Shelli Nornes | Destination Wedding Expert & CEO

Shelli Nornes

PRESIDENT / CEO

Destination Wedding group coordinator

About Shelli

Shelli's experience with destination weddings dates back to June 1998 when she planned her own dream destination wedding. Since then, she has successfully orchestrated hundreds of destination weddings for couples from across the US. Her expertise and connections within the travel industry are invaluable.

Shelli has been honored with being named to the Hall of Fame by Karisma Resorts, Top El Dorado, Top Generations and Top Azul Agent and even the #1 Hard Rock Agent in the country in addition to Wedding Wire's "Couple's Choice" and The Knot's "Best Of Weddings" year after year. Shelli has led her team to awards such as "Partner of the Year" with Travel Impressions and a coveted Travel Weekly Magellan award for "Travel Agent Innovation." Shelli truly has a passion for what she does.

I've always traveled. As a child, my family spent countless weekends "Up North" in my home state of Minnesota. This is where my absolute love of the wilderness stems from. We did the usual Orlando, Mt. Rushmore, Wisconsin Dells, California type vacations every year. My mother and grandmother took me to New York City when I was fourteen. While in college, I spent eight weeks touring Western Europe. After college, I met my soon-to-be-husband. We traveled a bit locally, because he wasn't interested in leaving the country.... little did he know what he was getting himself into! We agreed that a traditional wedding was just not in the plan for us, so he whisked me off to Alaska and made me his wife. It was at this point that I decided travel was more than a hobby for me and planning weddings was definitely something I loved doing. I started my company in 1998 from a small corner of our house. Today, we have a headquarters office still in Minnesota with a team of amazing women from across the country. I truly love what I do, and I know how blessed I am to be able to say that.

In 2007 my travel focus shifted from vacations to destination weddings. I found that choosing a niche that I loved working with allowed me to develop a much deeper expertise than trying to be a Jack of all trades. So while I could plan all kinds of travel experiences, I CHOOSE to plan only destination weddings. This focus allows me to excel in my niche and truly be the leading expert in the industry.

I married the love of life in 1998. My husband is kind, funny, smart, loyal and makes me a better person. He puts up with all my travel planning and just smiles and says "ok!" when I tell him I booked a trip for us again. So much for not wanting to leave the country! Now he needs the "non-standard" passport with extra pages in it! We are blessed with two kids, a son and a daughter, whom we are very proud of. I love traveling with them. We share a lot of special memories of our travels together and often laugh at the same stories over and over again. Traveling makes us more tolerant, friendly and spontaneous. It teaches us to be patient and to make the most of everything. And, it shows us that there is joy in the process, not just the end result. Life is a journey. Cherish every moment.