Aligned Events LLC

I simply cannot say enough wonderful words about Shannon. She was a dream wedding planner. From the start, Shannon was empathetic, patient and kind. She helped us think through difficult questions, managing wedding prep on a big and complicated family property and abiding by our budget. She was readily available and flexible, willing to hop on a quick call just to drive clarity, or to meet us in person at the venue for live walkthroughs. She coordinated communications with all of our vendors and consistently set our minds at ease. On the day of our wedding, it poured rain. We were panicked about the weather, but Shannon worked tirelessly and vigorously behind the scenes to ensure that things went off without a hitch, in spite of the weather. She is truly a wonder woman and a miracle worker. Through all the craziness, Shannon never once lost her cool, her organizational prowess, or her warm smile.

Right from the start, I knew that hiring Shannon was going to be the best decision we were going to make throughout our wedding process. We hired her in the middle of a venue issue and she immediately swooped in to start mediating, reasoning, and fixing - which would soon become the norm for us. Shannon handled any and all problems we had with our vendors, and always carried herself with professionalism and kindness that consistently kept my husband and I at ease. We truly felt like we could trust her through it all. Shannon handled so many logistics that I feel like we didn't even know the half of what she was doing - in the best way possible! I would always look forward to our meetings because I knew it meant we were going to get things done and feel more and more prepared each day. She also kept a level head and insanely relaxed vibe when it became apparent that our fully outdoor wedding had to be reworked due to rain. She did everything to keep me calm and to ensure our weekend was as stress free as possible. Shannon is so smart, patient, level headed, reliable, fun, insanely organized, honest, trustworthy, and overall just a kind and cool person! She is truly an amazing planner and I could not recommend her more! 

Shannon stuck with us over 2.5 years while we planned our two-day wedding from very far away, helping us to navigate postponement, weather, and other fluctuations in the plan. Her advice was top-notch throughout, her patience and sense of humour was incredibly welcome, and her calming presence over the weekend itself was an absolute gift. My husband and I would recommend Aligned Events to anyone seeking out a planner in New England.

We absolutely loved working with Shannon and could not have done our wedding without her. She has a very calm and positive energy and helped us every step of the way. She was supportive of all of our ideas (even the crazy ones) and helped us bring our vision to life. Our wedding was beautiful and ran so so smoothly (literally nothing went wrong!) with her help.

I do not think there are enough characters allowed to describe how much I would recommend Shannon and her team. She, my spouse, and I clicked from our very first call, and she made our wedding feel so seamless. People joke that wedding planning is very stressful, and it was to some extent, but knowing that we had Shannon and her wealth of experience to help us made it almost...enjoyable? We wanted to hire a planner who had experience with many types of weddings, including non-traditional ones, for a few reasons: we needed the project management help; we wanted someone who knew how and why couples made certain decisions; we're not super traditional; and we wanted someone who could help hone and guide our visions (neither one of us had been dreaming of a particular wedding, we just wanted food, music, and a party). Shannon answered all of our questions, kept everything so organized, and guided us every step of the way. Our guests continue to comment how seamless and fun our wedding was, and we truly could not have had exactly what we wanted without Shannon. She is such a combination of meticulous and calm in a way that made us feel assured things were being taken care of but that transferred absolutely no stress to us. We're so grateful to her and, again, highly recommend her.

Shannon is incredible. I cannot adequately express how grateful I am for her. From our first inquiry call, to her wrap up emails after our wedding, she has been an invaluable resource. When we first started working together, because I wasn't sure exactly where or even when we wanted to have the wedding yet, she offered an hourly rate to help me explore and then narrow down all the possible options, so if the venue we settled on had a coordinator we wouldn't be locked into a planning contract unnecessarily. We ended up having the ceremony at Hancock Shaker Village and our reception in our backyard in Pittsfield. For over a year, Shannon help me find and narrow down all the vendors for our wedding. She has an incredible knowledge base and really understands whatever your vision is, even if you are terrible at articulating it like me. She has amazing eye for design, which was incredibly helpful when I was concerned my vision might not come together to have her expertise and reassurance to ensure it came to be. And boy did it, not only did she help me get the most incredible group of vendors together, but she made sure it all came together seamlessly. It was a stunning event and I've been reluctant to admit that it's over! I was grateful for her in the months leading up to the wedding, but the comfort and relief I felt when we left our house on the Friday, knowing everything would be ready and stunning when we arrived on Saturday was priceless. I would recommend Shannon to any and everyone planning a wedding the Berkshires and beyond!

Shannon is incredible. We hired Shannon over a year out from our wedding and she made the whole process go so smoothly. Our wedding was so much fun and perfectly reflected who we are. A big part of our enjoyment was knowing that Shannon had everything in hand. We could relax and be with our closest friends and family without worrying about managing vendors or whether things were running on time. Shannon's planning also meant that we could chill out in the days leading up to our wedding, because everything was in place and ready to go. She helped us find vendors that suited us, and did so much to make things low-stress. We can't recommend Shannon enough!

Choosing to hire Shannon with Aligned Events was undoubtedly the best decision we made during our wedding planning process. She was warm, supportive, and thoughtful from the very beginning, and this never wavered over the duration of the time we worked with her. Shannon saw us through two different postponements and was a source of positivity and peace while we dealt with the many unknowns that came with that! She considered every detail and helped them fit exactly as we envisioned. She ensured everything went so smoothly on our wedding day, and if there were any hiccups behind the scenes, we had no idea! Her professionalism and extensive knowledge of the wedding industry is balanced by her glowing personality, helping you to quickly feel like friends! I can't recommend Aligned Events highly enough!

There are not enough words to describe how incredible Shannon was in helping plan our wedding this past June! Shannon helped us get through 100s of decisions and tasks effortlessly. From sourcing our table numbers to helping find the perfect floral disco installation above our dance floor - she was incredible! I cannot say enough good things about working with Shannon - she was supportive, kind, and listened to everything I mentioned on our many planning calls. Most importantly, she made us feel calm and confident that everything for our wedding would come together beautifully. Thank you so much, Shannon - we cannot thank you enough! And to future brides: run don’t walk, Aligned Events is incredible!!

The headline: Hiring Aligned Events/Shannon to be our event manager was the single best decision we made in the entire process of planning our wedding. The details: When we decided to have a backyard wedding for ~110 people, we knew that it would require a little extra planning, communication and coordination with our vendors. After locating the key vendors (rentals, photographer, caterer, music) and trying for a few weeks to manage it all ourselves, we realized that we would need help. We asked our vendors which planners in the area they had worked with and would recommend, and multiple referred us to Aligned Events. When we spoke with Shannon on the phone for our initial consultation, we knew they had steered us right—her friendly energy, her attention to both emotional and practical details, and her excitement as we talked through our vision for the day all convinced us that she'd be a great manager and day-of coordinator. Over the next six months, Shannon was a true partner and go-to resource for all of our questions, worries and ideas about the wedding. One of the first things she did was log us into a shared planning portal (Aisle Planner) where we could keep track of tasks, payments, schedules, the guest list, RSVPs, event layout/seating and more, which significantly reduced our planning stress. She handled and shared all vendor communications promptly, and made multiple planning visits to our site to make sure everything would work where and how we imagined. Her experience with many of our other vendors also reassured us that we had a strong team that would work well together and carry out our vision as smoothly as possible. In the final week, Shannon was on-site to receive all vendor deliveries and oversee installations, conduct the ceremony run-through for both the default and rain locations, and beautifully decorate the tables and spaces with the florals and other pieces we had prepared. And on the day-of, Shannon was the hands-down wedding MVP. At every moment during our day, we saw Shannon working joyfully and tirelessly alongside the rest of our vendor team to give us and our guest the best possible experience. We truly did not have to worry about a single logistical detail, service issue, or unforeseen snag for the entire day. We were free to just enjoy the entire experience. That would not have been possible without Shannon. We cannot express enough our appreciation for her professionalism, thoughtfulness, leadership and her true joy for us and our family. We loved working with Shannon, and you will too!

It's hard to imagine what our wedding would have been like without Shannon. It's safe to say that it's not a guarantee the event would have even happened. Shannon was essential to making our wedding as special as it turned out and we truly enjoyed working with her every step of the way. Our wedding was not the most straightforward affair to plan, but throughout the planning process Shannon was on top of every small detail. We always left our calls & check-ins feeling confident (and often relieved) that our wedding was in the most capable hands. Shannon always looked for ways to make things easier for us and helped keep us on track and focused. Shannon was, without a doubt, our best friend through the planning of our wedding and we couldn't recommend her more strongly.

We initially hired Shannon for partial planning for a backyard wedding in the Berkshires in the Fall of 2019, never realizing that we would have to postpone our May 2020 wedding multiple times (May 2020, August 2020, June 2021, and finally June 2022). Throughout this process, Shannon was a logistical and emotional ROCK. She kept us sane and organized, coordinated vendors, provided comfort and answers in our most challenging moments. Her recommended vendors were exceptional. She formed a team that made us feel supported and held throughout the entire process up to and including the SUDDEN UNFORECASTED RAIN IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CEREMONY. We, as a couple, were often overwhelmed by choice, we're not overly detail oriented with regard to aesthetics and design, and we needed someone who would make the choices we didn't wanna make, and guide us to the correct solution with matters about which we cared deeply. We will never be able to express how grateful we are to Shannon for all her work. We have no notes, only praise. Her energy is calm, competent, and caring. By the end of this wonderful (and at times harrowing) process we felt that we'd not only been guided and cared for, but that we had made a new lifelong friend. Hire Shannon! You will be glad you hired Shannon! Tell those other people you spoke to "thanks" and hire Shannon!

Hiring Shannon was the single best decision we made for our wedding. I'm a fairly "type A" person and wasn't sure initially if I needed to hire a planner. But after beginning to work with Shannon, I realized just how many details and logistics there were that I wouldn't have thought of myself. Shannon was extremely responsive and easy to work with through the entire process. She was always calm, cool, and collected, and her calmness helped me feel more calm and confident myself. Shannon provided me with information, software tools, vendor recommendations and more that made planning SO much easier. On the day of the wedding, she went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. She even bustled my wedding dress! I cannot thank her enough, our wedding would not have been nearly as perfect without her!

After our wedding, I admitted to my husband that I was entirely unprepared to manage my jealousy of other couples who would get to work with Shannon, to which he replied how jealous he was of everyone who got to go to a Shannon event. Our selfishness: a testament to the work Shannon does - she delivers everywhere, from behind-the-scenes to every last guest. I (the bride) work in hospitality events which often intersect with the wedding world. We never anticipated hiring a planner - assumed my skillset would be a good fit for the process. We learned (very) quickly that the nuance of planning your own wedding is a venture that no prior experience can prepare you for. Enter Shannon. When planning a wedding, peace of mind is everything. Shannon is a peace-of-mind all-star: organized, attentive, thoughtful, professional, patient, calm, thorough, detailed-oriented, responsive and joyful. We never once worried that details were unaccounted for or that the budget wasn’t exactly where it should be. She kept us on track with every to-do list and turned the overwhelming moments into completely manageable ones. She approaches every conversation and decision - with us, our families, our vendors - with thoughtfulness and professionalism. An October 2021 wedding meant we had to account for Covid’s unpredictability throughout planning - Shannon had a Covid plan B covered for every last detail. And no time was this peace of mind felt more than on the day of our wedding. Shannon at the helm meant we could be fully present for every moment. With a weather forecast that seemed to change (by the minute) from one extreme to the next, there were plenty of last-minute decisions that needed to be made - all left in Shannon’s hands, all exactly right. Shannon prioritizes getting to know her clients - not just the couple, but their families and loved ones too. She took the time and asked the questions to make sure she understood our vibe in its entirety. Though our wedding was big (175) making it feel personal was important to us - Shannon made this a reality. There were a lot of family nuances to account for (the good and the bad), details to cover, and combining two religions meant we had to be that much more thoughtful when it came to navigating all - couldn't have done it without her. She even had some secrets up her sleeve - worked behind-the-scenes with our families on some day-of surprises. She takes so much joy in her clients' joy - there's simply nothing like it. Among the most important qualities of a wedding planner is their relationship w/ vendors. And all we can say is: WEDDING. VENDORS. LOVE. WORKING. WITH. SHANNON. Those who had worked with her prior shared their delight to do so again, and first-timers went out of their way to say how easy and seamless their jobs were thanks to her. She created specific timelines for each and anticipated every last need. Shannon helped us stick to our budget - always mindful of where we stood $$-wise, reminding us of costs still unaccounted for and where our dollars mattered most / how to spend them most effectively. She helped us interpret proposals, account for costs that might sneak up along the way, and navigate budget conversations. My sister got engaged last month and, once all the family and friend phone calls were out of the way, next up on the call list: Shannon :) No better person and team to have by your side - we're so grateful to have found her, cannot imagine a wedding any other way.

I felt seen the minute I saw Shannon's website. Her emphasis on sustainability, giving back, and collaboration and being easy-going made me feel like she was the perfect fit for our wedding. Shannon helped us plan a wedding over the course of the pandemic, which requires incredible patience and flexibility, which she has in spades. She was incredibly helpful in the early days to interpret legalese and vendor covid policies, she embraced our out of the box (we incorporated a swedish drinking song into our ceremony) and very labor intensive vision (we needed to rent a 9 foot cargo van for all the furniture, decor, DIY photo booth props and more), and she kept us incredibly organized and on track when Covid malaise made it hard to make progress or feel excited. This event, in the way we envisioned it, simply could not have happened without Shannon. At the end of the night, there was some confusion about what needed to happen with the absurd amount of stuff we brought into the venue despite (we thought) having discussed and cleared it with the venue. Behind the scenes, Shannon absolutely saved the day and prevented us from owing another 1/2 day rental for the space. For that alone, I cannot express my gratitude enough. I didn't even have to think about it. I got to go to an afterparty with my friends and know everything was handled. Thanks to her, my husband and I were completely present at our wedding. I did not think about a single detail or moving part ONCE, because I trusted her completely to ensure it would happen. And it did. She is incredibly detail oriented and always knew what questions to ask on calls with vendors 30-60 days before the event, she made an AMAZING pdf of all the moving parts of the wedding weekend and was the best cheerleader/coach/confidante a couple could ask for. She was worth every penny and I wish I had more reasons to work with her in the future. I am a big, big fan and think you'll love her too.

The first and best wedding decision we made was to hire Shannon. We started planning our wedding in February of 2020. We didn’t know then we’d be looking at a global pandemic that would cause so much upheaval to our lives and make planning a celebration feel so much more complex. Shannon helped us navigate all of it and made us feel so held in the process. Rescheduling and navigating COVID protocols could have felt so stressful but Shannon brought a groundedness and calm from start to finish. Not only that, but she took the time to get to know us and understand our vision—and made it happen. I honestly don’t know how it would have all happened without her or how people plan weddings without a Shannon at the helm! The end result was the best day ever—a wedding that totally captured our unique vision. Knowing that Shannon was so on top of everything also made it that much easier for us to fully be in and enjoy the day without having to spend one second worrying about the logistics. Because we were relaxed and able to focus on our connection with each other and our people—it made the whole day more enjoyable for everyone. Hire aligned events—it’s a decision you’ll be so grateful you made!!!

We hired Aligned Events about a month and a half before our wedding when we started feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the pesky details. We were originally looking for just a day-of-coordinator, but Shannon became so much more than that. She helped us shore up all the final plans and communications with every vendor involved in our wedding so we could feel more relaxed going into the wedding and feel confident that everything was going to go smoothly. Without Shannon, our final wedding planning months would have been so much more stressful and our wedding day would have felt like a workday!! Shannon took care of EVERYTHING so professionally and with such a calm spirit. We absolutely loved loved loved working with her and truly can't recommend her enough.

If you're getting married in Western Mass, hire Shannon. She is calm, detail oriented, and completely empathetic to the highs and lows of planning a wedding including planning a wedding during pandemic. Shannon essentially planned two weddings (one large and one downsized) for us and I am sure would have planned a third microwedding were we to have it in Massachusetts. While we ultimately decided to go the microwedding route, I am still so grateful for all Shannon did for us and would recommend her in a heartbeat.

From the first day I spoke with Shannon on the phone back in September 2019, I felt most unexplainable sense of calm and relief. I just knew in that second that I had found the wedding coordinator who was going to be able to help keep me sane and focused while trying to plan the wedding of my dreams, when I wasn't quite sure what to do on first. Working with Shannon was just so simple - she responds quickly, she makes other vendors feel (please excuse the pun, but it was honestly the best way to describe it) aligned, and she has a way of perfectly moving plans along without deciding anything for you. Shannon provided suggestions on a number of other vendors and was able to provide feedback on things that work well, or not so well with scheduling the timeline for the day, or how to best arrange the flow of a room. It's worth mentioning that our wedding was to be at the very beautiful Greylock Works, which is a huge (26,000sqft) wide open space - so making it feel intimate for our guests and not like walking into a giant empty dance hall required a little extra effort. Shannon was so flexible around my tight work hours to schedule our phone calls and also with scheduling our onsite meeting at the venue. Once we were there, and I felt lost and overwhelmed, she stayed completely focused on listening to me when I had ideas, and suggesting things when I wasn't sure of anything - she definitely carried the weight of helping me find the vision. Ultimately, our wedding was impacted by Covid-19 and we had to make the decision about 3 weeks out to postpone. Shannon made the process of finding the new date that all of our vendors were available completely seamless. I asked her to check on it and we had a new date booked with everyone (all the same vendors) within 3 days! I wish there were more ways to describe how huge that was. So the day Shannon and I had worked together for months to create was pushed out to 7/18/20 (from 4/4/20) as we were hopeful things would be different by then. Now hear we are, about a week away from what should be our rescheduled wedding reception date, and we've made the horribly difficult decision to postpone indefinitely due to Covid-19 and wanting to protect all of our guests from any risks. So, I cannot speak to any day of concerns you might have, but if the initial months of planning are any indication (and I believe they are) - Shannon will be truly one of the most magical parts of your wedding day. I am certain that we will have to have her there if we ever try to plan another party :)

We brought Shannon on to help with the last few steps of wedding planning and day-of coordination and we cannot say enough about how fabulous she was to work with. Everyone who came in contact with her - from family and friends to other vendors - mentioned how helpful she was. My only regret is not working with her sooner in our planning process!

Shannon of Aligned Events is an absolute dream to work with. We hired her to do day-of wedding coordination for our camp DIY wedding in the Berkshires and thank god we did! She helped us create a clear timeline for our wedding day, provided suggestions and vendor coordination as well as all the stuff on-site – from back of house to cueing the ceremony to prepping the ceremony space – Shannon knows how to run an event. She is calm and collected, which is just the right energy needed for a wedding. She navigated a complex DIY wedding set-up and coordinating with our friends and family throughout the day with grace and sensitivity. Plus, she took on a variety of tasks during the reception from clean-up, to prepping coffee to cueing the toasts. I really cannot imagine our wedding without her. If you think you need a wedding coordinator, you are probably right, and you should definitely hire Shannon! She will bring ease, grace and support to your special day.

I was very impressed with every aspect of Shannon’s work on this wedding. Throughout the entire evening, she carried herself with a calm and professional demeanor, always smiling and on top of the each and every moment of the evening. She handled a complex day with multiple events in various locations with deft and grace. Her communication and paperwork are some of the best I have seen. I look forward to working with her again.

My fiancee and I hired Shannon to be our day-of wedding coordinator and to say that she exceeded our expectations is a vast understatement. At a time when my partner and I were starting to feel pretty overwhelmed by the wedding-planning process coming to a head, Shannon helped us pull everything together and brought order to our chaos in a way that was kind, considerate and always respected what we wanted for our wedding day. Her organization was a life-saver, as was her coordination with our many vendors. It was a great weight off of our shoulders to have someone we trusted completely take care of the contact with our vendors in the final weeks. Shannon also has a really wonderful way about her. Through the planning and on the day of the wedding, Shannon was a calming presence and was also very efficient and got everything done in a way that appears effortless but that I know must, in fact, take great effort on her part. It is a true mark of her professionalism, as a wedding planner, that she is able to both get everything done in an efficient way, keep track of absolutely everything and seem calm and collected during all of our interactions, including on the wedding day. My now husband and I couldn’t be happier with our choice to hire Shannon and with Shannon’s incredible work on our wedding. We only wish that we had hired Shannon to be our complete wedding planner, when we first started to plan, rather than our day-of wedding coordinator near the end of the planning process; having Shannon on-board throughout the wedding planning process, would have made it smoother and more enjoyable for us. I would highly recommend Shannon to anyone looking to hire an event coordinator; she was an absolute pleasure to work with!