My partner and myself sent off our applications on 17th June. Today I received a package in the mail, tore it open thinking it was a book I'd ordered from E-bay and out plopped our passports with all the relevant stamps - the residence card for myself and the permit for him, valid for five years. I hope everyone else's applications go as smoothly, just to let you guys know they can deal with applications rapidly after all

 

OK, firstly, we filled out the EEA Family Permit form (VAF1) and sent it to the Consulate in New York whilst my husband was living in Boston. Along with this we provided as much documentation as possible, in the form of a marriage certificate, my bank statements, his bank statements, my wage slips, his wage slips, a letter from my employer, a letter from our landlord explaining that my husband had been living with me during his BUNAC visit and that since he was a responsible tenant he was more than welcome to return, a letter from my university, photos of the both of us, a letter from myself inviting my husband over and detailing my situation and of course our passports. A week later, my husband received his stamp valid for six months to come join me in the UK.
Once he was here, we filled out EEA1 (for myself) and EEA2 for my husband. Again, as much paperwork as possible was sent, all of the above documents (or more recent versions thereof) were submitted, proving my economic right to be here (as well as the fact I'm still studying for a PhD) and also the fact that we had some reserve funds (before the whole process we opened an ISA account together as well). Even though it wasn't necessary we included my husband's payslips and bank statements from his job in the UK, to prove he wouldn't need to sponge off the State and was more than capable of holding down employment. I didn't expect a reply so quickly, and have no idea why they reviewed our situation so promptly, maybe it was because we sent so much stuff (an A4 binder full) or we were just lucky. My advice is to be organised and consider every eventuality they might examine, so you can submit documents to address their issues.
If you have a more specific query please feel free to PM me, I still have copies of the letters I sent and lists of all the documents also.
And I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone on this site for your excellent advice and support. I couldn't have done this without this invaluable forum!