ questions and was present and very helpful on our wedding day, all of which ensured our event went smoothly. Weddings are stressful enough to plan, so it was so reassuring that we had Una in our corner.

The only vendor you must hire when booking SRS is for the bar/bartenders and they were wonderful to work with as well. They were super accommodating of our preferences and very professional.

In short, I would look no further than Sound River Studios to host your wedding (or any...

[venue for OMGDessertGoals] It's 9:30 AM Sunday and the sun is relentlessly bursting through our bedroom window. It's a not so subtle reminder that the day has already begun and we need to quit switching shoes and get to OMG Dessert Goals. There are talks of reimagined Vietnamese desserts and inventive ube creations.

With the clock ticking on our timeslot, we b-line through the sea of dessert lovers and straight to Kochin who is serving up the much anticipated coffee ☕ bomb 💣 dessert. 🤯 A classic flan 🍮 is surrounded by coffee jelly, coffee ice cream, a banana brulee, a lace cookie, and a shot of Vietnamese coffee you drip over to bring it all together. What follows is a rendition of a Vietnamese classic kem bơ dừa (avocado coconut ice cream/smoothie) with the avocado pudding reshaped as, well you guessed it, avocado halves. 🥑 A tornado of textures and flavors, from the coconut ice cream to the cactus jelly, come flooding in with every bite. IG@kochindesserts

Once we got our caffeine kick, the U-BAE (Ube Cremella ice cream sandwich) over at Stax Ice Cream draws our attention. The ever so energetic Sophie Gao walks us through their in-house small batched Ube ice cream pressed by a soft hot donut glazed over with condensed milk and topped with coconut flakes and fruity pebbles. 🍩🍦 IG@staxicecream

Switching textures is a play on the classic Filipino cassava cake (kue singkong in Indonesia) by Moon Man. It's baked until it has the right translucent look and chewy texture, topped with the generous portion of coconut shavings and Java Palm sugar drips. How can we not eat dessert in the morning when so many of our peers are creatively injecting our favorite ingredients into mouth-watering memories! 🧁...

We cannot recommend Una highly enough for anyone seeking a wedding planner who is truly exceptional in every aspect. From the very beginning, Una demonstrated an unparalleled level of communication, always ensuring that every detail was addressed promptly and thoroughly. Her recommendations for vendors and those little touches that made our day unique were spot on and contributed immensely to the seamless flow of our wedding, all while ensuring we stayed within our budget without sacrificing quality or creating unnecessary strains related to planning. Speaking of the day, Sound River Studios was an absolute dream come true. The venue was a magical space, providing the perfect backdrop for our celebration. The New York skyline was breathtaking and set the most stunning scene for our ceremony, especially on the terrace which was nothing short of spectacular. The entire staff, including the bartenders, Tijana, and Edo, were incredibly helpful and lovely. We were especially touched by Tijana's kindness, who went above and beyond by helping my mother-in-law neatly write her speech on the day of. This kind of support and generosity is truly appreciated. Thanks to Una, the entire process, which can often feel overwhelming, was transformed into a delightful journey. She handled every challenge with grace and efficiency, making us feel supported and confident at every step. The result? An absolutely perfect day that surpassed all our expectations. We’re so grateful for the role Una played in making our wedding dreams come true and look forward to keeping in touch. Thank you, Una,...