Planning a Destination Wedding. Jenna & Jay. 8.27.22
/The Marriage of Jenna & Jay
August 27, 2022 at The Maples Estate
Schoharie, NY - Upstate, NY
Wondering how to plan a destination wedding?
With so many of our couples living throughout the northeast, across the country and even across the world, it’s important that you feel supported in your wedding planning. Follow along with Jenna and Jay as they share their own experience planning their destination wedding at The Maples Estate from their home in Staten Island.
“After getting engaged at the top of Mt. Royal Park in Montreal, my fiance and I drove back down to Staten Island, stopping in the capital region for lunch. We were surrounded by mountains, stunning evergreens, and fresh crisp air. The area spoke to us and we knew we wanted to have our wedding in a place where we could admire the Catskills and breathe deeply.
It didn’t take us long to find The Maples Estate through a quick google search. We scheduled a meeting with Katie and toured the Estate on a frigid January day. The mountains in the distance watched sleepily over us as we admired the beautiful interior of the farmhouse and walked through the grounds, imagining the most special time in our lives. Katie was welcoming and immediately put us at ease, answering every question we had. On our drive home we spoke excitedly as we knew we found our wedding venue!”
Selecting Your Venue
So, what can we learn from Jenna and Jay’s experience selecting their venue?
First off, you may love your lifestyle at home, but maybe you want to getaway, relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of a destination for your wedding experience. When it comes to your venue selection, whether touring in person or virtually, it’s important to feel a comfort in the environment and be able to visualize yourselves at the venue. You also want to feel supported by your venue team, so that connection with the owner or venue manger on a personal level is so important. You want to walk into wedding planning at ease and have a good vision for your wedding day.
Here at The Maples Estate we want you to feel seen, supported, and have a clear direction for those next steps.
Planning Support
Planning a destination wedding can be tough, but with our support you are in good hands!
Once you lock in your date, we provide access to a private client portal where you can follow along with your personalized digital wedding planning checklist. This checklist spells out all the tasks you will need to complete along the way, and can be edited to suit your specific wedding tasks. For ease of use, it is categorized by date so you know what the next steps will be at all times. We also send you a large list of talented vendors to start your search off right. Many of our couples utilize our wedding coaching services to help solidify a vision for your wedding, build a budget, and get you started in your vendor search. We are that engine to get you going, a calming voice of reason, call on us to ease your mind and keep you on track with your planning.
“Living 3 hours from The Maples Estate meant that the next time we would be on location would be our wedding weekend. Our trust in Katie and her recommendations were vital as we organized things from afar. We decided to add in the ‘wedding coaching package’ and it was easily the smartest money we spent throughout the entire planning process. Her suggestions, industry knowledge, and vendor relationships were undeniably helpful. Working with our own vision and Katie’s expertise, we compiled a great vendor team entirely remote.”
For those of you looking for a hands off approach to planning your wedding, we also offer full wedding planning and design packages!
It’s all in the details
So, now that you have selected your venue and started your planning, what items do you DIY vs hiring out for your destination wedding?
There are so many little details that go into a wedding design, from signage to table decor, florals, attire, furniture and stationary. While you might be able to create some of these items yourself, you also have to think about the level of energy and time you have, the space they will take up in transport, and what you will do with everything following your wedding. Sometimes it’s more time, cost and space effective to have a professional provide these items for you.
“Having a steady schedule of calls with our vendors calmed anxieties and helped get details in order. By the time we packed our car to head up to The Maples Estate, we knew exactly what supplies we needed to bring and what our vendors were supplying. I added my own flair (I’m an art teacher) and created the centerpieces, seating chart, and welcome signs.”
If there is something that feels personal to you, you want to invest time into and know will make a big personal impact for your wedding, go ahead and create or source those items yourself.
Organization & transportation
For those items you are bringing yourself, how do stay organized and get everything to the venue?
“I was able to separate supplies by each event using three 25-gallon storage bins. I added a content list to each bin; I was able to check off exactly what I had packed and Katie’s team could easily locate the supplies during the weekend. In addition to our luggage, wedding dress and suit, we were fortunate to have a dear friend and groomsman with a pick-up truck who could help us drive everything else up. Remember - what you bring with you you’ll have to bring home!”
It’s amazing when you have a truck available to you or can rent a van or U-haul to help with transport. We have had couples arrive by air with only the belongings in their bags, some that have shipped supplies to us the week prior to their wedding, others that rented a U-haul or van and even a couple that drove from LA to NY and back, so they could have their furry friends join them for their wedding. Remember to keep transportation and packing in mind when you are thinking through those items you will DIY or bring with you vs hiring or renting from a vendor.
Trust and communication is key!
With coordination services included in your package we will wrap up all those last minute details, create a detailed itinerary for your weekend, communicate with all your vendors and run your wedding day for you. You can trust us to pull off your epic wedding weekend where all you have to do is relax, celebrate and enjoy your guests company!
“Steady communication with Katie, an amazing vendor team who knew exactly what we wanted, and plenty of checklists provided a solid base for our incredible wedding weekend. I distinctly remember feeling cool as a cucumber on the biggest day of my life all because I knew we were in incredible hands at The Maples Estate!”
Photos by Cheyenne Lee Photo
Jenna & Jay’s incredible vendor team!
Venue / Wedding Coaching / Coordination: The Maples Estate | IG: @themaplesestate
Photography: Cheyenne Lee Photo | IG: @cheyennelee_photo
Videography: Jessy Figgs Wedding Films | IG: @jessyfiggsweddingfilms
Catering: Mazzone Hospitality | IG: @mazzonehospitality
Hair & Makeup: New Moon Beauty Studio | IG: @newmoonbeautystudio
Florist: Jolene K Floral Design | IG: @jolenekfloraldesign
DJ: DJ Romantics | IG: @djromantics
Ceramics / Bride: Palermo Ceramics | IG: @palermoceramics
Rentals: Total Events | IG: @totalevents
Welcome Event Catering: Bull & Basil | IG: @bullandbasil
Farewell Brunch Catering: Rooster on the Run | IG: @roosterontherun_
Transportation: First Atlantic
Invitations: The Nesting Project
Portable Restrooms: Stone Industries
Learn more about The Maples Estate, view our weekend wedding packages and find more wedding inspiration right here!
