Wedding Planning Plus

she didn't even think she could find us a venue--but Shannon had a list of options for us in a matter of days, and the place we ended up (Whiteface Lodge) was absolutely perfect. Shannon managed our budget, our timeline, and everything. She even received packages for us, so we wouldn't have to ship things from our home in Atlanta up to the Adirondacks. Thanks to Shannon, we always knew where we were in the wedding process, and what was left to be completed. She thought of things we wouldn't have, and kept us calm and cool on the wedding weekend. She has a great personality that is easy to get along with, and she was very laid back at the actual event. She made everything SO easy, in fact, that we were able to camp completely off the grid for the last two weeks before the wedding.

through the planning and logistics and Shannon thought of all of the details and helped us make decisions by offering thoughtful advice. On the day, Shannon and her team ensured everyone knew what they were doing and where to be. Our venue required us to hire everything from a caterer and florist to rentals, shuttles, golf carts, and a band and having someone to coordinate with all of the vendors and create a timetable was a lifesaver. We moved 150 people to three different sites on the venue throughout the day but everything worked like clockwork. Highly recommend Shannon and the Wedding Planning Plus team.

Alex who took such great care of me and everyone involved throughout the process! Would 100% recommend!

s Shannon Whitney and her team at Wedding Planning Plus delivered for us. We had to write a review and let others know that Wedding Planning Plus is excellent! Shannon helped us create our dream wedding. We live in Dallas, TX and decided we would like a destination wedding in the Finger Lakes, NY region. Given the number of Finger Lakes and the multitude of wedding venues, we needed Shannon's help. She gave us numerous suggestions on venues and after a site visit of top choices, we made our selection. We also knew that we needed Wedding Planning Plus to help us identify other quality vendors in the area for floral, DJ Services and photography. Again, top marks for Wedding Planning Plus recommendations! Wedding Planning Plus also supported us on our actual wedding day. Shannon was available and on-site and worked with the local venue team to ensure every detail was in place and our every need met so that we could focus on enjoying our event, our families and friends and each other. It was wonderful and gave us peace of mind knowing that venue teams are working double time/over time due to short staffing. It was great to have this added support -- not just for us but for our wedding venue team as well. I will close by simply saying, if you need a wedding planner, Wedding Planning Plus gets our highest recommendation. The entire team was great to work with and made the wedding planning process simple, stress-free and even fun! We enjoyed the journey as much as the day itself! Linda and Dave

ain point of contact with WPP was Kate LaFerriere. I want to tell a quick story about our day because it's important to understand in order for us to accurately review Kate as our wedding planner. Our ceremony was set to begin at 4pm with massive thunderstorms expected in the area right around the ceremony start time. A decision needed to be made of whether we could do the ceremony in the outdoor gardens of our venue or inside the barn where the reception would also take place. Kate, as a planner, I'm sure really wanted a decision as soon as possible in order to set up everything for our guests but she was never pushing us to a decision we did not want to make. She truly listened, consulted and offered up her suggestions while keeping a calm demeanor. We all agreed if we could move the ceremony up just 15 minutes, we might be able to make it work to have the ceremony outside. Even with the new schedule, all of our guests arrived just in time as the storm clouds really began to roll in. Vows were exchanged, a kiss to seal the deal and all of our guests rushed into the barn. I'm happy to report, not a single guest felt the wrath of the rain that began to come down no less than 10 seconds after the last guest stumbled into the safe dry barn. My wife and I walked to the back of the barn to grab a drink and begin the tour of greeting all our guests. One of the first things I noticed was all of our smiling guests relieved they'd made it to the barn safe and dry and in that moment, I saw walk through the barn doors - soaking wet from the rain, it was our wedding planner Kate LaFerriere. She was completely drenched in a room full of dry, happy people. Kate possesses all the best qualities for the perfect wedding planner. She has the finest attention to the little details that make a big difference. She always has a calm demeanor - with all the details and timelines she had to manage anyone could easily be flustered under the circumstances. But any interaction with the bride or groom on the day of was done graciously with a soft calm voice, and everything was communicated very clearly to both of us. But I think the greatest quality Kate possessed was selflessness. I go back to the moment of seeing Kate drenched in a room full of dry people. It was a reminder to me, the sacrifices another person was willing to make for delivering us the most perfect day. From listening to us in our pre-wedding planning meetings, all the way through the execution of all that planning, Kate was flawless throughout and the day turned out even better than what we could have imagined. In getting to know Kate we also know she will have her own wedding to look forward to in the near future. The greatest compliment we can pass along is the hope that on your special day, you have a planner as dedicated, selfless and amazing as you were on our day - to deliver you and your guests a memorable day. Kate, we thank you so much for everything you did and wanted to let you know that you deserve to have your own "best day ever" - because that's exactly what you gave us! Best Wishes and Thank You to everyone at Wedding Planning Plus, Kris & Heidi Dillmann

sure we were in the loop. I am so grateful we ended up hiring them because we had to bring all of our vendors into our venue and to communicate constantly with so many people was stressful. Alex took that stress right off our shoulders and did an awesome job to make sure everyone was on the same page. I can't recommend them enough! If you need a planner, they are reasonably priced and honestly worth everything to make your big day a dream come true. I couldn't imagine having all that extra stress on my big day!

work with! Thank you so much!

ase. Shannon has an incredible ability to connect with her brides and grooms – she just gets it! I was so impressed by how well she understood us, helped us craft our vision, and turned that into a reality. A few highlights from our experience: 1) Shannon will take the time to talk to you through the options of any scenario calmly, patiently and informatively. Being a COVID bride, we hit some rough patches which included us needing to change our reception venue less than two months before the wedding. Shannon helped us weigh the pros and cons at length until we were comfortable with our decision. She took the lead on researching other venues quickly and made all necessary adjustments with our vendors. 2) Speaking of vendors - Shannon has a vast circle of killer vendor recommendations. People are still talking about our vendors and many have mentioned they were some of the best they had ever experienced at a wedding. And when working with each vendor you can tell how much they respect and are excited to work with Shannon again. If you don’t believe me, take it from the multiple vendors that told us Shannon is the best wedding planner they have ever worked with! 3) The wedding weekend was absolutely flawless. I felt so confident knowing Shannon and Alex were there thinking through every detail. I was really able to sit back, relax, and just enjoy the day. And that’s a lot coming from my husband and I – we are both very detail oriented and are perfectionist with party planning, so this is very hard for us to do at times! Do yourself a favor and hire Wedding Planning Plus! You will not be disappointed and your wedding experience (and that of your guests) will be better because of it!!

helpful as we navigated postponement. Then, when our original venue closed in December 2020 and we needed to pivot again, Shannon rescued us from our panic, contacting dozens of venues overnight and helping us secure a new venue and caterer for our same date within a matter of weeks in the middle of the holidays. As we hit the month of our now September 2021 wedding and dealt with the uncertainties created by the delta variant and its impact on the endless evolution of our guest list, Alex was always there with answers to our questions and to help us update all necessary plans and quickly communicate these updates to vendors accordingly. On the day of our wedding, Alex and WPP kept all of the coordinating of multiple levels of complicated logistics totally off our plate. And they dealt with very unexpected, potentially chaos-inducing fires - collapsing chuppahs, an emergency that prevented our original Rabbi from being able to make it on an hour's notice - without us feeling so much as a bump. We are so thankful for all their help!

alize my wedding timeline and details. Kate was incredibly patient, understanding, and helpful throughout the planning process. On the wedding day, Kate and Erin took care of all the behind the scenes details so that me and my family could relax and enjoy the day. Both ladies made sure all of the items were in place at the church and assisted with the flow of the ceremony. They did an amazing job of setting up our reception venue with all of our personal touches. Kate was definitely the glue that held the wedding weekend together. She was the go-to person for the vendors and our large wedding party (20 people!). Kate was such a calming presence and she alleviated any of my concerns. She also checked in with me throughout the night to make sure I was eating enough and had a beer! At the end of the night, Kate brought our decorations, gifts, family photographs, and bouquets back to our hotel room. She even saved a dessert tray for me and my husband- she knows the way to my heart! Kate had taken pictures on my phone throughout the night and it was such a nice surprise to see the pictures the next day when I wanted to relive our wedding day. The ladies at Wedding Planning Plus made wedding planning organized and stress-free. Thanks to Kate and Erin, I was able to be fully present with my husband and our loved ones. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work, attention to detail, and for going above and beyond for me on my wedding day. Both ladies truly put their heart into all that they do, and I am so honored that they were a part of my wedding day! I would highly recommend Wedding Planning Plus, Kate, and Erin to any couple getting married.

ute-by-minute timeline of our rehearsal and wedding day. Kate did an awesome job of coordinating our officiant, band, venue manager, caterer, and florist. We were so thankful we didn't have to coordinate that ourselves. Additionally, Kate took the time to get to know my wife and I during the month of. She showed clearly that she cared deeply about helping create one of our most cherished memories. My wife and I would recommend Wedding Planning Plus in a heartbeat to any couple looking to plan their big day. Thank you so much Kate and the Wedding Planning Plus team!

s expertly navigate the logistics of hosting a wedding at my mothers residential property. Leaning on them to handle the details alleviated so much stress. Alex was with me every step of the way on wedding day and helped us have the best day of our lives even though it was torrential down-pouring for the entirety of the event. Hiring WPP is my number one recommendation for planning an upstate wedding.

endors so that everything flowed seamlessly! They also really made sure to listen to our feedback so that we were really happy with the flow of the day, no matter how many emails we sent! Though we quickly realized the best approach was to just let them handle it! On the day of our wedding, Alex and Shannon had everything planned perfectly such that we had no worries about where we were supposed to be or what we were supposed to be doing! We and our families were just able to completely enjoy the day knowing that they were taking care of everything! They were even able to coordinate with my parents for some surprises and find an amazing last minute replacement vendor. Like I said, above and beyond!! The day was absolutely the best day of our lives and would not have been so if we hadn’t made the decision to hire Wedding Planning Plus. Long story short – HIRE SHANNON AND HER TEAM!! You will not regret it!

pre-day-of things. She was on top of my vendors making sure they knew where to go and when. Then on the day of there was also Leah there to help. They were amazing! The day of they were so on top of everything! I was able to actually breathe and enjoy my day! (Although it is true that it goes by way too quick!) I highly recommend hiring them! You will not be disappointed!

As vaccinations became available and restrictions were slowly eased, we were able to plan our wedding - in 4 months. We hired Shannon to help us make our date special. Her dedication and expertise, helped us navigate all the challenges. She was so organized and was on top of all the every changing rules and restrictions. She coordinated all the vendors and helped us make our wedding day perfect. On the day of our wedding she and her assistant Katie were there every step of the way. We had such a great time and it was a magical day. We can't thank them enough for making our day everything we envisioned and them some.

as very responsive through email and phone. We never felt overwhelmed or pushed in any sort of direction, she was truly there as a support system to us whenever we needed. So thankful for her and her team!

matched (worth her weight IN GOLD - Grateful Dead Cover band - check; Brunch from Elf and the Oak, check; perfectly curated florist matching our style perfectly - check), the logistics sorted out (we live in Boston), and therapy sessions at the ready, we were about to send out our invitations but then decided to be better safe than sorry. Even though we had to change our wedding to an "anniversary" celebration in 2021, Shannon was at the ready, reading contracts, communicating and re-arranging vendors, and making sure that every i was dotted and t was crossed for 2021 for the "anniversary" party. Did I mention she then CONTINUED to plan our micro-wedding in June 2020? While our wedding style changed, Shannon's regular check-ins, original vendors, and practical guides made our 12 person wedding perhaps even more SPECIAL! Now it makes me a little sad to write this, as it was not the 2020 Wedding we imagined, but we are grateful for having hired Shannon and if we had to do it again, we would.

he did not disappoint. From our first call to our wedding day, Shannon was incredible to work with.  She did a remarkable job of breaking down each step in our planning process into manageable components. Shannon kept us right on track leading up to our wedding and made excellent vendor recommendations along the way. Not only was every call with her fun, but my fiance and I always felt like she understood us and that she had everything under control. On our wedding day Shannon kept the day moving smoothly and was such a calming presence.  My fiance and I were really able to take a step back and be present with our family and friends. We had a very particular vision in mind for the day and when Shannon brought us into the tent before our guests arrived, it took our breath away. She absolutely nailed every aspect of our wedding.  Our wedding was incredibly beautiful and when I see pictures of the day, I am in awe of what we were able to accomplish.  Shannon is extremely hard working, from making changes to our rental tables the day before our wedding to pinning up my dress because I danced so hard it broke, she took care of everything.  To make a long story short, hire her. You will not regret it. And if you're a Colgate Alum getting married on campus, DEFINITELY hire her.

ting, Shannon was very attuned to understanding the vision our daughter and her fiance had for their wedding, as well as our goals as parents and hosts for the weekend wedding celebration. She had very strong insights into a broad range of vendors (geographically), and we feel we had the "A Team" of partners (vendors) as a result of Shannon's network (wedding at Lake George, NY, band from Manhattan, caterers from Albany, etc.). While Shannon had not previously organized a wedding at our chosen venue, she quickly immersed herself to become familiar and very comfortable with the location and the local team -- and added significant value in expanding the vision to create the absolutely perfect setting. The wedding weekend was comprehensive and complex -- 165 guests from all over the world; welcome reception/dinner on Friday night, wedding preparation and festivities on Saturday, farewell brunch on Sunday -- all at different venues with different staffs and caterers; shuttle buses from hotels to venues; etc. Shannon was instrumental in planning virtually the entire wedding weekend, was respectful of our budget, and consistently provided insights and ideas that really made the event even more special -- several times for minimal or even lower cost than what we had budgeted. There is no way that we would have successfully pulled off this type of celebration without Shannon's attention to every detail. Shannon and her team were particularly helpful on wedding day. She did a fantastic job anticipating every need, created a very thorough and accurate timeline for what was going to happen when (no surprises), and was available at all times to address any concerns or questions -- no matter how trivial. Shannon was a calming influence throughout the planning process, and skillfully navigated the preparations and discussions with both our daughter and her fiance, as well as with us as parents. We feel strongly that her involvement was a blessing to us throughout the planning process, and helped this period to be a wonderful time for us as a family -- and a time that we will always look back on and cherish. The whole wedding experience was just terrific -- and we attribute much of this to Shannon and her team. We recommend her without any concerns or reservations! It was a "storybook" celebration -- in large part due to Destination Upstate/Wedding Planning Plus.

ed and thorough. I can’t overstate the quality of communication. Shannon is super responsive, and if she’ll be out of pocket for a wedding on a given weekend she always gives you PLENTY of advance warning so you can get any time-sensitive questions in first. They think of EVERYTHING and will make you feel so confident at every turn. What stands out in particular is how much Shannon helped with the collection and relocation of our gifts and speciality items at the end of the wedding, which I admit I had not thought about myself. In the weeks and months after the wedding, every time we reminisced on the weekend with our families, our parents ALWAYS mentioned how impressed they were with Wedding Planning Plus. They all felt like they were treated as specially as the bride and groom, with their every need seen to before they even had to ask! On a day that often feels as big and important for the parents as for the couple, that meant a lot to both us and our parents. Shannon has been doing this for years, and it shows! Her professionalism blew us away and she quickly became an important resource and sounding board for us throughout the planning process. I could not recommend her more highly!!

turned out absolutely perfect! We had our wedding at our family property in Greenfield Center, but we live in LA, and Shannon was wonderful working with us to plan our wedding from across the country. We were also a bit late to the planning process, and had some speed bumps along the way, but Shannon always told us exactly what we needed to do, what it would cost, and gave us lots of options to make sure we were getting exactly what we wanted. She has such great relationships with the best vendors in the area, and all of them love to work with her, so you can be sure that you are getting the absolute best if you hire her! She is incredibly organized, responsive, and detail-oriented, and I never ever had to worry that something would fall through the cracks. Since we had our wedding at our family property, the entire ceremony and reception space basically had to be built from-scratch, but Shannon knew exactly what to do and made it absolute perfection. From the ceremony rehearsal to the end of Sunday brunch, everything went off without a hitch, and my wedding was the absolute best day ever thanks to Wedding Planning Plus! I would recommend Shannon and her team to anyone getting married in the area!

sal, Shannon showed up with an itinerary for everyone in our wedding party and our immediate family members to make sure everyone was on the same page. On the wedding day, anything I needed from food, pictures, bobby pins to fix my hair at the end of the night, coordinating vendors, and things I wasn’t even aware of going on was all taken care of without me even noticing! Shannon and her team’s attention to detail allowed me to enjoy every second of the day and live in the moment instead of worrying all day. Shannon was the greatest piece of mind, everything I could’ve wanted and more! I wouldn’t have done anything differently!

nswering my questions before I asked, and was always one step ahead! The wedding was absolutely perfect, and if something went wrong, we didn't know about it. She handled everything so calmly, and stayed with us the ENTIRE night... our wedding ended at midnight. Even though she has a family, she stayed later to help bring everything to our bridal suite and made it super easy for us to pack everything in the morning. She is a class act, and a superb planner! Would 10/10 recommend Aissa with WPP to all NY brides and grooms! Thank you SO much!!

the planning process so easy. I loved all the vendors she recommended and didn't have to do nearly as much work doing research, trials, etc. to get awesome vendors. She's super nice, organized, and great to work with. She'll take the time to listen to what kind of wedding you want and suggest vendors accordingly vs. having a cookie cutter plan she uses for everyone. The really valuable part, however, came in her day-of coordinating. She had all the vendors on the same page, and she and her assistants handled absolutely everything you can think of (and a bunch of things you won't think of) on the wedding day. I didn't have to answer a single question from vendors, grab anyone to be in a picture, tell anyone from the wedding party where to be when, pick up cards/gifts/welcome sign the next day, etc. She did it all. I think the best part of hiring WPP is the peace of mind it provides. Something unexpected will inevitably happen on your wedding day, but chances are Shannon has handled it before. For me, one of my bridesmaids' dress split open right before we walked down the aisle. Shannon pinned it up without missing a beat and no one even noticed. Without her, one of my best friends would've had to stand in the back of the church and not be a part of my wedding ceremony. Instead she stood up there with me looking beautiful and now, we have a hilarious story. I know a wedding planner may not sound necessary, but letting yourself enjoy your day while Shannon and her team run the show is invaluable.