Let them eat cake! (Part one)

The cutting of the cake is an important wedding tradition where the bride and groom share a sweet dessert to toast their new union. But weddings cakes aren't for the boring and simple anymore - these treats make as strong a statement of the couple and their style as anything else at the reception. So goodbye boring, here are some of the best of the cakes from my weddings over the past few years. These are some of the more 'traditional' cakes, usually round or square three or four layer cakes with simple and beautiful scrolls, ribbons, and tasteful accents. I can almost feel the sugar rush!

And let's also not forget about the cake toppers! The festive little do-dads add something special on top of something sugary special. Gotta fancy everything up ladies! Bon appetite!

Title photo: John Seakwood
Photo 2: McGarry Photography
Photo 3: Foothills Photography
Photo 4: Niki Rossi Photography
Photos 5 and 6: Out of the Ordinary Photography
Photo 7: Shannon DeCelle Photography
Photo 8 and 9: Rob Spring Photography
Photo 10: Colleen's Photography
Photo 11: Jill Kaiser Photography
Photo 12: Wedding Combo
Photo 13: Bailly Photography
Photo 14: Belathee Photography
Photo 15 and 16: Gallery 9 North
Photo 17 and 18: Tracey Buyce Photography

Wedding Planners In Action!

There have been so many pictures taken of me at weddings over the years that I could fill up pages of this blog by posting every single shot. Now don't get me wrong, I personally have perfected the art of staying way out of the photographer's lens, but sometimes being in the thick of things means getting caught for a few moments in the camera's limelight. I thought that it might be fun to throw a few of these pics up so you all can see what it truly is like to be a wedding planner at a wedding. So here are some examples of the guts, the glory, and everything in between. :)

These pics are from a wedding I did back in 2008 at a music and nature retreat in the Catskills. The first two shots are of me leading the ceremony rehearsal (rare footage to be caught on film!), and the last two are of me with the bride and the waitstaff on wedding day. All four of these shots were taken by Michael Grace-Martin, the couple's wedding photographer. The last pic and the one at the top of this post was taken by the maid of honor on her digital camera and it is of me and the beautiful bride. Great wedding, great memories!!!

First dance songs

Photo by Gallery 9 North

The first dance is a moment of true beauty as the bride and groom take the dance floor and share their first dance together as man and wife. This is often a song that will stay with them forever - be played on their wedding video montage, get turned up to the highest volume in the car when it comes on, and the song that whenever they hear it the bride and groom turn to each other and share a smile as if they have a secret only the two of them know. So choosing the right song is important. Very important. It needs to represent the both of you individually, together, and the love and life you share together. For some couples they have had one song that has meant something to them for years so their choice is simple. For others they try and search for that perfect tune to sum up everything about them. So what are some of the most popular, most special, and most unique songs I have seen couples dance to over the years? Well here is the list.

The classics:

• Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
• If I Should Fall Behind - Bruce Springsteen
• At Last - Etta James
  
• You're My Best Friend - Queen
• Someone Like You - Van Morrison
• A Sunday Kinda Love - Etta James
• Crazy Love - Van Morrison
• Stand By Me - Ben E King
• For Sentimental Reasons - Sam Cooke
  

The contemporaries:

• Baby I'm Amazed - Lonestar
• At Last - Beyonce
• All My Life - K-Ci and JoJo
• Love You to the End - The Pogues
• Sail Away - David Gray
• I Love You - Nine Days
• Songbird - Eva Cassidy
• Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Elton John
• From This Moment - Shania Twain
• All I Want is You - U2
• Lucky - Jason Mraz and Colbie Colait
• My Best Friend - Tim McGraw
• You and Me - Dave Matthews Band
• Forever - Ben Harper

But my favorite of all... And the song *I* secretly smile to every time I hear it...

• The Luckiest - Ben Folds

Seriously someone needs to pinch me

I can't even believe this, but yet another wedding magazine has just called to say that they are featuring one of my 2010 weddings in their next issue. 'For The Bride' magazine will be showing off the Scahill's and their amazingly beautiful Sagamore wedding from this past September and I couldn't be any more thrilled for this couple and all of the wonderful vendors involved. All of this positive praise and national publicity of my weddings is really blowing me away! Of course please stay tuned to get more info about when and where you can find this!

Here it is!

Just announced - We've won another award!!

Hot off the presses, I just got word that Wedding Planning Plus has won the Bride's Choice Award 2011 from WeddingWire! This means that we are ranked in the top 5% of all wedding professionals nationwide. We were selected for the 2010 award and we are honored to once again be chosen! Thank you!!

O'Connor Wedding - October 9, 2010

Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor were married on October 9, 2010. They had a beautiful ceremony at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Albany followed by a reception at 11 North Pearl. These guys were so much fun to work with, and their friends and family really made me feel a part of the gang for the day. Katie and Neil chose some really great touches for their big day - including transportation for the bridal party in the Albany Trolley, a bag piper and a bubble send off as their recessed out of the church, a fun groom's cake in the shape of a jersey from the groom's alma mater, and a photo booth that became extra fun for guests as the night and the drinks go on. The flower girl added to the mix by playing with her bride and groom Barbis as the girls got ready. She was too cute! There were a lot of memorable moments from that night including the bride and groom updating their Facebook status to married as they took the trolley from their ceremony to the reception. Hey it's not real until it's Facebook real! I also definitely had a first from this group - an "icing" from one of the bridesmaids to the groomsman escorting her into the reception. She whipped out a Smirnoff Ice and made him drink the whole thing right there in front of everyone. It was a riot, and definitely a first for me!

But back to the wedding details... Katie chose purple as her main color with accents of golds and ivories. Their centerpieces, which were tall shoots of the large calla lillies, were the perfect touch to give weight and interest to the venue (which is a renovated bank with very tall ceilings). The dance floor was packed all night which is no surprise seeing that the music was provided by Vinny Liotta of Cool Cat DJs. These guys brought fun props and led some group dances which kept everyone going strong throughout the night.

But before I give my list of all the vendors at this event I have to give it up for Matt and Leah Bailly of Bailly Photography who did a ridiculous job photographing Katie and Neil's wedding. The Baillys are fantastic, and took literally a gillion pics that day! There were so many good ones for me to choose from that it was nearly impossible for me to narrow them down for this post. Also working this event with me was Dave Bigler, the videographer and owner of Bigler Productions. I have seen the highlight video from this wedding and it was amazing! Pesha King of Flowers by Pesha, made the centerpieces and bouquets, the cakes were from J&S Watkins, and the photobooth was from Saratoga Photobooth Company.

This was such a rocking wedding and it couldn't have been any better for these two. The day was filled with emotion and you could really feel the love that Katie and Neil have for each other (check out those ceremony pics - it doesn't get any better than that!) Thank you guys for allowing me to be a part of your most special day!

According to The Knot I'm a winner!

There has been so many great announcements coming through our office about awards and features and accolades of all kinds that lately I just feel like I need to stop and pinch myself! Well I just got word of another achievement that I am so totally excited to share with you all. Drum roll please...

Wedding Planning Plus has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2011 Pick!

Thank you to all of the brides who voted and have so far given us perfect 5 out of 5 ratings in all categories. You guys are the best and are truly the reason I do what I do. I hold myself and my team to the highest standards and it's so very nice to see that it is appreciated. So this I share with all of you! Muah!! <3

Vote for WPP's new logo!

We are getting a new logo! To help us choose the best one click on the link below and cast your vote for WPP's new logo!

Click here!

Meet our newest intern Kelsi!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to introduce you all to my newest intern, Kelsi Metzger. Kelsi is a senior at Siena College studying marketing and information systems. She is going to be working with me through the spring semester assisting in bridal communications, e-mail and web based marketing, as well as other fun projects along the way. Kelsi is enthusiastic when she talks about the things she has learned in school and how she plans to apply some of those principles for WPP. I am so glad I found her and am psyched to have her on the team! Welcome Kelsi!

Don't be bamboozled

By now I think everyone has heard about the wedding business that has gone MIA and have left their recent and upcoming clients high and dry. The business I am referring to is Wedding Combo and they offered affordable packages in wedding photography, videography, and DJ services. I learned of this problem a few days ago, when a bride who was to be married today called them to confirm arrangements with them. When she realized their website was down, the office was closed, and calls to their contact number went straight to voicemail she knew she was in trouble. So here was a bride three days before her wedding missing the most important vendors for her day - as well as the money she spent to pay them. There are others, too, who used Wedding Combo for photo or video on their fall and winter weddings who got a vendor to show up on wedding day but now realize they many never actually receive their photos or their video of their special day. Imagine being the bride sitting there thinking you will never have a picture of your first kiss, your first dance, or of you in a wedding dress? The whole thing is devastating.

So my heart goes out to all who are affected by this terrible situation. There is so much that a bride and groom think about in the wedding planning process but worrying about your vendors coming through should not be on their radar. I cannot stress enough the important of selecting high quality vendors who have strong and long reputations of impeccable work. Before hiring a vendor you should meet with them, review their references, research them on business bureaus and on weddings websites where past brides review their work, and tap into the expertise of a wedding planner or local expert who can tell you if they recommend them and why. You put a lot of faith, trust, and money into your wedding professionals and it is vital that you think your choices through and select those who you have complete confidence in.

I do have to say that this Wedding Combo situation is extremely rare, and all of the vendors I work with and recommend are up- and outstanding. Please don't let one bad egg spoil the reputation for the wedding community at large. I hate to see that any couples are going through this tragedy and for all of your with weddings coming up I hope you find replacements who will perform above and beyond what you were offered originally. And for any Wedding Combo brides who want my help finding replacements I would be more than happy to give you my recommendations and vendor suggestions free of charge. You have been through enough, I would be thrilled to do a little something to make all of this better for you.

It's your biggest day, and you can't leave things up to chance. Best wishes to all.

News Channel 13 story of Wedding Combo scandal

What great news!

I just got off the phone with Martha Stewart Weddings and they called to tell me that they will be featuring Jolene and Brad's wedding next month! What great news! I'll be sure to post all the info once everything is finalized so check back and stay tuned!

Pascarella Wedding - September 25, 2010

Mr. and Mrs. Pascarella were married at River Stone Manor on September 25, 2010. All of my weddings are special to me but this one was a bit more personal because Oriana and I went to the same high school and I've known her for 15+ years. I had a blast working with her on the planning of this event, and getting a chance to meet Tom and their two beautiful boys. They had a night time ceremony, literally getting married with stars overhead, which had an interesting effect that made the ceremony very intimate and peaceful. Oriana chose a chocolate brown as her main color and used flowers to bring color and accents to the space. Instead of place cards they made large posters directing guests to their assigned tables, and instead of a traditional favor they chose to have a big candy bar where guests could fill their bags with treats to take home.

I worked with some great vendors on this event, including my first time working with Brian McGarry who provided me with these beautiful photos. The rest of my vendor team consisted of Amber Mathias at River Stone Manor, the band Body and Soul, flowers by Kris Ann Elario from Fleurtacious Designs, Clifton Park Rental Company, Experience and Creative Designs, and a cake from Villa Italia.

This was a beautiful wedding and I was honored to be a part of it. Congrats again you two!