Taylor and Rory - August 31, 2012

 Taylor and Rory were married in Troy, NY on August 31, 2012.  Their ceremony took place at St Joseph's Church and their reception was at the Franklin Plaza Ballroom.  Taylor first came to me back in the spring looking for coordination for her ceremony only, and although I prefer to coordinate the entire wedding day I just loved this girl and couldn't say no to her.  She and Rory live in Virginia but because she is from Upstate New York they decided to say their 'I Do's' here.

The beauty of holding a wedding at the Franklin Plaza is that you can use their hotel across the street to get ready.  Taylor and the girls had a big suite where their hair and makeup was done and they could all hang out and have fun together.  The guys had a room right across the hall but you better believe this wedding planner was not going to allow an accidental run in with them.  After getting some pictures done in the lobby the limo arrived and whisked the guys off to the church and then heading back for the girls.  It was time to get married!

I had never worked in St Joseph's Church before and wow the inside was absolutely beautiful.  Taylor and Rory had a traditional Catholic ceremony and were greeted on their way in and on their way out by two bag pipers playing outside.  After the ceremony it was off to the reception and my time 'on the clock' was done!  Taylor, being the super sweetheart that she is, invited me and my assistant Ginny to attend the reception as guests.  Again, not something I usually do but I was honored by the offer and we decided it would be a lot of fun to celebrate with these two and all of their guests.  It was, we were not disappointed!

Joining me on this lovely day were a slew of amazing vendors.  First I'll mention Brian McGarry of McGarry Photography who photographed this wedding and was kind enough to share his images with me.  I also got to work with Lance Wheeler who did videography, Mike Garassi of Music Man Entertainment who DJ'd the cocktail hour and reception, Greg Cushman of Franklin Plaza who took good care of us and the rest of the wedding guests, Erin Marzilli who made the girls all super beautiful with her makeup skills, hairstylist Eileen Scott, florist Erin Brady of Crazy Daisy, and Today's Limousine.  

Congrats Taylor and Rory!  Thank you for not only choosing me as your wedding coordinator but being so gracious to have me as a guest at your wedding reception.  Cheers!!  

Shanna and Scott - Rehearsal Dinner - June 29, 2012

 Shanna and Scott hosted a complete wedding weekend on the shores of Lake George.  On Friday June 29th they held their rehearsal dinner at The Inn at Erlowest and invited their bridal party and parents to celebrate with them. Instead of taking a plain old car down to Erlowest, Shanna and Scott rented a Hacker Craft boat and took a private cruise from their home base at The Sagamore Resort down Lake George to the docks at Erlowest.  

After their dinner the couple came back to The Sagamore to host a welcome party for all of the guests who arrived in town that day.  Again, bucking tradition, instead of docking and walking off the boat this couple and their bridal party decided to jump out of the Hacker Craft and swim to shore.  And we have the pictures to prove it. 

Stay tuned for the full recap of their wedding day.  Thanks Bryan Yager of Beltrami Studios for these pics!

Rebecca and Dave - June 23, 2012

Rebecca and Dave were married on June 23, 2012 at their alma mater of Colgate University.  The couple had met there while pursuing their undergrad degrees and felt it only appropriate to travel back to where it all began to speak their vows and make it all official.  

I loved this couple for so many reasons.  First they live in Connecticut and I live outside Albany so when deciding on a halfway location to meet Dave instantly said "There's a Chili's in Poughkeepsie.  Let's meet there".  We hashed out so many wedding details in the Chili's and Dave ate as much southwest food as he could get in during a one and a half hour span.  This groom loves Chili's!  Rebecca was a super sweetheart to work with, a true type-A planner herself who held nothing back when it came to her ideas and the things she wanted on her wedding day.  Nothing wrong with a girl with a vision!

On wedding weekend I got to meet all of their bridal party and family and it was a joy for me to be mixed in with such good company.  Many of them Colgate alums, they had a true connection to the campus and the community and I felt a part of some private homecoming which was very cool.  Rebecca and Dave used the Colgate Inn not only as their wedding caterer but also as the home site for overnight accommodations for themselves and most of their wedding guests and, in a town like Hamilton, when a wedding like this moves in it's like they are their own private sector of the village.  It was super cool to see all of the guests and bridal party mingling around town.

And why was I able to witness such sites?  Well that's because I was brought on to handle the wedding day coordination but also the ceremony rehearsal coordination and pre-wedding set up on the Friday of their wedding weekend.  My girl Erin and I packed a overnight bag and headed out to Hamilton and made it a long weekend for ourselves.  It was a fun wedding 'work trip' but also a fun girls trip!  Win - win.

Now on to the details of their event!  Obviously the bride and groom gave a nod to Colgate, not just in the choice of ceremony and reception location and in the Colgate pennant flag that was hung at the entrance of the reception tent, but also in the totally unique wedding cake they had -- See, these guys were both on the crew team in college so they decided to have their wedding cake made in a replica of the Colgate boat house - equipped with look alike versions of themselves and their bridal party as rowers in two boats.  Going with a bright summer theme their colors were corral with accents of sage, lime, orange and pink.  They had their traditional Jewish ceremony one side of the lawn of Merrill House with their reception held in a tent on the lawn adjacent from that space.  Guests had the whole lawn area to mingle and congregate on - and also battle each other in games of corn hole played on boards with Colgate logos painted on them.  Can you say crowd pleaser?

Joining forces with me on this event is the already mentioned Colgate Inn caterers led by the amazing Jana Truett-Crouch, ceremony musicians Candlelight String Quartet, DJ Great Music Company, flowers by Whistle Stop Florist, rentals from Morris Tents, the cake by Jen Comfort, officiating by Rabbi Monte Sugarman, and hair and makeup by Karma Spa and Boutique.  Super kudos go out to photographer Genevieve Fridley who was amazing to work with and provided me with these wonderful photos, and also to Maureen McKinnon from Colgate University who is the staff person on campus who deals with weddings and is nothing short of an absolute pleasure to work with!

Thank you Rebecca and Dave for choosing me as your wedding coordinator! Congrats and Mazel Tov to you both!!

Alycia and Everett Review WPP

Photo by Harlowe Studio

Alycia and Everett were married at The Inn at Erlowest on September 8, 2012.  They were one of those not so lucky couple who had to deal with torrential rain, a ceremony that was moved from plan A to plan B and then finally to plan C all within an hour, and a few vendor blips that were unforeseen.  But in the end they had an amazing wedding and I was right by their side to guide them through all of the good moments (as well as some of those not so good parts).  Alycia was kind enough to post this amazing review of me on Wedding Wire.  Thank you Alycia and Everett for being so flexible, kind, and so sweet!  

To read other reviews posted by our past clients CLICK HERE.

"Shannon really did an incredible job, and EVERYONE noticed! My husband, for one (who never met her until the day of because he chose to be more "hands-off" with the wedding vendors), kept saying throughout the day that she was so on top of everything and doing/did a great job. I'm so glad that I decided to hire her, Shannon allowed me to actually enjoy my day to its fullest extent (even through all of the craziness of a torrential downpour, stranded guests and shuttle cancellations!). Shannon and her assistant Erin were more than I could have ever asked for, and I'm so grateful for all of their hard work. At the end of the day, I really felt Shannon had become more of a friend who had my back vs. a vendor, although I guess it never really felt that way to begin with since she's so awesome ; )"

Taylor and Rory's Wedding Video

Taylor and Rory were married just this past Friday (yes less than a week ago) at St Joseph's Church in Troy with their reception following at Franklin Plaza.  Lance Wheeler was on hand for video fun and he was kind enough to share this video highlight reel with us.  Watch and enjoy!

Photo by Brian McGarry Photography 

Please CLICK HERE to watch Taylor and Rory's wedding video!