Recap on Bridesmaids Dresses

As I'm working through my 2011 weddings I see an immediate contrast in bridesmaids dresses from this year to last. 2010 was the year of pink for my weddings, as the vast majority of brides selected either a soft or a bold shade of pink for their girls to wear. Sure I had long dresses and short, matching and non, and a few shades of blues and greens, but if I can sum up my bridesmaids in 2010 the word pink is the only way I could describe them. :)

Here are some of my favorite bridesmaids dresses from my 2010 weddings.

Title photo - Belathee Photography
Photo 2 - Jennifer Mardus Photography
Photo 3 - Gallery 9 North
Photo 4 - Tracey Buyce
Photo 5 - John Seakwood
Photo 6 - Bailly Photography
Photo 7 - Gallery 9 North
Photo 8 - Elario Photography
Photo 9 - Out of the Ordinary Photography
Photo 10 - Jessica Patch Photography
Photo 11 - Niki Rossi Photography
Photo 12 - Dan Cooper
Photo 13 - McGarry Photography

Check out WPP's bride Andrea on the NYWB blog!

Andrea and Justin are getting married this September in the Catskills and it just so happens that yours truly has the honor of being their wedding planner. Andrea just started a guest blog entry on the New York Wedding Boutique blog and in this first post she shares her thoughts of what it was like in the very early steps of her wedding planning process. She even mentions me in it! Check it out to see what she's said:

http://newyorkweddingboutique.com/guest-blog-entries/wedding-planning-plus/

What Not to Skip - Cake Tastings

Ok, not every wedding includes a cake. Some couples decide to go with some different like cheesecakes or pies, or maybe a selection of mini desserts. But we all know the vast majority of weddings have a big beautiful cake that we all drool over until it finally gets cut and we get a chance to eat it. When planning your wedding, you can ask to have a cake tasting, not only see if you like the taste of a certain bakery's cakes but also so you can try several flavors of cake, fillings, and frostings to know which combinations are going to work best for you. Most bakeries charge a fee for a cake tasting but trust me when I tell you it is worth it! You may not even get a chance to sit and enjoy your cake at your wedding so take this time to indulge while getting a serious afternoon sugar high. Grooms tend to LOVE cake tastings so ladies, if you have been struggling to get your man to certain vendor appointments trust me that he will come with you for this. So make your appointment, scarf down your sweets, and have fun with it! Trust me you won't regret it.

Moving On Up!

Wedding Planning Plus has recently moved into a fun office space on Central Ave in Colonie. We are centrally located between Albany and Schenectady and are an easy drive from points north and south. We happily share the space with the amazing husband and wife photography team of Bailly Photography. Office hours are by appointment only so if you want to swing by and say hello just give me a buzz!

It's a super great feeling to have a professional office space and to offer the services of two great wedding vendors under one roof. Come by and check us out!


Office address: 1987 Central Ave, Colonie, NY 12205
To contact WPP for an appointment: 518.269.1243

Today We Made History

Photo by Finer Image Photography

Above is a photo from a wedding I planned for a wonderful couple. They were united in front of their friends and family, but unfortunately when their wedding took place in 2008 they were not allowed a legal union because they were both women.

All humans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, social standing, or sexual orientation deserve the right to marry. Friday the elected officials of the State of New York - my home state - made the right choice to grant same sex couples the right to marry. I have never been more proud to be a New Yorker.

Alexis and Jon's magazine feature

Alexis and Jon Scahill got married on September 4, 2010. Their ceremony and reception took place at the fabulous Sagamore Resort where they enjoyed incredible late summer weather and gorgeous lakeside views. Many of my most favorite vendors worked on this wedding with me, including Amy Elizabeth Smith for makeup, David Michael Schmidt from Renaissance Floral Design for the flowers, rentals, and design, and the amazing Tracey Buyce who captured these beautiful images with her camera. AES, David, Trace and I make up our own little mini Sagamore dream team and we rocked out yet another great wedding at this property. Once submitted to For the Bride Magazine they couldn't help but put Alexis and Jon's wedding on their glossy pages. So here you are, another WPP wedding featured in the pages of a magazine. We couldn't be more thrilled for the bride and groom or for the fabulous vendors who made this all possible!

Who doesn't love accessories and gifts??

Girls love accessories, and brides are no exception! When it comes to looking for personalized bridal party or parent gifts, ceremony or reception accessories, and fun little add-ons to your wedding day, we offer a wide assortment of all of these goodies. Our new Quite Personally album is on hand in our office and takes just a few minutes to flip through. Contact us by phone or email to set up your appointment!

Check out Jolene and Brad's wedding featured on yet another site!!

Photo by Belathee Photography

Jolene and Brad Walajtys are not only two of my favorite people but they also make up one of my most favorite weddings I've ever had the pleasure to say I planned. If you are a follower of this blog then you know these guys well - they were the wedding in the summer of 2010 who chose to be vintage, soft, hadan intimate guest list of 40 and we turned out some of the most beautiful and memorable details of any wedding I've planned thus far. And as a WPP blog stalker you also know that this very wedding is currently a feature on Martha Stewart Weddings which we are still very proud and excited about! But... Drum roll please... I just learned that Jolene and Brad are also featured on the wedding blog site of Hey Gorgeous! And not only are there new and fun photos posted on this blog (seriously, you need to check this sh*t out) but Jolene adds a special little note in the text about her fairy godplanner (me!!!). Too cool, too beautiful, and seriously too much to handle. Check it out!!!

Meet WPP's newest intern Nicole!

I am so incredibly excited to introduce our newest intern Nicole Matuszko! Nicole is coming on as a wedding planning intern for the summer and fall seasons, meaning she will be working along side Katie and myself in all of our 2011 events! Nicole is a student at Siena College and comes to us with a background in customer service and a strong desire to learn everything there is about the wedding industry. She has a strong drive and a determination to the do the best work she can in both school and professional arenas and we know she will wow all of this year's brides. Nicole is going to be a huge asset and a strong additional to our team and we couldn't be happier to have her! Welcome to WPP Nicole!!

New invitation album is in - And it's all about Save the Dates!

Getting married in 2012 and want to make sure your guests mark your wedding date on their calendar? Send them a cool Save the Date card! We have save the date options in several of our albums but wanted a larger selection so we ordered an album that is filled with nothing but save the date cards, magnets, stickers, scratch offs, and a whole slew of other fun options. Invitation consultations are free and are as easy as popping in our office to flip through our selections. Call or email to set up your appointment.

Wedding Insurance

Besides hiring a wedding planner, the biggest decision you can make to ensure you're going to have a perfect wedding day is to take out Wedding Insurance. We all know about the local wedding photo/video/DJ company that recently closed up shop and disappeared, leaving dozens of brides with no vendors for their wedding and no sign of the return of any of their money. This is a tragic situation for any bride, but with Wedding Insurance you could be covered for this kind of thing. Or what about a horrific story I heard from one of my photographer friends who was working a wedding last year where someone stole the gift envelopes from the reception, taking all of the money and gifts that were intended to go to the bride and groom. You may think this kind of thing would never happen but it does, and Wedding Insurance can help cover you for this loss.

I know that the thought of an added wedding expense does not seem appealing to any couple, but I happen to know a very knowledgeable and handsome insurance professional (my brother!) who can write a policy for couples for as little as $170. With the average cost of weddings nearing $30,000 taking out a simple policy for less than $200 seems like a totally worthwhile expense.

Here are some of the things that can be covered in a Wedding Insurance policy:

The cancellation or postponement of your wedding (including change of heart coverage)
Photography and video
Gifts
Rented property
Special attire
Jewelry
Loss of deposits
Professional counseling
Personal liability and medical expense
Liquor liability

Here are some examples of how Wedding Insurance can prove to be invaluable:

Extreme weather rolls in on your wedding day making it impossible to hold your event
Hired vendors go out of business before your big day and you are out your deposits and payments
Unforseen medical issues cause the wedding to be postponed
No-show vendors
Theft
Wedding dress ruined at the reception
Damage to the property at a rented venue


In addition to the many benefits of having insurance for loss, many couples rent venues that require you provide your own insurance to cover the liability of your event. The National Museum of Dance, the Canfield Casino, the Pruyn House, and many other such venues require this and a Wedding Insurance policy can include all of the coverage your venue requires.

You have insurance to cover the value of your home, your apartment, your vehincles, and all of your other prized possessions, so why wouldn't you consider insuring your wedding? With the cots of your wedding probably exceeding the cost of your car there is really no reason not to.

Any questions or inquiries on Wedding Insurance can be directed to my brother - Brian Whitney - who is an insurance professional with the Associates of Glens Falls. He can be reached at 518-793-3444. Tell him his big sis says hi! ;)

How Sweet is This??

There is a bride getting married in 2012 who has been in contact with me about assisting her with her planning. She was a guest at one of my weddings this past fall so I was able to meet her then but a few e-mails and a brief conversation at that event are as far as we've gotten. I just found that she has her own wedding planning blog and as I read through some past posts I see she has written about me!! It's good stuff and I just had to share. How sweet is she??? :)

Let It Be Known...

Let it be known that 6 months before I was proposed to, I referred MY WEDDING PLANNER to another bride... and got laughed at by her groom in the process. Let me rewind and tell you how it all came about.

So most of my friends know that I started planning my wedding when I was 20. I'm 32 now so I've had years of planning and I know exactly what I want for most things. I also knew very quickly into our relationship that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Shawn. For me, it was natural to start planning my wedding with him long before he proposed to me. I think it was a very good sign that he knew I was planning our wedding and didn't go into a full panic about it.

So had we been getting married in the Mid-Hudson Valley, I wouldn't need a Wedding Planner. I spent my whole life there and knew the area like the back of my hand. As a new transplant to the Capital District, I need help. Help that a groom cannot provide. You might be asking, but what about your bridesmaids? Well half of them have spent their entire lives in the area and I am working with them for ideas. However, this is my vision and I wanted to put all of my ducks in a row on the vision itself before asking for help. Sometimes your closest friends and family can provide influence away from your own tastes. I needed to make sure I had a clear picture of what I wanted exactly and whether I could facilitate it before reaching out to them.

So, I started looking for wedding planners and came across several. However, I always go with my gut. My gut told me to go with Wedding Planning Plus. So I sent an email and got an immediate reply back from Shannon Whitney. She is super helpful and her willingness to answer my questions, even though I wasn't even engaged yet was helpful, and thoughtful of her. I went through some trouble figuring out a potential venue (due to my Celiac, I have to be very careful of who is selected for food preparation). I had sent out a series of emails and gotten no replies.

I happened to mention this to Shannon, that I felt like I was being ignored because I wasn't engaged yet. She reached out to her friend Erin at Birch Hill and to my surprise, it was technical issues with their contact form which caused the lack of response and Erin was more than willing to work with me in advance of Shawn's proposing. Shannon showed she was worth her weight in gold and I didn't even have a ring on my finger yet.

Shannon and I continued to email and low and behold, my friend ran into trouble with her venue with weeks left to spare before her wedding. She was so stressed she was ill and the venue had been so cruel to her that a single email had her dissolving into tears. I didn't hesitate for a second to recommend Shannon to her.

They went in to meet with Shannon and she told them "So, you were referred to me by one of my brides?" and the groom's comment was something along the lines of "but Shawn hasn't even proposed to her!" Anyway...

Shannon saved the day! She worked with her and helped her get through the final weeks leading up to her fabulous wedding to make them pain-free for the bride. On the day of the wedding, Shannon coordinated the whole thing flawlessly. She was even so helpful as to assist an old friend of the bride's in staging a gift basket in the Bridal Suite.

I have a lot of worries about my wedding (mostly around food), but knowing that Shannon is behind me, with her endless knowledge, caring and attention to details, I can breathe a sigh of relief that everything is going to be allright.

Wedding Planners in Action!

Here's another post of some pics of me from past weddings. This wedding was photographed by the lovely Tracey Buyce at Glen Sanders Mansion back in October 2009. Tracey happened to catch me in the photo of getting the bride in her dress and also of me helping keep her train clean as she walked outside for her first sighting photos. The bottom two pics have my 2009 intern Laura in them, and were taken in the back of Glen Sanders right on the shores of the Mohawk River. This was such a great event, and these pics still bring a smile to my face!

Toasts

Photo by Niki Rossi

Toasts are standard at every wedding. Typically the best man raises a glass, says some kind words about the happy couple, and everyone says cheers and takes a sip in their honor. Some toasts are memorable for the right reasons, some are memorable for very different reasons. Have you ever been to a wedding where something inappropriate is said during a toast? Or what about toasts that go on for what seems like forever plus a day? Or those terribly awkward toasts where the person at the mic clearly thought they could wing it without writing anything down just to find out that they became a sweating stammering mutterer as soon as they stood in front of all those guests. Oh boy.


Photo by Tracey Buyce


I get asked by couples what is standard when it comes to toasts and here is what I tell them:

• Traditionally the best man gives a toast at the wedding reception and says something nice about the couple, maybe tells a funny story about something stupid the groom did as he was pursuing his bride, and then finishes by wishing them the best that life has to offer them. The maid or matron of honor can also speak, and it is almost commonplace now for both of these two to give toasts during the reception. The maid of honor's speech is usually something more emotional, and if she is a childhood friend of the bride her toast usually has some sort of silly story about what the bride was like growing up. She then wishes the couple all the best and finishing by asking everyone to raise a glass in the couple's honor. It doesn't really matter who goes first, but if you know one is going to be more emotional you may want to leave that one for last.

Photo by Elario Photography

• Because parents of the bride and groom often host the wedding (aka pay for all or most of the event) they often want an opportunity to say something to the guests, as well. I usually put this directly before the best man and maid of honor's toasts and suggest that the parent(s) use that time to welcome guests to their child's wedding and thank everyone for coming. They can go off from there in whatever direction they would like but the welcome and the thank you are pretty much the foundation of what they should be delivering.

Photo by Tracey Buyce

• So if you have parents speaking, a best man giving and toast, and a maid or matron of honor toasting, you really don't want many more captive microphone moments than that. I was at a wedding once where virtually everyone in the bridal party got up to say something and I lost interest after minute 2 1/2. It's lovely for your attendants to want to wish you well but the bridal shower or the rehearsal dinner makes for a much better suited place for these kinds of moments.
• If you are giving a toast or a speech have a clear idea of what you want to say before you go up there. I can't count the number of times I hear a best man say that he totally forgot to mention all the good stuff because he got up there and got nervous and thrown off. It's ok to write things down - in fact I encourage it! Just jot a few basic notes to give yourself a reminder of the topics you want to cover. Trust me when I tell you that this will make for a much more relaxed and well received delivery and sounds a lot better than "Uhhh", "Ummm", and "Soooo".
  
• And lastly, don't forget that whoever is giving a toast will be a point if interest for the photographer and videographer. Make sure the guys have their jackets on! And ladies keep those heels on until after this Kodak moment. And please for the love of all things holy please remember to have a glass of champagne or sparkling water with you so that when you ask guests to raise their glass you can raise yours, too. And lastly, and probably most importantly, everyone is nervous when they give a toast. Don't use the cocktail hour as your personal effort to get as much liquid courage in you as you can. A sober nervous speech wins over a slurred sloppy one every single time.

Above all anyone who is asked to give a toast should feel incredibly honored to have been given such an important role. Keep your toast succinct and interject your personality into it. Stay calm and have fun. At least you get to finish with a swig of some bubbly!



Photo by Out of the Ordinary Photography

Happy Mother's Day!

I am what I am and am able to do what I do because of this woman right here. Happy Mother's Day to the greatest woman I've ever known. I love you mom!

Altamont Manor Open House - June 5th

Mark your calendars! There is a free open house at the Altamont Manor where you can meet wedding vendors, sample food from Elegant Touch and Nicole's Catering, and tour through the facility and the beautiful rose gardens. I will be there so if you want to come just to meet me that's fine, too! :)

You're invited to
The Altamont Manor
Open House
Sunday, June 5th
Noon to 4:00 pm.

A gracious 1894 restored Victorian home, the Altamont Manor is one of the area's most unique and
elegant settings for enchanted wedding receptions.
We offer a secluded setting, formal gardens, spacious landscaped surroundings and a 30 mile view.

Come meet many of the areas finest wedding professionals, stroll the gardens, relax on the veranda and enter the drawings for valuable prizes that will enhance your wedding.

Make your reservation soon for this limited event.

Call 518-861-8176 to register

See you tonight?

Come spend a little Cinco de Mayo action with your favorite wedding friends! I will be at the New York Wedding Boutique's 1st Anniversary Party tonight at Pat's Barn in Troy. Vendors, brides and grooms, and guests are all invited to attend and share in the celebration. This is a great chance for couples to mingle with some of the area's hottest wedding vendors, sample food from Nicole's Catering, and to see what a party looks like a great wedding venue. I will be there early so stop by and say hello!

Pat's Barn - Defreest Rd in Troy, NY
6:00-9:00

Parent Dance Songs

I posted a blog a few months ago listing some of the most popular first dance songs at my past weddings, and I thought it would be fun to also list some of the top parent dance songs. These always tend to be tough choices for most couples because you want to make your moms and dads happy but you don't want to be stuck swaying along to some horrible 5 minute tune. Maybe you and your 'rents have a song already lined up, but if not maybe you could consider one of these little ditties:




Photo by Heather Bohm-Tallman


Father/Daughter dance songs:

Forever Young - Bob Dylan
I loved her First - Heartland
Butterfly Kisses - Bob Carlisle
My Girl - Temptations
Wonderful World - Louie Armstrong
Father and Daughter - Paul Simon
Cinderella - Steven Curtis Chapman
The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra
Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder
In My Daughter's Eyes - Martina McBride
Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion
Unforgettable - Nat King Cole



Photo by Tracey Buyce


Mother/Son dance songs:

Raise Me Up - Westlife
Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
The Rose - Bette Midler, Highland Heartbeat
Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
All to You - DJ Keo
Stand by Me - Ben E. King
I Hope You Dance - Lee Ann Womack
Your Song - Garth Brooks
Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel
Have I Told You Lately - Rod Stewart
In My Life - The Beatles
Child of Mine - Carole King

How to Assemble Your Invitations

Summer wedding invitations are going out, fall wedding couples are ordering and assembling as we speak. No matter who you order your invitations through and regardless of how many enclosures and fancy elements there are to your invitations, there is a specific way that they need to be assembled to fit with tradition and etiquette.

Before we get started here is a list of possible items in your invitation. If you don't have some of these pieces just skip that part in the process listed below:

• Main invitation card (single card or folded card)
• Inner and outer envelopes
• Response card and response card envelope
• Reception card (listing the site and address of your reception if your reception is in a separate location from your ceremony)
• Directions card/map card
  
• Accommodations card
• Tissue paper (not seen as often in modern times)
  

Before you do anything you should deal with all of your envelopes. This way you won't make any marks or indentations on the inner cards and you won't forget that important response card envelope stamp. The outer envelope is what gets the full formal address with words like "street" and "road" being spelled out formally. For guests' names it's customary to list John and Jill Jones and their children as "Mr. and Mrs. John Jones and family", although if that feels too formal for you and your event you have the choice to list your names more casually. You have an inner envelope that can be addressed as well, and if you are sticking with a formal feel then it is customary to address this envelope. To do so you would list the specific people being invited, so in the example of the Jones family the inner envelope would say Mr. and Mrs. John Jones, and the list of children would be written below that in age order. If you are having an adults only wedding then this would be the place that specific invitees would be listed. For example just Mr. and Mrs. John Jones and no children named below. If you are going with a more casual feel then the inner envelope doesn't need to be addressed at all. Now for the stamping of these envelopes, the inner envelope will never be processed by the postal service so that requires no stamp. The response card envelope will be what guests send their response cards back to you in and it is polite to affix a standard stamp to that envelope for the ease of your guests. It should also have your return address printed on it so that guests can just pop it as is into the mail to send back to you. Now for the outer envelope, that is what your entire invitation and enclosures are being mailed in so it needs not only to be stamped but to have the proper postage for the size and weight of the entire piece. Because of all of the enclosures wedding invitations almost always are heavier than a standard piece of mail, and if your invitation is square or oversized then you also have the added charge of mailing a larger sized item. The best thing you can do is bring your invitation fully assembled (so that is has all of the enclosures, envelopes, etc) and have the post office weigh it for you. They can tell you how much each one will cost to mail, and offer you options for pretty specialty stamps that cover that fee.

Ok now for the assembly! First is your main invitation card. That goes in to your inner envelope with the text facing the flap. If your invitation is a single card then everything else I'm going to talk about goes in front of it; If your card is folded then everything else goes inside of it. Next, your response card gets tucked under the flap of the response card envelope facing out (tucked under the flap but not placed inside the envelope). This response card/envelope duo get placed inside the inner envelope in front of the invitation so that the card and the flap are facing out. If you have a reception card that goes in between the response card/response card envelope and the main invitation. Any other enclosures like directions cards, accommodations cards, etc go in front of the response card/response card envelope. And if you are using tissue paper then the paper goes directly on the main invitation to protect it from all of the enclosure cards sitting on top of it. Now all of these cards should be in your inner envelope which you leave untucked and unsealed. The inner envelope goes into the outer envelope with the guests' names facing out (so that the outer and inner envelopes essentially are facing opposite directions. Then you seal the outer envelope, make sure you have the proper postage, and away they go!

Assembling wedding invitations can be a tedious process so I always recommend couples order their invitations with plenty of time to put them all together. As far as when to mail them, the standard is 8-10 weeks before the event date, with your RSVP date being 4 weeks from the event. So this means you should be ordering your invitations at least 3 to 4 months before your wedding date to get them out on time, and earlier than that if possible so you can have time for revisions, printing, shipping, and of course the assembly!

I hope this information has been helpful! As a reminder, we sell tons of different styles of invitations so if you want personal guidance through all of this feel free to contact us for a complimentary invitation consultation.
Shannon@WeddingPlanningPlus.net.