Friday, February 25, 2011

It's Invitation Season!

My phone is ringing off the hook with couples looking to order their invitations through me. It honestly doesn't surprise me, because this is prime invitation ordering time for summer and fall weddings! I take all of the worry and uncertainty out of invitation ordering, and because I have some of the coolest and most affordable options around it's an easy choice to go through me as opposed to trying to make the voyage alone on some wedding invitation website. Why would you search online when you can meet me for a quick consult and I can straighten everything out for you then?

Don't forget that invitations are mailed out 8-10 weeks before your wedding date. My ordering process is simple and the invitations come in quickly (usually within a week or two of ordering) but still you will need time to assemble, stamps, address, and get them out there. So if you are a June or July bride you want to contact me right away!

I can come to your home or anywhere that is convenient and this consultation is completely free. E-mail me at shannon@weddingplanningplus.net or call 518.269.1243 to set up your appointment.



Wednesday, February 23, 2011

We're featured on Martha Stewart Weddings


Jolene and Brad's July 11, 2010 wedding at The Mansion is now a featured event on Martha Stewart Weddings. Someone pinch me! This was such a dreamy romantic wedding with bursts of soft pinks, fluffy garden flowers, and lots of vintage pizazz. This was such an amazing wedding for me to work on because the couple was so super sweet and fun and they had great style and ideas. I brought in a dream team of vendors for this and I congratulate all of them for contributing to the magic of this day - Lori and team at The Mansion, Belathee Photography, DJ Greg Frasier, florist Ariella Chezar, Clifton Park Rental, the hair and makeup stylists at Make Me Fabulous, and Bishop Mark Stewart. Please check out the feature on MSW, you really don't want to miss this one.

Walajtys wedding - July 11, 2010



Here is the original wedding recap I posted on Jolene and Brad's wedding. Just in case you missed it the first time around!


Ok. So I love all of my brides... I mean couples... But ok I just need to be straight with everyone and confess that this bride, er couple, was really one of my coolest. And perhaps I have said that before and maybe I have but I am a blessed individual and I have some cool freakin' people come looking for my help so please don't blame me or pass judgement on how I classify more than one of my brides - couples - as the 'coolest'. Ahem, anyway, Jolene and Brad are simply amazing people with inner beauties that all but burst out of their souls the first minute you meet them. Jolene is quite frankly a whirl of wonderfulness and she might as well have sucrose skin because honestly this girl is just that sweet. Add to that her self confidence, love from her family and friends, and her supremely keen sense of drop dead gorgeous style and this was a bride with sass and pizazz that any wedding planner should be luck enough to cross paths with.

Jolene and Brad came to me pretty much at day one and I worked them through the entire process of planning this wedding out. From the quirky and global decor choices to the open air dining to the celebrity florist I was with these two through thick and thin and every blessed e-mail trail in between. I love love LOVED working with them and I honestly couldn't have been any more pleased with the finished product - as if this wedding I was planning was my own. Huge special thanks to Annabel Braithwaite of Belathee Photography for supplying me with these amazing images. Also a huge thank you to Greg Fraiser for DJing this special evening, Lori and her crew at The Mansion Saratoga for hosting this party, Make Me Fabulous for the incredible faces and hair of these lovely ladies, and Clifton Park Rental for creating and implementing the most amazing open air dining space (and drop dead gorgeous lounge space) I have ever seen at a wedding. And of course I can't forget the fabulous Ariella Chezar for being Jolene's priced possession and coming through in a monumental way to make the flowers and dining table look more amazing than any I've ever seen.

This was a very special wedding and I am very happy to share these images with you. Hope you swoon over this wedding as much as I did, er, do. Enjoy!!

















Sunday, February 20, 2011

This is why I do what I do

This was an e-mail I received last night after meeting with one of my newest brides for the first time. It's reinforcement like this that keeps me going and reminds me everyday why I do what I do.

"Just wanted to thank you for meeting with me today. I was so confused and didn't know what to do next with the wedding plans. You really helped to ease my mind as well as provided me with ALOT of important information. Also thank you again for driving such a long distance and staying for such a long time and listening to us banter back and forth and be indecisive, I can tell you take pride in your work! My parents were thrilled with you and so am I. I'm so happy to have you be a part of my wedding day!
Thank you thank you thank you!"





Friday, February 18, 2011

Check out one of our past weddings on the NYWB blog!


It's always exciting to see our couples' weddings being featured in local and national wedding blogs and publications. Megan and Derek Scott got married at Emma Willard in November and hired me to coordinate their ceremony and the morning-of prep time. These two are a riot and were a super awesome couple to work with. Their wedding was beautiful, and the team at the New York Wedding Boutique certainly noticed that when they chose to feature Megan and Derek's big day on their wedding blog. Check out the post and help spread the love!

New York Wedding Boutique Blog





Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Love Day!


Photo by Elario Photography

I can't be in the wedding business without being a sucker for a good Valentine's Day. Wishing everyone out there the best that today can bring.




Sunday, February 13, 2011

Our favorite wedding favors!


Although less couples are choosing to do wedding favors these days, many couples still practice the tradition of giving their guests a gift as a thank you for taking part in their special day. Favors can run any range of choices and in the past few years couples have gotten very creative about what kind of favor they decide to give their guests. Here are photos of some of my favorites from the past few years.

The top picture as well as the one below shows an incorporation of the place card and the guest favor. This is a really simple and fun way to kill two birds with one stone - instead of putting out a traditional place card (which usually just gets tossed anyway), you can either add a tag onto your favor or use a keepsake holder (see below) that lists the guests' seating information. I personally love the favor in the top photo because it is a take home tree sprig that guests can plant in their yards. This is a smart green choice, and super cute accent when placed on the guest tables, too.



Photos above: Niki Rossi Photography and Heather Bohm-Tallman Photography


Other options for favors are items that the guests can take home and enjoy after the wedding is over. Below there are candle holders wrapped in the couple's wedding colors that lists the bride and groom's names as well as their wedding date. The second photo shows a CD that the couple made of some of their favorite songs (including their first dance song). They made a personalized cover and wrapped the disk in a ribbon that matches the bridesmaids dresses to keep with the color scheme of the event.



Photos above: John Seakwood Photography and Tracey Buyce Photography


Some of the most practical favors are those that are edible. A lot of times guests will leave the event and forget to take their favors home, but if you give them all something sweet to eat they will either enjoy it at the reception or they will be sure to take it home with them when they leave. This first picture is of a simple box that contained a fortune cookie with a wedding wish inside. The couple added a favor tag and used this ribbon throughout their wedding accessories. The second photo is a simple clear box with two macarons inside. Classic, simple, and beautiful. Below that is a cookie in the shape of a wedding cake in the same bright Tiffany blue color as the rest of the wedding accents. And the fourth is a take home bag of hot chocolate. This wedding was in February and this warm drink was perfect for the season. Best yet, the bride put these together herself so she saved a ton of money by DIY'ing them. Cute, practical, and affordable - doesn't get any better than that.





Photos above: Dean Forsythe Photography, Belathee Photography, Shannon DeCelle Photography, Niki Rossi Photography


The next set are showcasing a very popular trend in wedding favors - the do it yourself take home treat. Candy bars like the one pictured below have been a popular choice for the last few years, mainly because they are super fun, they are colorful and visually appealing, and guests can load up their bags with whatever combination of treats that they want. Candy is not just a kids treat anymore! Also shown below is a photo from a fall wedding where I put out apple cider and cider donuts at the end of the night so guests could fill up a cup and a bag and have a super tasty seasonal treat for their ride home. Trust me when I say that these guests loved the late night donuts. I couldn't put them out fast enough! And the last two pics below are another great favor treat - a make your own sundae bar. Ok, so these are exactly 'to go' items, but when this ice cream bar was put out that night there was a very long line waiting to jump in on the ice cream goodness. This pairs super well with the service of cake. And besides, who doesn't love ice cream?





Photos above: McGarry Photography, Jessica Patch Photography, and the bottom two are Tracey Buyce Photography


Another super popular trend right now is having an old time photobooth at your wedding. Photobooths have attracted a lot of attention at the weddings I've used them, and guests can't wait to jump in and make silly faces as the camera snaps away. Then the get to take their photo strip - which usually includes an area on the strip that says the couple's names and wedding date - and they can take those photos home as keepsakes of the awesome time they had at the wedding. The other cool thing about the photobooths is the couple's ability to add on a photo guest book. What this does is allow guests to cut photos out of their photo strip, paste it onto the pages of a blank guest book, and write notes to the couple around it. So in a way you combine a favor with a guest book in a way that is super fun and super personal. You can see the guest book in the third photo below.




Photos above: Gallery 9 North, Bailly Photography, Out of the Ordinary Photography


And lastly I wanted to highlight the favors that are a totally different kind of gift - charity donations. Many couples feel that instead of spending their money on a traditional favor they could serve the world better by making a monetary contribution to a charity that means something to them personally. As you can see below I have had couples who have made donations to charities like Live Strong and to the World Wildlife Fund, and have done so in the honor of their friends and family. Some charities will provide cards to put out and inform your guests of this donation, but if yours doesn't I would recommend some sort of notification so your guests can be aware and appreciative of your choice.



Photos above: Jill Kaiser Photography, Bob Donlon Photography




Friday, February 11, 2011

Wedding Planners In Action!


I swear I stay way out of the way of the camera but some wedding photographers like to capture all moments of the day, including times where I am doing things like fixing a bride's dress or pinning the boutonnieres on the guys. These photos are from the Hotz wedding I did back in May 2009 at the Albany Country Club. Their wedding photographer, Tracey Buyce, is a friend of mine as well as one of my favorite vendors, so there are times when she gets a few more shots of me than normal - including the ultra embarrassing shot of the groomsmen who pulled me out on the dance floor for a slow song. It was completely unexpected and my face turned bright red once I realized what was happening. Thanks so much for being in the right time at the right place for that one Tracey!! ;)





Wednesday, February 9, 2011

What not to skip - Menu tasting


Photo by Shannon DeCelle Photography


When planning your wedding you come across what feels like a million decisions along the way. Some you decide to go with, some you decide to skip. Most often the reason to skip something comes down to cost, and if you are trying to stick tight to your budget it may seem best to skip a lot of the things that seem unnecessary. I am a super practical person myself - and I carry this into my practices as a wedding planner - so I will be the first one to tell you to cut out the items that aren't vital. But here is one area that I feel is totally worth the time and cost (if it even costs you anything) - menu tasting.

You have likely picked your venue or caterer based off of recommendations from friends, family, or reviews you've found online. You want good food and are confident that your caterer is going to provide that at your reception. You have gone through and made your selections for hors d'ouevres, appetizers, and entrees and you think you have made all the right choices along the way. But what if you get to your reception and the food isn't exactly what you had expected? And what if that entree that sounded really good on paper ends up tasting, well, not so good? These are all the reasons to have a menu tasting. A menu tasting is done with your caterer (or your venue if their food service is provided on site) and is a chance for you to not only taste all of your menu choices but to learn more about the ingredients, the preparation, and to meet the chef who is putting it all together. You can decide then if you want to switch your choices to something else on the menu, or maybe if the chef allows it, you can tweak a dish a bit to get to a flavor that is more pleasing to your palette. And above all this is a great chance for you to reinforce the confidence you have that the food at your wedding is going to be nothing short of amazing.

Some caterers/venues charge a fee for menu tasting for the majority of places include this as complimentary for the bride and groom. If your caterer offers a tasting for free definitely take advantage of it! And even if it comes with a small cost I still highly recommend doing it. There are some things you may want to take a chance on for your wedding, but the food (which, let's not forget is a HUGE cost in your overall wedding budget) is not an area you want to take a risk with. Schedule your tasting, feast on your wedding food, and enjoy this nice time with your fiance. Trust me it's worth it!




Photo by Rob Spring Photography






Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Addeo Wedding - October 10, 2010


Mr. and Mrs. Addeo were married at Crystal Cove on the most popular wedding date of 2010 - 10.10.10. Their ceremony took place on the platform down by the water and their reception was in the pavilion. They had a beautiful day for this outdoor event! Liz and Jimmy are super special people, and I was thrilled to help them with the coordination of their wedding day.

The couple has spent a lot of time traveling the world and the theme for their wedding was a blend of vintage elegance and global influence. Instead of going with a traditional centerpiece Liz and Jimmy chose to have multiple elements on the center of each table. They had a burlap square as a base and on top of those they placed Moroccan lanterns and vintage tin boxes filled with flowers. And instead of a traditional multi tiered wedding cake they chose to have three smaller cakes that we placed side by side on the cake table. And to round of the unique pieces was the apple cider and cider donuts I put out at the end of the night so guests had a sweet fall treat to snack on on their way home. It was a really personal and special wedding, and the exact kind of event this special couple deserved.

As always I was joined by a team of wonderful wedding vendors at this event. Special thanks to Jessica Patch for providing me with these beautiful photos! Jessica works out of NYC so if you are in need of a photographer down there definitely check her out. Also on hand was Bill Teller from Piano Man DJs, Lisa Russel who did the beautiful floral arrangements, Coccadotts who made the three wedding cakes, officiant Jessica Rowell from Carissa Ceremonies, and the Albany Aquaducks Trolley who provided transportation for the bridal party to and from Crystal Cove.

Congratulations again Liz and Jimmy! And thank you for allowing me to take part in your special day!