Destination Wedding Spotlight - Charlotte

Have you ever been to Charlotte? What? Why not?? Charlotte is one of those great "new" cities, with young buildings, clean streets, exciting retail, a mainly transported population, and some great professional sports teams. Charlotte is full of life and a great place to find beautiful backdrops as well as beautiful people. A little southern charm mixed with a lot of young banking professionals gives you a totally comfortable city that is fresh and new and a great place to celebrate your very biggest day. So you haven't been to Charlotte? What are you waiting for??

Want to know more about my time in Charlotte? E-mail me at Shannon@WeddingPlanningPlus.net.

WPP Photo of the Week

This is one of my favorite photos of all time. This is the bride and groom from a wedding in July 2008 in Saratoga. The photographer was Shannon DeCelle and she really captured the special closeness this couple shared. They were really this cute and loving the whole day, and it was really wonderful to see the care and love to have for each other. Kudos, Shannon! Wonderful shot!!

Whitney Wedding!!

On Sunday August 16th two very special people in my life got married - my brother, Jon, and my good friend and wedding planner, Katie. Now Katie is officially a Whitney and my sister-in-law. But I think I'll just call her "sis".

These pics are from my digital camera and were taken by my favorite photographer - my boyfriend Chris! :)

Their wedding was at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, ME. We were right on the water and the weather was outstanding the whole weekend. (Katie even planned that part perfectly! See, ladies, she really is that good!)

Katie had a very cool vision for the processional for the bridesmaids and herself. We all took a beautiful one hour sailboat cruise along the ocean and arrived to the ceremony site by boat. She even had the ceremony musician play "The Love Boat" music as the guests caught a first glimpse of us sailing up to the shore. I can't wait to see the photographer's pics of our sail and our entrance. All reports from shore said it looked amazing - I can only speak by experience on the boat which was very cool!

Beautiful ceremony by the water! I cried my eyes out!

I got to be a bridesmaid at this wedding, not a coordinator! :)

Well, almost... :)

Jon, who's been playing drums since we were kids, got to go up and play with the band for 3 songs. He rocked it out! The whole place went crazy for him. What a rock star!

I saved the best picture for last. Not that the wedding was upstaged by this event, but this was pretty big. See, Jon and the guys went golfing the morning of the wedding and they ran into someone pretty famous on the course. Yup, that's George W. Bush in the middle there, and the groom to the left of him. How many people can say they golfed with a United State President on their wedding day???

What a fun weekend! Jon and Katie - Congrats and I love you both!!

Check back in the near future because I plan to post the professional pics when they come in!

Happy planning! ~ Shannon

Destination Spotlight - Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport is a quintessential coastal New England town. With ocean views, cute candy and souvenir shops, and a quiet understated elegance it is an area that if you don't ever consider getting married in you should at least plan a little weekend trip to. Famous for the presidential Bush family compound that sits on an inlet a few miles north of town, this is a village that loves its US royalty as much as it loves its Red Sox and local wild blueberries. If you are considering a destination wedding to this area there are several lovely venues to choose from. And as long as you include a little chowdaah and fresh Maine lobstaaahs you should do just fine here.

Want to know more about my experience in Kennebunkport? E-mail me at Shannon@WeddingPlanningPlus.net.

WPP Photo of the Week!!

Here is a new addition to the Wedding Planning Plus blog - a WPP Photo of the Week!

Check back here often to see what super cool new image I post... This one's for you Laura...

Everyone - Meet Murphy! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE dog lover! My baby girl is named Reilly, and she is a 3 year old whippet mix and the absolute love of my life. Laura, my fabulous summer intern, is also a dog lover and because the 'WPP Photo of the Week' idea is hers I had to honor her (and Reilly-boo!) with the first installment of my favorite wedding pictures. :) So... back to Murphy... This dog was the "son" of the bride and groom but because they were married in a church he couldn't be a part of their ceremony. Well, we let Murphy have his fun at the reception as the bride and groom walked him out with them for their introductions and first dance. Doesn't Murphy look sharp in that tux?? I love having animals (aka furry family members) in weddings - and I have more weddings this year who are including their pets in the festivities! So much fun!!

Sagamore wedding from Saturday - Sneak Peek!

I usually wait to get the finished photos from the wedding photographers before putting them up on my blog, but this past Saturday's wedding was so awesome that I'm going against my nature and postings some sneak peek pics. This wedding was at The Sagamore Resort two days before the Today Show broadcast from there. The place was a buzz with excitement and there were NBC crews on site getting footage all throughout the day. Although images from this wedding didn't make it on the show, they certainly could have - this wedding was incredible and could easily be featured in any high-end wedding magazine (or morning show!). Very special kudos to David Michael Schmidt from Renaissance Floral Design in Albany (www.renaissancefloraldesign.com). The flowers and complete decor were all David's design and he and his team executed the setup beautifully. Also thanks to Clifton Park Rental Company for the stunning reception rentals and the cool uplighting in the room. The wedding photographer on this job was the fabulous Tracey Buyce and I can't wait to see her images from this day. For now, here are some of the shots taken by David in between all the crazy decorating he was doing of this space. David - you rock!!

Check out the humongous flower arrangements David made for the ceremony (picture above)!!

Cocktail hour terrace - sooo soft and beautiful!

Here I'm putting the final touches to the table with my custom made place cards.

David has these fabulous high backed white leather couches that we used as lounge furniture around the dance floor. This is Tracey Buyce and I getting a quick rest on one before the reception begun. The only time we sat down all night - I swear!

Check out this dining table! The guest list for this wedding was less than 40 so we went with a very intimate feel and placed all the guests along one big table. David decorated the table beautifully with gathered fabrics, multiple floral arrangements, and crystal chandeliers hanging overhead. It was stunning! When the bride saw it she burst into happy tears. It was awesome to see her that happy!

A few more shots of this incredible table.

This was a big wedding, and a big day for all of us who worked so hard on it. You can't tell I was tired, can you??

Thanks again to David from Renaissance Floral Designs for the exquisite flowers and reception room decor - and for these pictures! I'll post a full blog with Tracey's photos soon!!

Hotz Wedding - May 16, 2009

I was looking back through my posts and I realized I never blogged about this wedding - how could I have missed it?? In any rate, here is a much overdue recap of a very cool wedding...

Mr. and Mrs. Hotz were married May 16, 2009 at the Albany Country Club. I met these guys in February 2008 so I had the great pleasure of working with them for 16 months. They are such a cute couple, very relaxed and laid back. Danielle is a petite little ball of pure niceness, and he's a Red Sox fan so they were all right in my book. Actually Nick is also my web designer (check out his work - http://www.weddingplanningplus.net/ ) so he gets extra bonus points for that. These two met in college and moved to Albany to start their life together. A life that included a very fun and very personal wedding! I have to thank some of my favorite vendors for putting in their best work for these two - DJ Greg Frasier rocked out a ridiculously fun reception! And these pictures are all from photographer Tracey Buyce (http://www.traceybuyce.com/) - check out her great work!!

How pretty is she?? The bride's makeup was done by Jessica Sheridan who works for the makeup artist Amy Elizabeth Smith. Such a beautiful bride!!

The colors for the wedding were sage green, lavender, and pink. The girls wore green dresses with fun lavender jewelry and the matron of honor's dress had a pretty lavender sash around the middle. The bride and groom stepped out of the box with the tuxes and chose a tan color for the guys instead of the traditional black. Going with a lighter color kept the overall feel lighter and less stuffy. Definitely suited this fun-loving group!

For flowers we kept with the color theme but chose different blooms for the personal flowers and the reception centerpieces. Big lush pink and ivory peony bouquets were carried by the girls and the rest of the wedding flowers were pink and green orchids. Check out the submerged orchid stem in the centerpiece and the floating orchids in the little containers next to it. There was even a submerged LED light at the bottom of each of the tall vases that lit the room as the night got dark. Very easy and inexpensive way to have a lot of impact on your tables. So cool!

I couldn't possibly blog about this wedding and not mention their very cool wedding cake. Check it out!! This is a CoccaDotts creation and matched so many elements of the wedding perfectly - the quilted diamond pattern on the green layers is an exact replica of the diamond pattern on their invitations and the brooches on the purple bands matches the brooch on the waistline of the bride's wedding dress. If you are familiar with the Albany Country Club you know what a fantastic placement the cake gets and this cake certainly got a lot of attention. It was awesome!

I mentioned that the groom is a Red Sox fan (go Sox!) but the bride is a die-hard Yankees fan (must make for interesting pillow talk!) Well to remind her new husband that her baseball loyalty didn't change with the changing of her last name, she wore a garter that was navy blue and had a big Yankees logo on it. The groom had no idea and when he pulled the garter off her leg and took a look at it his expression was priceless! :)

These guys were so much fun to work with! And their wedding came together just beautifully. Unfortunately they got caught in the rainy summer weather so the outdoor ceremony had to come indoors, but they rolled with it and never let anything distract them from having a night of fun with their family and friends.

This was a picture Tracey took towards the end of the night - I'm one happy wedding planner!! Congrats guys - and miss you!! :)

Wedding Planning Plus is getting great press!!

Wedding Planning Plus has been WeddingWire Rated for 2009!!

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, has just announced that Wedding Planning Plus is officially WeddingWire Rated 2009! WeddingWire created the annual Rated program to honor wedding professionals, like Wedding Planning Plus, for their excellence and to help brides and grooms easily find the right wedding professionals to match their needs.

Wedding Planning Plus has 3 ratings with an average of a 5.0 - PERFECT rating, making us eligible to hold the Rated title on the WeddingWire Network. Each review has been written by our former clients and includes detailed ratings and insightful descriptions of their experiences with our services. These reviews not only enhance our credibility, but also help differentiate our business within the WeddingWire Network.

Wedding Planning Plus would like to thank our past brides and grooms for taking the time to review our services on WeddingWire.

If you are a past client of Wedding Planning Plus and have yet to provide us with your feedback, visit www.weddingwire.com and review our services today.

Also available for feedback and ratings is www.asaratogawedding.com . This site is connected to 3 other local wedding websites so leaving a review on this site actually posts to all 4.

And if you are or were a Knottie then you can leave feedback for us on www.theknot.com . Just log in and look for the page to review your vendors.

Feel free to write one review and paste it into the other sites!

All feedback is appreciated! It helps us continue to do the job we love! Thanks to all our past brides for so generously contributing feedback and ratings on these sites!!!

I love what I do

I don’t usually blog when I get home from a wedding, but after tonight’s affair I have so much on my mind that I feel the need to share. Not in a rant or vent kinda way, but in the spirit of a celebratory happy wedding planner type share. Tonight was the wedding of a bride who will truly stand out in my mind as one of the most special. I know I say a lot of my brides are special – and they are! – but each is special to me in a different way. With tonight’s wedding the bride was special because of the deep relationship we formed over the last year and a half. When I say that this bride called/text/e-mailed/Facebook messaged me every day I would not be exaggerating. I talked to her frequently and often. She had a million questions. And needed reassurance. And advice. And I was happy to give it all.

So when you talk to someone almost daily you get to learn a lot about them, maybe even more than their groom ends up knowing. You get to be more than just a wedding planner to them. You get to be a friend.

Tonight’s wedding was absolutely beautiful, and even though the bride was a bit nervous (not that I didn’t see that coming) she was happy and gorgeous and treated her guests to a wonderful event. Her father got up from dinner to find me and tell me how beautiful the reception was and how appreciative he was for everything I had done to put this wedding together. He talked with me for several minutes. And when he told me how much this wedding was to his daughter and his family, he cried.

At the end of tonight, as I do at every wedding, I went through and said goodbye to key people. I said goodbye to the groom who gave me a big hug and thanked me for everything. Then I said goodbye to the father of the bride who again hugged me tight and gave me a healthy dose of praise. The mother of the bride hugged me so tight and so long that I wasn’t sure I was going to be let go. She poured out her appreciation for putting together such a beautiful event, but mostly for dealing and working with her daughter throughout the whole process. And then I said goodbye to the bride. And it was like saying goodbye to a friend I won’t see anymore. She told me I couldn’t go. And I told her I really wasn’t. Because I know I’m won’t be. I’m never really gone. I’ll always be a part of them as they are of me.

I love what I do. I am a wedding planner. But really I get to be so much more than that. I am a friend. A confidant. I am the expert and the one with wisdom and knowledge. I comfort fears and give a gentle nudge forward when needed. I know about what my couples are most excited about. And what they’re most afraid of. I get them. And their vision. And their wishes and hopes. And I love to put it together.

I don’t think I could ever work at one of those reception locations that pumps out 5 events in a weekend. Because it’s not about the process; to me it’s all about the people. I really do feel like a member of their family, and they become an important member in mine. I stay in touch with a lot of my couples, and I get updates when they return from their honeymoon, when buy their first home, and when they have their first child. I get holiday cards and Facebook updates. I mean something to them and they mean a whole lot to me.

I love what I do. I love being a wedding planner. And what I do is much more than just about the wedding… :)

Happy planning,

Shannon

Wedding Season - so far!

Hello everyone! I know I owe you all an apology, I haven't been blogging much lately and I'm truly sorry for that! But come on people - it's Wedding Season! And we here at Wedding Planning Plus have been very busy! And busy is good. :)

So we are about halfway through our year and have had the most wonderful and beautiful events so far - in spite of the weather. The rain has certainly been an issue for some of our past events but not something we can't handle. We're always prepared with a backup plan and we're ready for just about anything Mother Nature can throw at us. And this year she certainly has been throwing!

Ok, so you were probably expecting something more from this post... this isn't really a blog about anything... more like an apology blog for not being on here much lately... But stay tuned because we will be adding a ton of new posts from our recent weddings so there will be a lot more to look at and catch up on soon! Promise!! :)

Happy planning - and Happy Wedding Season!!,

Shannon

Invitations

Most people know we're the area's premiere wedding planning service, but did you know that we sell invitations and wedding stationery, too? From classic, white and traditional to colorful, fun and funky, we carry whole lines of pieces that fit into every bride's style and theme. A lot of brides are choosing from the collection of ensemble products where the invitations, save the dates, ceremony programs, place cards, table numbers, and favor tags all match in the same color and style. Another popular option is the pockets albums which showcases all of the styles that package the invitation neatly with the response, reception, accommodations, and directions cards. It's easy to set up an appointment to look through our selections! Ordering is simple and quick and prices run across all ranges. Many beautiful options to choose the right wedding stationery for you! Check out some of the sample photos of our offerings below - what are you waiting for - call us to schedule your free consultation!!







Let us help you plan the wedding of your dreams... and find you the perfect stationery, too!

Miller Wedding - June 6, 2009

I work with a lot of special and wonderful couples, but every now and then I meet a couple that has a certain something extra that forever keeps them in a special place in my heart. This is definitely the case with Jackie and Scott. These guys came to me last fall through a recommendation from their caterer. They live in Colorado but were planning their wedding in Saratoga because this area was once home to them. Planning a wedding from out of state has its unique challenges, and they decided to work with me to help them put their event together. They got married at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga on a beautiful June Saturday. Classe Catering did a wonderful job with the food and the decor setup, as they always do. Kathy is a great Classe coordinator and we work together frequently. Once again, she didn't disappoint. Along with the fabulous photographer Heather Bohm Tallman (http://www.hbtphoto.com/), local videographer Dan Keese, and an awesome band from Canada, we rocked it out and pull off a wonderful wedding for these two. The following photos were all taken by Heather Bohm-Tallman - Beautiful!!

It was a beautiful sunny day and their ceremony was held outdoors along the wooded side of the Museum. To keep guests cool (and to look pretty cool, too) attendants handed out paper parasols to guests as they took their seats. It was pretty neat to look out at the rows of guests and see them all sitting comfortable in the parasols' shade.

The bride's bouquet. A natural and spring-y mix of greens, ivories, and pinks. Flowers by Suzanne Ballet.

Soft colored paper lanterns hung over the dance floor and added a fun and very pretty element to the reception tent. The wedding colors were sage green pale pink, chocolate brown, and ivory, and all four colors were pulled together simply and beautifully in these lanterns.

Jackie and Scott wanted their wedding to depict an elegant take on nature, and brought a lot of creative ways to pull their theme together. These pewter frames of tree bark served as their place cards and favors. As you can see in the place card the guests were seated at tables named for different varieties of trees. The centerpiece on each table was wheat grass grown in beautiful wooden boxes handmade by the groom. Further examples of their use of natural items includes the birch bark canopy that framed the altar for their ceremony, the rocks that were laid out to be warmed with wishes from their guests, and the copper lanterns and birch branches that hung above the walkway into the tent. All of these elements were kept clean and classy, and they pulled together for a cohesive naturally elegant look.



This is genuine happiness on my face here, as I was photographed with the bride and groom towards the end of their reception. Their wedding was beautiful!! And exactly what a beautiful couple like them deserves. Makes me feel like a proud mama. :)