Make the Finger Lakes Part of Your Wedding

Your wedding may be the reason family and friends make the trip, but it does not have to be the only thing they remember. A wedding in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier of Upstate New York gives your guests an opportunity to step away from their everyday routines, enjoy beautiful countryside, explore new places, and turn your celebration into a getaway of their own.

For couples planning a wedding at Shepard Hills, the surrounding region can become part of the experience. Whether your guests love waterfalls and hiking, wineries and local food, history and museums, golf, scenic drives, or simply having time to relax, there are plenty of reasons to stay a little longer.

Welcome to Upstate New York

The Finger Lakes is one of New York State's great destination regions, known for its long glacial lakes, rolling hills, waterfalls, gorges, vineyards, farms, small communities, and beautiful changing seasons.

It is a different side of New York than many visitors expect — especially guests arriving from New York City and other metropolitan areas.

Part of the experience is simply getting here. As highways give way to smaller communities, wooded hillsides, farms, rivers, and open countryside, the pace begins to change. For a wedding weekend, that change of scenery can be exactly what guests need.

Your Wedding Can Become Their Getaway

When guests travel several hours for a wedding, many will consider staying for more than one night. Give them a reason to make the most of the trip.

Some may arrive a day early. Others might stay through Sunday or add another day to explore. A wedding can become the centerpiece of a long weekend rather than an event they simply drive to and from.

You do not need to organize everyone's vacation. Simply introduce your guests to the area and let them discover what interests them.

Waterfalls, Gorges & the Outdoors

One of the defining features of the Finger Lakes is the landscape itself.

Throughout the region, visitors can discover waterfalls, dramatic gorges, lakes, rivers, parks, hiking trails, and scenic overlooks. Guests who enjoy being outdoors can easily turn a free morning or an extra day into an adventure.

Some may want a serious hike. Others may prefer a short walk, a picnic, a scenic drive, or simply finding a beautiful place to sit and enjoy the view.

That variety is part of what makes the region so appealing to wedding groups containing different generations and interests.

Explore the Finger Lakes Wine Region

For many visitors, the Finger Lakes and wine are inseparable.

Vineyards and wineries are found throughout the region, particularly around the lakes themselves. Wine trails, tasting rooms, restaurants, farms, cideries, breweries, and other local producers give adults plenty of possibilities for an afternoon or an extra day of exploring.

A couple does not need to make wine tourism an official wedding activity. Simply mentioning it in a wedding weekend guide may inspire guests to create an outing of their own.

As always, anyone enjoying alcoholic beverages should plan safe transportation and leave the driving to someone who is not drinking.

Discover Small Towns & Local Character

Not every memorable stop needs to be a major attraction.

Part of the charm of traveling through Upstate New York is discovering the communities along the way. Guests may find locally owned restaurants, shops, farm markets, historic buildings, parks, coffee shops, and unexpected places they would never encounter at home.

Encourage them to explore a little. Sometimes the place someone discovers by accident becomes the story they tell when they get home.

History, Museums & Culture

The Finger Lakes and Southern Tier have a rich history, and guests who enjoy museums and historic places have many opportunities to explore it.

The region has connections to aviation, transportation, industry, agriculture, the Underground Railroad, the women's rights movement, and many other chapters of New York and American history.

Museums, historic sites, galleries, and cultural attractions can also provide excellent alternatives when the weather does not cooperate with outdoor plans.

And Yes — There Is Golf

For some wedding guests, the perfect Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon involves eighteen holes and a few hours with friends.

At Shepard Hills, golf does not need to define the wedding, but it can certainly become part of the weekend.

Members of the wedding party, family, or groups of friends may enjoy getting together for a round before or after the celebration. It gives people another opportunity to spend time together and can become one of those unexpected wedding-weekend traditions everyone remembers.

Something for Every Generation

One reason the Finger Lakes works particularly well for a wedding getaway is that everyone does not have to enjoy the same things.

One group might visit a winery while another explores a waterfall. Some guests may want to golf. Others may visit a museum, go shopping, enjoy a long lunch, take a scenic drive, or simply relax at their hotel.

Families traveling with children can choose activities that work for them, while older guests can enjoy the scenery and local attractions at their own pace.

The goal is not to keep everyone entertained. It is to give everyone options.

A Different Experience in Every Season

Upstate New York changes dramatically throughout the year, and each season brings its own character to a wedding.

Spring brings fresh green landscapes and the return of warmer days. Summer offers long evenings, outdoor activities, and lush scenery. Fall transforms hillsides and countryside with autumn color.

Even the quieter months have their own personality, with a slower pace that can make a gathering feel especially intimate.

Rather than trying to make every wedding look the same, embrace the season you have chosen. The landscape can become part of the personality of your celebration.

Create a Simple Guide for Your Guests

If many of your guests are coming from outside the area, consider putting together a simple list of recommendations before the wedding.

You might include nearby lodging, favorite restaurants, a few attractions, outdoor activities, golf, places for breakfast, and several ideas for guests who decide to stay an extra day.

Keep the list short enough to be useful. You are not trying to create a complete Finger Lakes travel guide — just giving your guests a starting point.

Give Your Guests a Reason to Stay Another Day

There is something wonderful about waking up the morning after a wedding and realizing the trip does not have to end immediately.

Instead of packing the car and heading straight home, guests might meet family for breakfast, explore a nearby attraction, take a drive through the countryside, play golf, visit a winery, or spend another afternoon together.

For family and friends who rarely have an opportunity to gather, that extra day can be a gift.

A Finger Lakes Wedding at Shepard Hills

Located in Waverly, New York, Shepard Hills gives couples a scenic setting in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York where the ceremony, reception, photographs, dining, and time with family and friends can come together in one place.

For couples who live nearby, the beauty of the region may already feel like home. For couples and guests traveling from New York City or farther away, it can feel like a destination — without requiring everyone to board an airplane or travel across the country.

And that may be one of the nicest things about planning a wedding here. You can invite the people you love to your wedding while also inviting them to discover a part of New York they may want to return to long after the celebration is over.

Come for the Wedding. Enjoy the Journey.

Your wedding will always be the centerpiece of the weekend. But around it can be scenic drives, waterfalls, golf, great meals, conversations, exploring, and unexpected discoveries.

Those experiences do not take anything away from the wedding. They add to the story.

Thinking about a Finger Lakes wedding?
Discover Shepard Hills and start planning a wedding weekend that gives your family and friends even more to remember.