MWOY Happy Hour to support the LLS

(Event poster designed by Adam Anson)

The end of the Man of the Year campaign is quickly approaching, and your support for Joe and this cause has been nothing short of amazing. We have one final fundraising event that we are hosting this Friday and we are excited to be ending this 8-week campaign with a bang. Please join us at The Victory Cafe in Albany from 6:00-9:00. $20 admission includes food and soda, and there will be drink specials, door prizes, and a silent auction running throughout the event. It is a great way to end the work week and support a very worthy cause.

Thank you in advance to some of my friends and colleagues who have generously donated items and services for this event. Please support these businesses, they are run by good people and they deserve your business!

Exit 9 Wine and Liquor in Clifton Park

Eastern Mountain Sports in Stuyvesant Plaza

YMCA of the Greater Capital District (Clifton Park location)

Birch Hill

National Museum of Dance

Outback Steakhouse

Comedy Works

Olde Bryan Inn

The Victory Cafe

Houlihans

LLS Cash Blast

(Cash Blast logo designed by Adam Anson)

The support for Joe Quijano as Man of the Year candidate for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been overwhelming! Thank you all for your donations both online and at some of the recent fundraising events.

If you are fans of WPP on Facebook (or one of my friends) you have seen the postings about today's Cash Blast. Please log on now to www.mwoy.org/uny , click on Joe's picture and donate $10 or more to help us reach our one day goal. All of your support has been amazing so far. Thanks for supporting the LLS and our efforts in this campaign!

Destination Wedding Spotlight - Paris

Who doesn't think of love and romance when they think of Paris? Walks along the Seine, standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, strolling the Champs Elysees. J'adore Paris! Paris is an amazing city that really can't be described in a few words. It truly is a magical place where you can discover something new everyday - the cheese, bread and wine, the fashion, the museums, the true essence of this extraordinary place. Getting married in a place like Paris can be the perfect combination of a destination event and an instant romantic honeymoon. But don't take my word for it. I encourage you to check out this incredible city yourself!

Want to know more about my trip to Paris? E-mail me at Shannon@WeddingPlanningPlus.net.

Now Hiring: Summer/Fall Intern

Hello everyone! We are now accepting applications for those interested in an internship position with Wedding Planning Plus. Ideally the candidate will be a college student or recent college graduate in the areas of event planning, communications, business, or other related fields. Thorough training will be provided. Prior experience is recommended but not required. If you are interested please e-mail me a copy of your resume and a cover letter explaining why you are interested in this position and what you hope to get out of the experience of working with my company. I would be willing to take on one intern to stay on from May until November, or I could split this up into a summer and a fall season for the right candidates. If you have interest or questions please e-mail me at Shannon@WeddingPlanningPlus.net. Thank you!!

Hutchins Wedding - July 11, 2009

Dr. and Mrs. Hutchins were married on July 11, 2009 at the Union Gables Bed and Breakfast in Saratoga. They planned their wedding with me for almost two years, and with them living in California all of the work was done long distance. The bride chose a beautiful cobalt blue for her girls, and accented that with bright orange and yellow flowers and accessories. Some brides focus on frills and opulence, but Crystal kept her aim towards fun, casual elegance. Antique mason jars were used as vases on the tables and Gerbera daisies were all around. Although the weather didn't hold out for the reception it didn't stop these two from rocking out one of the best dance parties I've ever seen - including an absolutely killer "Thriller" dance that had the entire bridal party out on the floor. This bride enjoyed every moment of her wedding day, as you can see from some of these pictures. Lots of special vendors worked with me on this wedding, including photographer Ilana Ben Harav, DJ Russ Gentner from Piano Man DJs, and Crystal Riley from Central Market Florist (Price Chopper) in Queensbury.

This was such a great wedding and one that we all remember more for the love these two shared (and did I mention the killer dance party??) than for the rain that fell that day. I love love loved these two and I thank you Crystal and Ben for allowing me to be a part of your special day!

MWOY Kick Off Event

(Event poster designed by Adam Anson)

Tonight is the Kick Off Event for Team Joe Quijano, candidate for the Man of the Year campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Join us at dp's in Albany for a Guest Bartender happy hour. There will be raffles and drink specials, and all proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Hope to see you there!

WPP Gives Back

Many of you know I recently became involved in a fundraising campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society called "Man and Woman of the Year". This is an 8 week campaign for a dozen candidates to raise as much money as they can for the charity. At the end of the campaign the man and woman who raised the most will be awarded the title of Man or Woman of the Year. A friend of mine, Joe Quijano, is one of the candidates, and over the next 8 weeks I will be supporting his fundraising efforts in many different ways, including the planning and coordination of several fundraising events. I hope to keep you all informed of our progress as we go.

I love working with couples on their weddings, but being involved in charity events is a great way for me to use my event planning skills and give back to a really great cause. I hope you become inspired to support this cause, as well.

To learn more about the campaign, or to donate in Joe's name, please visit www.mwoy.org/uny

WPP Photo of the Week!

This is a sneak peak image from Brittany and Schyler's February 12th wedding. Their photographer was the fabulous Niki Rossi and we all toughed out the cold in the Saratoga Spa State Park to get amazing shots like this one. You can barely tell by Brittany's face that it was really cold out - she was such a trooper! More pics will be posted soon so stay tuned!

Destination Wedding Spotlight - NYC

NYC is the greatest city in the world, so why not celebrate your most special day there? With so much architecture, history, culture, and urban and natural scenery you could choose just about any style wedding and fit in somewhere in this city. Get cool pics of the two of you in a big yellow cab. Or climb to the top of the Empire State Building to do your first sighting photos. Or visit any of the world class restaurants and get your first meal together prepared by a celebrity chef. Big and grand or small and chic this city has everything you've been looking for and so much more that you didn't even know you needed.

I have been to NYC MANY times, and these are just a few photos I took on my trip there this past weekend.
Want to know more about my experiences in NYC? E-mail me at Shannon@WeddingPlanningPlus.net.

Whitney Wedding - August 16, 2009

Mr. and Mrs. Whitney were married on August 16, 2009. Back in the summer I put up a few sneak peak pics of their wedding, but as I'm sitting here at home watching even more snow fall I felt this was the perfect time to post the full recap of their sunny, hot beach side wedding. This was a very special wedding for me because not only was it the wedding of one of my planners, Katie, but she was marrying a very special guy in my life - my brother Jon. Jon and Katie have been together for years and no one in the Whitney clan needed to welcome Katie into our family because we all know she's been a part of our family since the moment we all met.

Their wedding was a destination event on the New England coast and their ceremony overlooked the harbor in Kennebunkport, ME. The bride and bridesmaids came into the processional on a sailboat after enjoying an hour long cruise on the ocean. The sun was bright and the air was warm, but you couldn't expect anything else for such a sunny and cheery couple. The reception moved indoors and Jon, who has been a drummer since we were kids, was able to play a few songs with the band. Special thanks to Becky Sapp for taking such amazing pictures!

It was a beautiful event and the perfect day for such a perfect couple. Love you two!!

Wedding Insurance

I'll be the first to admit that wedding insurance is one of those things I was skeptical of at first. I thought of it like the travel insurance you can add on to your purchase on those travel websites - you know the extra $40 that will cover you only if you cancel your trip for specific reasons A, B, or C. Wedding insurance to me was like that 'too good to be true kind of coverage' that in the end would be too specific and have too much fine print to actually benefit you. Well, I post this blog today because I am now a believer and if I was on the wrong page about it I figure many of you could be, too.

How much is the value of your car? $10,000? And you insure it in case anything goes wrong, right? Well how much is your total wedding costing you? The average in this area is almost $30,000, and what protection do you have for this event should things not happen as planned? What if your photographer goes out of business? In this economy we are seeing more and more of this happen. What if your perfect winter wedding falls on a day of a major ice storm and none of your guests can attend? What would you do if your gifts are stolen during your reception? Or - God forbid - one of you gets cold feet at the last minute and the wedding is called off? You think your vendors are going to give you your money back? Think again.

This is where wedding insurance comes in. A simple policy can cover you for a multitude of issues that have the potential to come up and, well, put a major damper on your big day. And the beauty of such an insurance policy? Policies start around $200. You will invest thousands of dollars on your wedding, so why wouldn't you want to spend just a few hundred dollars to give yourself valuable coverage?

I so strongly believe in wedding insurance that I am happy to be an advocate and put you in touch with a company who can provide you with it. There is an insurance office called Associates of Glens Falls and they specialize in this kind of coverage. Ask for Brian, and he can answer any questions you have and can quote you for a policy if you choose to do so.

My role as a wedding planner is not only to plan the wedding of your dreams but to make sure you realize it, too...

Happy Planning,

Shannon

WPP Photo of the Week!

Photo by Tracey Buyce

This is Lady, as she waited patiently while her mommy got prettied up on wedding day. If you have seen the pictures from the Estes wedding further down in the blog then you know that Lady plays a big role in the big day. Hey, dogs are family members, too!

We have been chosen!

Wedding Planning Plus has been chosen to win the 2010 Bride's Choice Awards from WeddingWire! This award recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and surveys of over 500,000 newlyweds.

Thank you to all of our past brides and grooms who gave us the glowing reviews which earned us this great honor!