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From kickoff to sendoff, treat your guests to a multi-day celebration they will never forget.

In addition to planning your gorgeous wedding day, let us handle the details of travel, vendors, and keeping your guests entertained from the time the arrive to the time depart for home.

Hudson Valley - Catskills - Capital Region - Saratoga - Lake George - Adirondacks - Finger Lakes

Destination Upstate is our concierge style wedding service focused on multi-day events for out-of-town couples who love Upstate New York (almost) as much as we do.

how we bring it all to life

We lead you, your families, and your wedding party through the processional and recessional so everyone knows what to expect. We even pass out mini wedding day itineraries to everyone! 

For your welcome party, we'll be there to oversee the setup of the space, greet guests as they arrive, act as the point of contact between all vendors, and manage all event formalities.

Ceremony Rehearsal & Welcome Party

We'll be orchestrating your entire vendor team come wedding day so you and your partner can be fully present. From overseeing setup of all the spaces to managing the timeline throughout the day, we cover it all. We will direct the processional and recessional for your ceremony, aid in the efficiency of all photography sessions, and coordinate reception formalities with all your vendors - and even be personal assistant to you, your families, and your bridal party.
 

The Wedding Day

event day two

While you're dancing the night away, we will collect and transport all gifts, cards, personal items to return them to you (including your veil!) so you won't have to worry at the end of the night.

We're on-site for your final festivities to oversee the setup of the space, greet guests as they arrive, and act as the point of contact for all your vendors.

Post-Wedding Brunch & Guest Sendoff

event day one

event day three

What does that look like?

katherine marchand

matt ramos photography


A Sample Timeline of Your Wedding Weekend Away

imagine the magic of your getaway

day one

• You and your partner arrive upstate
• Spa Day / Golf Day
• Private dinner for family (or just you two)

day two

• Your guests check in seamlessly
• A group "Getting to Know You" activity
• Weekend kickoff fun with dinner & drinks

day three

• Local excursions during the day
• Your ceremony rehearsal in the afternoon
• A gorgeous rehearsal dinner
• Celebrate with late night cocktails

day four

• Recommended daytime fun for guests
• The big event - your wedding ceremony  &  reception
• An Up All Night after party

day five

• A hearty post-wedding brunch
• Your final sweet send-off event

les loups

"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."

— Chris & Emily
 

In recent years it became apparent that more couples want to travel to Upstate New York to celebrate their wedding. Some have a childhood connection to the area, and some want to travel north to soak in all the gorgeous scenery this area has to offer.

Because these couples are often planning long distance, and their guests were traveling here for the big event, our couples want to create multi-day celebrations to showcase this beautiful area, give guests unforgettable experiences and keep the party going all week(end) long. Thus, Destination Upstate was born, a sister to Wedding Planning Plus, that caters to out-of-town couples planning their destination wedding to Upstate New York.  


Your upstate wedding adventure starts here.

We'll organize everything from room blocks, pre-wedding activities, your ceremony rehearsal, and welcome dinner.

Welcome Festivities

Every detail of your wedding day will be planned and executed to perfection, so you can live fully present in the day.

Your celebration will be wrapped up with a bow on top, from full breakdown of the event to a good-bye breakfast.

Guest Sendoff

The Big Day

PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT

les loups

Dreaming of a multi-day getaway celebration for all of your closest friends and family? That's where we come in. We come in to plan every detail for each day of your celebration - from the moment your guests check in until the breakfast sendoff. We plan and execute all the logistics, design details, vendors and more for every event and venue.

How we plan and bring your Destination Upstate wedding vision to life... better than you could ever imagine

How it works

Overview

• Event Day One: Ceremony Rehearsal, Welcome Party
• Event Day Two: Wedding Ceremony and Reception
• Event Day Three: Post-Wedding Brunch

• Provide full scale Event Design for the welcome party, and wedding ceremony and reception, and post-wedding brunch
• Utilize online collaboration tools to share information and monitor tasks/progress
• Unlimited amount of emails and scheduled phone calls throughout the planning process
• Up to 10 visits to the wedding venue(s) and/or wedding vendors prior to the wedding weekend
• Planner will assist client in finding/interviewing/hiring venues and vendors
• Client will contract with all venues and vendors and remit payments directly to them
• Package price includes travel and accommodation fees
 
Shannon Whitney Anson will act as the primary wedding/event planner and will be onsite to manage the coordination of the wedding day.
The coordination of the weekend events will be managed either by Shannon or by Associate Planners from Shannon's team.





assist client in planning / coordinating 3 days of wedding celebrations

Starting at $17,500

• Planning: N/A
• Coordination (up to 3 hours)
        • Lead the couple, families, and bridal party through the processional and recessional walk through
        • Provide bridal party and family with important details from the wedding day schedule via printed cards they can carry with them






Ceremony rehearsal

Event Day One

• Planning
        • Venue selection and management
        • Food and beverage planning
        • Timeline and logistics
• Coordination (up to 2 hours)
        • Oversee the set up of the space
        • Greet guests as they arrive
        • Act as the point of contact between all vendors
        • Manage all event formalities







Welcome party

• Planning checklist creation and monitoring
• Vendor selections and management
        • Photographer
        • Caterer
        • Cinematographer
        • Hair and Makeup
        • Officiant
        • Ceremony musicians
        • Cocktail hour musicians
        • DJ / Band
        • Florist
        • Rental company
        • Transportation
• Venue Management
        • Food and beverage planning
        • Floor plan and space layout
        • Linen selection
        • Timeline and logistics
• Contract review
• Establish and manage hotel room blocks
• Invitation selection, wording, and etiquette
• Create and host a private wedding website on Wedding Planning Plus' website
• Provide guidance, expertise, and support throughout the planning process


wedding planning

Event Day Two

•  Build a comprehensive wedding itinerary and complete all vendor confirmations
•  Oversee the setup of the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception spaces
•  Act as the point of contact between all vendors
•  Manage the timeline throughout the day
•  Direct the ceremony processional and recessional
•  Aid in the efficiency of all photography sessions
•  Coordinate the event formalities with all reception vendors
•  Act as a personal assistant to the newlyweds, their families, and bridal party
•  Collect and transport gifts and personal items at the conclusion of the reception






wedding coordination (up to 10 hours)

• Planning
        • Venue management
        • Food and beverage planning
        • Timeline and logistics
• Coordination (up to 3 hours)
        • Oversee the setup of the space
        • Greet guests as they arrive
        • Act as the point of contact between all vendors
        • Manage all event formalities






Post-wedding brunch

Event Day Three

• Creating inspiration boards and designing the vision for how each part of the event will look and feel
        • Welcome Party
        • Wedding Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, and Reception
        • Post-Wedding Brunch
• Sourcing all of the design elements needed to complete all looks
        • Florals
        • Lights
        • Props
        • Specialty Linens
        • Equipment and furniture rentals
        • Custom stationary
• Managing the colors, textures, patterns, and details between the above elements to keep the overall design cohesive and consistent
• Overseeing the delivery, set up, and implementation of all design and decor items to make the spaces pop on event day







planning + installation

Event Design

brian david weddings

"Shannon was fantastic. She managed our budget, our timeline, and everything. She even received packages for us, so we didn’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 planning 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 made everything SO easy."

— Amy + adam
 

PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT


  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 literally told Shannon on my wedding day that she was the best thing to ever happen to me."

Christine & sean

hbt photo

les loups

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.

“She was instrumental working with us to plan our wedding from across the country.”

Meggie & Zach

brian david weddings

brian david weddings

The night of our rehearsal, 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. Come wedding day, things I wasn’t even aware of going on was all taken care of without me even noticing! 

"Shannon was the greatest peace of mind, everything I could’ve wanted and more"

Jenny & Sean

niki rossi photography

brian david weddings

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