Las Vegas Weddings!

[FrekeChild]

So I know there are a few PSers who have gotten married in Vegas (LTP, msflutter, MC, newsysuzy, Dee*Jay, julabean, and more I''m sure). The other day FF mentioned that maybe it would be a good route for us to take, because it would be cheaper(and smaller!) than having it here in town. I''ve been doing some research, but nothing is as valuable as real life experiences, so I would love to hear yours. From what I''ve seen, we''re leaning towards having the ceremony at Mandalay Bay, and having a dinner afterwards with our guests at perhaps Mix or Aureole (this is my plan, I haven''t clued in FF yet) which are also in MB. And of course I have a few questions...

What was the experience like?
What would you do differently if you could go back and do it all over again?
Was there anything you wish you''d know about beforehand?
What did you do for a reception?
Who did your hair and makeup?

Some previous threads that I''ve found:
link
link
link

 

[miraclesrule]

I think you are smart to start your research now, because I feel a proposal coming on much sooner than you were expecting it!!

 

[julabean]

Date: 7/28/2008 4:26:06 PM
Author:FrekeChild
So I know there are a few PSers who have gotten married in Vegas (LTP, msflutter, MC, newsysuzy, Dee*Jay, julabean, and more I''m sure). The other day FF mentioned that maybe it would be a good route for us to take, because it would be cheaper(and smaller!) than having it here in town. I''ve been doing some research, but nothing is as valuable as real life experiences, so I would love to hear yours. From what I''ve seen, we''re leaning towards having the ceremony at Mandalay Bay, and having a dinner afterwards with our guests at perhaps Mix or Aureole (this is my plan, I haven''t clued in FF yet) which are also in MB. And of course I have a few questions...


What was the experience like?

What would you do differently if you could go back and do it all over again?

Was there anything you wish you''d know about beforehand?

What did you do for a reception?

Who did your hair and makeup?

Hi Freke...I know one of the threads you linked to had some feedback from me, but maybe I can offer something else I haven''t said before.

My experience was awesome. I wouldn''t change the decision to get married in Vegas for anything. Everyone who went said our wedding was one of the best they''d ever been to. I think everyone had a good time. Our guest list was kept at a number that was reasonable for DH and I to be able to say hi to and spend some time with everyone at our reception. We also got a mini-vacation out of the deal, which was nice because it was right before a very busy time at work started for me. On the planning part, it was very relaxing to not be spending months and months planning our wedding. I did it all via e-mail. I knew our budget wasn''t enough to have the kind of local wedding I would have wanted, so doing it this way saved me from going way over budget and not being satisfied with the end result.

The only thing I''d go back and do differently would be the photos I had some friends take before the ceremony. It was HOT. Our Best Man was hungover. I made everyone walk all over heck and gone. I would have scaled it back, scouted out some places I wanted pictures at on the Paris''s property, and spared everyone an hour of sun and heat exposure before the wedding! We had an hour with a photographer for just DH and I, but I had a friend take some great pictures of the bridal party. The photos weren''t the problem, just everyone walking everywhere for me.

I also wished I had known just how expensive the rights to our photos would have been. I was quoted 500 as where is started and it was 1800. Let''s just say we weren''t expecting that in our budget.

We had our reception at the Star Trek Experience and it was very fun. Kooky, Vegas-y, but very, very fun. We had our rehearsal dinner at a cheeseburger place in Planet Hollywood. My MOH and one of my bridesmaids did my hair and makeup.

Have you been to Mandalay Bay''s wedding facility yet? One thing I didn''t like about Mandalay Bay is that the wedding chapel is kind of out in the middle of nowhere and not very easy to find. The room was very, very nice, but we didn''t have the best of reception from the staff when we stopped by (on a very slow Thursday afternoon) to check it out. If possible, I would absolutely plan a trip to check out a few places in person.

Hope this helps!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 7/28/2008 4:26:06 PM
Author:FrekeChild
So I know there are a few PSers who have gotten married in Vegas (LTP, msflutter, MC, newsysuzy, Dee*Jay, julabean, and more I''m sure). The other day FF mentioned that maybe it would be a good route for us to take, because it would be cheaper(and smaller!) than having it here in town. I''ve been doing some research, but nothing is as valuable as real life experiences, so I would love to hear yours. From what I''ve seen, we''re leaning towards having the ceremony at Mandalay Bay, and having a dinner afterwards with our guests at perhaps Mix or Aureole (this is my plan, I haven''t clued in FF yet) which are also in MB. And of course I have a few questions...

What was the experience like?
What would you do differently if you could go back and do it all over again?
Was there anything you wish you''d know about beforehand?
What did you do for a reception?
Who did your hair and makeup?

Some previous threads that I''ve found:
link
link
link

Freke - let me just tell you, the Vegas wedding was the best idea I ever had, and if you do it, you''ll love it!

OK, so here''s a bit of a history and reasoning as to why I went with a Vegas wedding, mainly, Vegas is my hometown. I don''t know if you''d ever read any of my threads through 2005, but W and I were living together and I was having LIW syndrome in a horrible way. What propogated this was that Ws company sends every employee + their spouse (have to actually be married and not just a live-in partner) on a super high end luxury vacation when they make their numbers, and I had missed a trip to Four Seasons Hawaii, and Palmilla One & Only - it always happened in mid-late March. We had been living together during both trips, and while he was in Cabo, he swore I would be going on the next one. So, December 2005 rolls around, I''m fairly sure his company was going to make their numbers, and while in the car, on the way back to Dallas from visiting his family in Houston over New Years, he said - "Well, we made our numbers. Maybe we should start thinking about getting married by March."

Yes, that was my proposal

. . . sort of. He hadn''t even considered getting a ring, so he had WF on a super rush order to have the thing done by March (it was done and he proposed on February 12th, and we were married March 9th), all the while I''m in super high gear trying to plan a wedding. I decided Vegas was the best option since the family that could make it would be in Reno or California, while we live in TX.

I researched sites, and considered Mandalay, as well as The Wynn (OMG the Rose Garden is TDF) and The Venetian. I liked the packages at the Bellagio, and loved the fact that a non-weekend wedding day was less expensive than a weekend (by nearly $1k). The planning process was incredibly simple - literally 4 phone calls to my bridal consultant, and a few faxes and emails back and forth, and it was done and scheduled. Photography was included, as was a DVD and some flowers. I paid extra for my sister''s bouquet, an extra 30 minutes of photography, and bouts for the gromsmen.

OK, so now on to your questions . . .

What was the experience like? Incredibly easy - I think I was the least stressed out bride I''ve ever known. They asked me what my colours were and used those colours for our bouquets and bouts, if I wanted to add any colours to the chapel, which type of ceremony I would like (religious or not), and a few other questions that elude me right now. The consultant I worked with was ever patient with my emails (though I only sent a few, they were wordy). When we checked into the Bellagio, they had upgraded our suite and it turned out to be all brown and blue (my wedding colours). I think I said "How did they know?!?" 15 times, not even thinking for one minute that ALL of the rooms had the same colour scheme. Many of our guests stayed across the street at The Paris, which I would warn against unless you guys all love walking. I had this perception that I would feel like a number as they rushed us through the ceremony and photos, but I really and truly did not feel that way as I was going through it.

What would you do differently if you could go back and do it all over again? I would get additional photography from an amazing photographer, whoever MsFlutter''s photographer was - he was amazing!

Was there anything you wish you''d know about beforehand? It seems like wedding chapel photographers are complete rejects when it comes to creativity and stunning photos. We did end up with one or two photos that didn''t feel entirely contrived, but I don''t LOVE any of the pics from our wedding day. Thankfully, I love about a hundred from our TTD shoot - but I think if I had gone with MsFlutter''s photographer after the wedding, with a few Vegas location shots, I probably wouldn''t have felt the need to fly to Hawaii to do the TTD shoot.

What did you do for a reception? A family friend opened her home up to us. She lived on a fabulous greenway, so we took some pics outside with a family friend who took some additonal pics for us, but we didn''t really care for the photographer.

Who did your hair and makeup? Since I was raised there, my sister had a girlfriend who had been doing her hair forever, so we used her for hair and makeup. I wish I would have gone with a down-do, but that''s not got anything to do with Vegas.


I love your idea about the Mandalay - it''s one of my very favourite hotels in Vegas. How many people will you be having, and have you enquired as to prix fixe menu prices for a wedding at either Mix or Aureole? Ohhh, this is so exciting - I love when PSers have Vegas weddings!

 

[FrekeChild]

Yay!!! Thanks you guys, I''m getting really excited about everything already. I need to calm the heck down, but it''s hard when FF is actually interested in an idea-and for him to SUGGEST something?! Holy cow.

Julabean
So this is what I''m thinking, and it''s a little bit quirky and nutso, but very much us. Our first official date was Vegas. I had never been there before, but BF had gone there for years and he wanted to share it with me. We drove (from Albuquerque NM it''s about 8 hours) and as we pulled onto the Strip, he basically asked if we could make things official already. So we spent the next day wandering around the Luxor, Excalibur, NY, NY, Bellagio, etc. Well we went to Mandalay Bay to go to the Shark Reef because it''s relatively inexpensive as far as attractions go in Vegas. As we were finding our way out of MB, I saw a sign for the wedding chapel, and the most random thought popped into my head, "I could marry this guy someday." So basically that was the first part of the best day of my life. The rest consisted of lunch at ESPNZone (where BF told me I was the perfect girlfriend-that has to do with our mutual love of buffalo wings), going up on the Eiffel Tower, watching the water show at Bellagio, and winding down with dinner at Postrio, and he surprised me with tickets to Blue Man Group. We''ve been back twice since then, so suffice it to say, Vegas is very special to us.

So my ideas stem very much from that day- I saw that MB has a Shark Reef Ceremony-and I think that would be really cool, because I don''t know that it''s something that a ton of people would to, but because of our history, and because of the way we met (his aquatic turtle picture on myspace) it''s very fitting. And then I''m thinking dinner at Mix or Aureole as a reception because of my food background (not to mention the chandelier thing at Mix-OMG). I want to go to Postrio for maybe the rehearsal dinner and then go to see Blue Man Group maybe afterwards? I think that I''d really want to keep the number of our guests around 20-even smaller would be nice, but it''s not likely to happen. And that is totally a budget issue.

So Julabean, when did you get married? I''ve already told him that I am open to do it from October-March, but that October is my first choice. I know all about the heat-our first time was in May, second in September (he had had heart surgery in July too) and then the third was this past December.

I really would like to get some pictures of us out on the Strip (almost a TTD kind of shoot with how dirty it is out there) but I''d have to hire another photographer for that, and who knows how much that would cost.

What is the deal with the rights to the photos?

BF is wanting to go check out MB (and the other hotels too) when we possibly go sometime maybe this fall? My problem is that the other nicer hotels on the Strip are a) really expensive or b) really traditional. We are definitely more the modern type-at least decor wise. The other hotels are really themed or kind of too Vegasy. Does that make sense? So that really limits our options, unfortunately.

 

[FrekeChild]

LTP
I have looked at all of your wedding photos (I''m glad you posted them again-I found them on another thread too-can''t remember which one now) and I was actually pretty impressed. They weren''t as bad as I was expecting, I guess.

I keep chuckling at your "proposal".

Anyway, so I think I answered some of your questions on my response to julabean. I don''t think that I would really have colors. My favorite color is blue-and obviously the Shark Reef has that in spades, and I really wouldn''t any decorations.

My family is all in New Mexico, and it''s a very short flight (an hour?) to Vegas-and sometimes with Southwest, we can get amazing rates (at least we used to be able to-who knows now) of around $100 round trip. Plus, the drive really isn''t bad-even with the Hoover Dam under construction we made it in 8 hours and we were stuck at the Dam for an hour. So I don''t think that people getting there would be a problem. Plus-and this is my main goal-I want a small wedding. With having it here in NM I was going to try to keep it down to below 50, but with all of my parent''s friends, and my closest 1st cousins, my brothers, their wives and their kids (they are all between 38-48 years old-I''m the baby) their body count alone would be 16 kids, with 11 adults. I should mention that''s all on my dad''s side-and my mom is the youngest of ten. No comment. So I figure with Vegas I can a) get away with inviting fewer people b)having less people come and c)having more control over the number of people in general.

I''m wondering with the set packages, do they discount you at all if you don''t want something in them? Or give credit towards something else? FF and I don''t drink, so Champagne is totally wasted on us, and I really don''t want flowers-although I''ll take them if I have to.

I''m going to have to find Msflutter''s wedding thread... I think that is a fantastic idea of getting an extra photographer. That''s my favorite part of weddings anyway. I do love your TTD shoot BTW!!!

I''ll have to get the name of the person who did your hair and stuff, and look up some more local vendors if this starts looking like a definite thing.

I haven''t looked into the prix fixe menus yet, I saw that the average price for a meal there ranges about $100-do you think that''s about right? I think this is the one and only time in my life I could convince everyone that paying that much for a meal is a good idea, so I''m totally going to take advantage of that. My family is very much of the mindset that quantity is better than quality, but as I''ve said, food is super important to me.

Here''s another question-Did you ladies have wedding cakes?

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I am not marrying in Vegas, but I have been there many times and have family out there. I have one suggestion that might truely make everything better and easier, go in December (not around new years) or late november.

There are lots of reasons, but this is when the weather is best and it is the major off season. No one gambles with the holidays coming and it is always quietest and cheapest in December, but all the shows and everything are still going on, plus, it is decorated for christmas, which is really cool.
We stayed at a very nice place off the strip last time we went, and the rooms were half off the regular rate.

Its fun because the only people in Vegas at that time are Asian tourists who were more polite to us than the average Vegas fare.

To sum up, late Nov-Dec has better weather, much cheaper, less crowded and overall a much better experience, IMO.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I know this sounds old school...but check out the Flamingo. It''s really beautiful.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Oh, I found MsFlutter''s wedding pics!

Post wedding - https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/post-wedding-bridal-pics.54253/

The actual wedding - https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ruby-red-wedding.49106/

 

[julabean]

Date: 7/28/2008 6:02:11 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Yay!!! Thanks you guys, I''m getting really excited about everything already. I need to calm the heck down, but it''s hard when FF is actually interested in an idea-and for him to SUGGEST something?! Holy cow.


Julabean

So this is what I''m thinking, and it''s a little bit quirky and nutso, but very much us. Our first official date was Vegas. I had never been there before, but BF had gone there for years and he wanted to share it with me. We drove (from Albuquerque NM it''s about 8 hours) and as we pulled onto the Strip, he basically asked if we could make things official already. So we spent the next day wandering around the Luxor, Excalibur, NY, NY, Bellagio, etc. Well we went to Mandalay Bay to go to the Shark Reef because it''s relatively inexpensive as far as attractions go in Vegas. As we were finding our way out of MB, I saw a sign for the wedding chapel, and the most random thought popped into my head, ''I could marry this guy someday.'' So basically that was the first part of the best day of my life. The rest consisted of lunch at ESPNZone (where BF told me I was the perfect girlfriend-that has to do with our mutual love of buffalo wings), going up on the Eiffel Tower, watching the water show at Bellagio, and winding down with dinner at Postrio, and he surprised me with tickets to Blue Man Group. We''ve been back twice since then, so suffice it to say, Vegas is very special to us.


So my ideas stem very much from that day- I saw that MB has a Shark Reef Ceremony-and I think that would be really cool, because I don''t know that it''s something that a ton of people would to, but because of our history, and because of the way we met (his aquatic turtle picture on myspace) it''s very fitting. And then I''m thinking dinner at Mix or Aureole as a reception because of my food background (not to mention the chandelier thing at Mix-OMG). I want to go to Postrio for maybe the rehearsal dinner and then go to see Blue Man Group maybe afterwards? I think that I''d really want to keep the number of our guests around 20-even smaller would be nice, but it''s not likely to happen. And that is totally a budget issue.


So Julabean, when did you get married? I''ve already told him that I am open to do it from October-March, but that October is my first choice. I know all about the heat-our first time was in May, second in September (he had had heart surgery in July too) and then the third was this past December.


I really would like to get some pictures of us out on the Strip (almost a TTD kind of shoot with how dirty it is out there) but I''d have to hire another photographer for that, and who knows how much that would cost.


What is the deal with the rights to the photos?


BF is wanting to go check out MB (and the other hotels too) when we possibly go sometime maybe this fall? My problem is that the other nicer hotels on the Strip are a) really expensive or b) really traditional. We are definitely more the modern type-at least decor wise. The other hotels are really themed or kind of too Vegasy. Does that make sense? So that really limits our options, unfortunately.

Freke, your reasoning for Mandalay Bay is very cute! And I can totally relate about Vegas being a special city. DH and I had been friends for years and during a trip to Vegas for my birthday a few years ago, something changed between us. We got together less than a month later and had vacationed there a few times before we got engaged. When we got engaged, we asked each other, "Where do YOU want to get married?" and we picked Vegas. We met some resistance from our parents, but they got over it. My sister recently got married locally and I asked my mom (who pretty much planned her entire wedding) if she was glad we had chosen a destination wedding and she told me, "You have no idea!"

We got married at Paris, which I would recommend until the day I die, but their facilities are very traditional. But style wise, I can totally see Mandalay Bay. DH leans more to the traditional side, I lean more towards "oooh, pretty!", so I would have been happy with either venue.

We got married April 5th. The day was sunny, in the mid-80''s, and it was fantastic spring Vegas weather. I''d been before in August and Sept. and it was just too hot. We''ve been in January, which was okay, but I like hot weather when I go to Vegas!

I wouldn''t be surprised if adding an additional hour or two of photography were an option through Mandalay Bay''s wedding chapel. It might not be any less expensive than hiring a local Vegas photographer, though. We could have arranged to have pictures taken at other places on the strip, had we wanted to. And this is just jogging my memory because I remember looking at the Shark Reef wedding option when we were there...is there a maximum guest limit on that? There were a few options we looked at online that had guest limits capped at 10 or 20, which was too small for our guest list.

The deal with our photos is that we only had a certain number included in our package. Over that, we could order prints through the photographer, but we would have to decided on the photos right then and there. Or we could buy the photo rights from the photographer and we''d get a CD with the entire catalog of images. We got some great pictures, so we definitely wanted all of them, but they were much more expensive than we had been quoted.

As for more modern looking chapels, have you checked out Caesars?
http://www.harrahs.com/weddings/caesars-palace/clv-locations-tuscana.html

 

[LaurenThePartier]

FYI, Freke, after having lived in Vegas for 25 years, April and October were always the nicest weather, every single year.

Convenient since my bday is in October and DH''s is in April.

 

[FrekeChild]

Dangit! I just found out that not only is there a 10 person limit to the Shark Reef, but also that you have to get married at 9am. That is so....not cool. BLARG. Ok, so what other choices do I have then? I could do the cheapest option at Mandalay Bay...

BIH It''s funny that you say that-the last time we went was right before Christmas last year-and while I''d been walking about with a parka here, I could walk around with just a light jacket in Vegas, and the hotel rates were seriously half of what they were the last time we''d been there in September. Plus, it was so much less crowded, AND we got show tickets for a Cirque show that were in the front row-2 hours before the show started. Vegas is fantastic the week before Christmas. I''m going to have to consider the very end of November and maybe the beginning of December. The problem we have to work around is that he''s a PhD student, so we have to work around the University''s schedule. I was thinking October would be good because we could go during Fall Break. The decorations for Christmas is a very good point though-I loved Bellagio''s. They were gorgeous!

Italia Long time no see! Where have you been? I do like the Flamingo-I had no idea that it would be as pretty as it was inside. I''ll go check it out in a bit.

LTP Thank you! I had seen them before, but I didn''t realize that they were in Vegas (on pic posts I tend to just look at the pretty pictures! I''m such a slacker!) I''m thinking that a second photog would be a fabulous idea.

Julabean I''m going to go check out the Paris hotel soon too. I haven''t looked at the wedding packages there yet. Caesar''s does look pretty promising though. This is starting to get a bit more complicated than I thought it would be... So should I buy the rights to the pics then? Was it worth it? How many pictures did they take?

LTP I''m really leaning more and more towards October. Spring Break is usually in March, and I''d like to have more time than just a weekend...We could possibly do it Winter Break, but that would get kind of rough with Christmas right there, and then a week later New Years insanity...But no summer wedding for me, I can''t handle heat and neither can FF. I''ll do the dead of winter before spring or summer, but fall is my favorite season, so it makes sense to do it then.

Ok, so depending on a proposal I''m thinking October 2010.

 

[FoxyBride]

Not to thread jack, but is anyone doing an in-suite reception? That might be an option for the OP too. I saw something about it only and when I mentioned it my FH all of a sudden got excited when he is generally anti-all-wedding-crap.

If so, what suite are you using? How are you handling the logistics of seating/extra furniture you don''t need in the room?

 

[julabean]

Date: 7/28/2008 11:52:42 PM
Author: FoxyBride
Not to thread jack, but is anyone doing an in-suite reception? That might be an option for the OP too. I saw something about it only and when I mentioned it my FH all of a sudden got excited when he is generally anti-all-wedding-crap.

If so, what suite are you using? How are you handling the logistics of seating/extra furniture you don''t need in the room?

We know a couple who did an in-suite reception at Bellagio. They actually had the wedding held in the suite and then the staff came in, whisked them away to get cocktails somewhere else, and then they came back to a sit down dinner in their suite. The wedding party and guests was small, though - only like 20 people. I do know that at Bally''s you can rent suites that have a fantastic view of the strip for a reception - I think they offer parties up to 40 or so. If that helps!

 

[julabean]

Date: 7/28/2008 10:45:55 PM
Author: FrekeChild


Julabean I''m going to go check out the Paris hotel soon too. I haven''t looked at the wedding packages there yet. Caesar''s does look pretty promising though. This is starting to get a bit more complicated than I thought it would be... So should I buy the rights to the pics then? Was it worth it? How many pictures did they take?

Don''t give up! I know how exhausting it can all look at once - DH and I had a few nights where we were on the phone with my parents (who were paying for half of the wedding) and then on the internet looking at EVERY hotel on the Strip and there were some moments when I didn''t think it would work. But if you''re planning a small(ish) wedding and you aren''t too far from Vegas, it is ENTIRELY doable. You just have to know what''s out there and what is included in your package. The pictures were the only hidden cost we ran into, but they were worth it (in our situation).

About the pictures - I would say that if you want to do other areas of Vegas for pictures that it''d probably be better to arrange a Las Vegas local photographer to do those after (or before) the ceremony. Whatever package you get at any hotel would include photography covering the ceremony and you could probably either buy those pictures outright or just getp prints for way less than we ended up paying. I''ve heard from some people here on PS and a few other people I know that they weren''t blown away by their hotel photographer''s pictures, but DH and I must have been the lucky ones. We got over 300 pictures of the ceremony, family shots afterwards, and an hour of us wandering around the hotel, so it was a price we were willing to stomach. But if we hadn''t had such a great photographer, we probably would have only ended up getting a few prints made of our pictures. Looking back, it *probably* would have been cheaper to use an outside photographer because he would''ve been with us for a longer time, but woulda coulda shoulda right?

 

[choro72]

Preface: Of course everything depends on how each couple envision their wedding, and although it works for many people (My friend was married at the Wynn. It was the best wedding I''ve been to) it just wasn''t for us.
Now I''m sure most of you will read my following review and say "DUH, it''s Vegas. What did you expect!?". If so, then please just ignore it. Otherwise, I hope it will be informative and offer you a new perspective.

FI and I were considering getting married at the Bellagio so we went to get information. They do over 15 ceremonies a day. They give you 30 minutes for the ceremony, and 15 minutes prior to that for prep. This was strike number one for me. I wanted our wedding to be an intimate private affair. This system made us feel like a piece of candy in a gumball machine. "Say I do. BAM! You''re married! NEXT IN LINE?" It was just too rushed for my taste. I wanted more time to get ready, be giddy with my girls, or at least more time to compose myself. I''ll be a nervous wreck if I was to be rushed like that.

While we were talking to the coordinator about options, a bride and her ladies walked in with all their clothes to start getting ready. This was strike number two. I wanted our wedding to be just about us. I don''t want visitors checking out the venue while I''m preparing to get married.

We finished asking questions and had lunch. After our lunch, apparently the girl''s ceremony was over and the newly weds were having their pictures taken around the hotel. This was strike number three. Bellagio is a gorgeous hotel and I''m sure the pictures will come out nicely. But again, I want our wedding to be intimate, not walking around among strangers in my wedding gown. I felt as if we were looking to have a gourmet Italian meal at Sbarro.

I thought that it was only the small drive through chapels that make their money on people''s wedding, so if I went for big beautiful hotels, it will be just like any normal and intimate wedding. But taking a look that day I felt that even at the Bellagio it was the same. It felt like a drive through wedding, and I didn''t want that.

Still, Bellagio is my favorite place in Vegas, so we decided that we''ll stay at the hotel for our first anniversary.

 

[Gypsy]

We considered it.

Here''s what we figured out. Andres was our restaurant choice. We figured about 40 people and the original Andres had great prices for private party menus with lots of great food options and on a Sunday they are closed, but will consider opening for private parties. Love that.

I think of all the bad photography options the Venitian had some of the better photographer and photos. And they had nicer flower options than others. I personally loved the chapel at Mandalay, LOVED IT. But we were going to chose the Venitian because the service was amazing everytime we called, they have nice deals and were very flexible with most requests (not photography) and the chapels had the option of opening the doors to a lovely fountain, view in the background.

I would want a photography session with a good photographer if I got married in Vegas. We were planning on an afternoon ceremony, pics with real photographer for a few hours, then Andres for dinner (which will let the photographer on premises).

Andres was willing to bake us a cake, or customize desserts for us. And if we chose the private dining on Sunday (if they opened for us, in other words) we could have had a first dance with our guests present, which was really important to me.

Part of me still regrets not going for Vegas. It would have been just flat out amazing.

 

[PrincessD]

I''m getting married at Mandalay Bay April 25th 2009. We are doing the Platinum Skies Package and adding an additional 2 hours of photography for $675, that includes an additional 150 pics. We are spending alot on the ceremony, but for the reception we are saving lots of $$ by doing an in suite reception. We reserved the Vista Suite, which is the most popular for receptions, for the night before the wedding to set up and the night of the wedding of course. With room, food, booz, and cake it''s costing us about 1,700. My coordinator is the best so if you decide to go with MB ask for Alyssa!

 

[brandy_z28]

Are you set on having the wedding at a hotel on the strip? This is the wedding package my FI and I chose: Valley of Fire
We''re going with the Deluxe Package. I unfortunately can''t give you a review on it since we''ll be getting married on 03/13/09 but figured I''d throw another option out there for you. Very well priced for what you get.

Redrose posted a link to this site with "free" cakes: Las Vegas Wedding Cakes You pay for the supplies and her gas and she makes the cake for you and delivers it. Seems like a pretty good deal and might be worth checking out.

Good luck! Please keep us posted on what you find!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 7/29/2008 1:51:37 AM
Author: choro72
Preface: Of course everything depends on how each couple envision their wedding, and although it works for many people (My friend was married at the Wynn. It was the best wedding I''ve been to) it just wasn''t for us.
Now I''m sure most of you will read my following review and say ''DUH, it''s Vegas. What did you expect!?''. If so, then please just ignore it. Otherwise, I hope it will be informative and offer you a new perspective.

FI and I were considering getting married at the Bellagio so we went to get information. They do over 15 ceremonies a day. They give you 30 minutes for the ceremony, and 15 minutes prior to that for prep. This was strike number one for me. I wanted our wedding to be an intimate private affair. This system made us feel like a piece of candy in a gumball machine. ''Say I do. BAM! You''re married! NEXT IN LINE?'' It was just too rushed for my taste. I wanted more time to get ready, be giddy with my girls, or at least more time to compose myself. I''ll be a nervous wreck if I was to be rushed like that.

While we were talking to the coordinator about options, a bride and her ladies walked in with all their clothes to start getting ready. This was strike number two. I wanted our wedding to be just about us. I don''t want visitors checking out the venue while I''m preparing to get married.

We finished asking questions and had lunch. After our lunch, apparently the girl''s ceremony was over and the newly weds were having their pictures taken around the hotel. This was strike number three. Bellagio is a gorgeous hotel and I''m sure the pictures will come out nicely. But again, I want our wedding to be intimate, not walking around among strangers in my wedding gown. I felt as if we were looking to have a gourmet Italian meal at Sbarro.

I thought that it was only the small drive through chapels that make their money on people''s wedding, so if I went for big beautiful hotels, it will be just like any normal and intimate wedding. But taking a look that day I felt that even at the Bellagio it was the same. It felt like a drive through wedding, and I didn''t want that.

Still, Bellagio is my favorite place in Vegas, so we decided that we''ll stay at the hotel for our first anniversary.

A couple of things about your visit to the Bellagio, and maybe I''m happy I did have to plan it long distance.

Perhaps it was because I was married in March, but there were only 8 weddings the day I got married and none were adjacent to my timeslot. I was in that dressing room for ~30 minutes before the ceremony, and when the time came for our ceremony, we were the only set of guests alllowed in the chapel. Luckily, there were no visitors, as I would have been peeved, too.

Our photos were taken out by the pool, and again, because it was March, it was practically vacant, so it was just the 2 of us with our photographer and our fathers.

I feel lucky that my experience was so much more intimate than the impression that you had. I think had I seen the same things you had, I''d have maybe made some adjustments.

So, I must know - where did you decide to get married?

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 7/29/2008 9:26:30 AM
Author: brandy_z28
Are you set on having the wedding at a hotel on the strip? This is the wedding package my FI and I chose: Valley of Fire
We''re going with the Deluxe Package. I unfortunately can''t give you a review on it since we''ll be getting married on 03/13/09 but figured I''d throw another option out there for you. Very well priced for what you get.

Redrose posted a link to this site with ''free'' cakes: Las Vegas Wedding Cakes You pay for the supplies and her gas and she makes the cake for you and delivers it. Seems like a pretty good deal and might be worth checking out.

Good luck! Please keep us posted on what you find!

This is a great idea - there''s also a lovely little hotel at the base of Mount Charleston that does lovely weddings. If you were to choose a December date, there would likely be snow on the mountains and it would be amazing.

http://www.mtcharlestonhotel.com/Events/Weddings/tabid/563/Default.aspx

 

[pjean]

As you can see from a couple of those threads, I''m planning a Vegas wedding for October of 2009. Too late to be of any use to most of you, I''m afraid, but it''s fun to think about.

I have definitely abandoned my fantasy that we''re going to have a small wedding with everyone staying in one hotel, us getting married there, and having dinner at a restaurant at the hotel. I think our final guest count will be about 65. I guess it''s not huge, but much bigger than I''d originally planned for. I was a little startled by the number of people I thought wouldn''t come for sure who are hugely excited by the prospect of a trip to Las Vegas. So be warned: it may not be smaller after all!

I think, at this point, we will likely have our wedding at the Paris (thanks, juliabean, for all the info!) and a reception at Nine Fine Irishmen, which is an Irish style pub at NYNY that we like and have some history in. My biggest concern is trekking everyone there from the Paris - they''re both on the strip, but my memory is that it''s not a short walk. At least a couple of my guests will be unable to walk the distance.

Whee, Vegas!

 

[sap483]

Freke, my photographer recently renewed her vows in Vegas at the Bellagio. She said her wedding was more of her mother''s wedding than hers so she really made this cermony reflective of her and her DH. Anyway, she did a really great job of documenting her planning on this blog: Chatty Brides. Her blogger name was Vegas Bride.

 

[FoxyBride]

PrincessD: How many people are you having? I know the Vista Suite is very popular for receptions. Are you leaving the set-up as is, or moving things around?

 

[Haven]

The best thing about a Vegas wedding is that you can save a bit of money and buy some FABULOUS SHOES! Like those gorgeous $600 Weitzmans you almost had me buy for my wedding. To. Die. For.

Seriously, though, all of the beautiful Vegas weddings we''ve seen here (LaurenThePartier, MrsFlutter, etc.) are VERY compelling reasons to consider it.

 

[PrincessD]

Foxybride: right now we have a definite 27(including us), but it''ll be no more than 35-40. I am leaving the suite as-is, I''m going to but some flowers out, but other than that I want to keep it simple because I know the day after the wedding we have to check out at 11 and I''m not going to want to be cleaning up!!!! Soo anxious!

 

[julabean]

Date: 7/29/2008 12:23:43 PM
Author: pjean
As you can see from a couple of those threads, I''m planning a Vegas wedding for October of 2009. Too late to be of any use to most of you, I''m afraid, but it''s fun to think about.


I have definitely abandoned my fantasy that we''re going to have a small wedding with everyone staying in one hotel, us getting married there, and having dinner at a restaurant at the hotel. I think our final guest count will be about 65. I guess it''s not huge, but much bigger than I''d originally planned for. I was a little startled by the number of people I thought wouldn''t come for sure who are hugely excited by the prospect of a trip to Las Vegas. So be warned: it may not be smaller after all!


I think, at this point, we will likely have our wedding at the Paris (thanks, juliabean, for all the info!) and a reception at Nine Fine Irishmen, which is an Irish style pub at NYNY that we like and have some history in. My biggest concern is trekking everyone there from the Paris - they''re both on the strip, but my memory is that it''s not a short walk. At least a couple of my guests will be unable to walk the distance.


Whee, Vegas!

Not to threadjack, but...
Pjean, we had to abandon that fantasy, too! We ended up inviting 70 people and having 56 make it. It was bigger than I had expected, but it all worked out. We had people staying all over heck and gone - but there were a core of us that stayed at the Paris. The suite that is included with most packages at Paris is REALLY nice. It is absolutely huge, so you''ll have plenty of room to get ready with your wedding party.

As for trekking to the NYNY, I''d spread the word about the monorail (that goes from Bally''s to MGM and then they just walk across to NYNY) or encourage people to take cabs. We had our reception at the Hilton, so we had a bit of a trek to make, too! We rented a limo for our wedding party, though - that was fun!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 7/29/2008 1:45:04 PM
Author: Haven
The best thing about a Vegas wedding is that you can save a bit of money and buy some FABULOUS SHOES! Like those gorgeous $600 Weitzmans you almost had me buy for my wedding. To. Die. For.

Seriously, though, all of the beautiful Vegas weddings we''ve seen here (LaurenThePartier, MrsFlutter, etc.) are VERY compelling reasons to consider it.

Here, here, Haven! I really wish I had splurged on things like the shoes - but given that I planned the wedding in 6 weeks, shoes were really more of an afterthought, unfortunately.

I coveted those Weitzmans during your threads! So hot!

 

[julabean]

I splurged on a pair of shoes the day before we left for Vegas and they BROKE!! two days before the wedding. I was so mad. I returned them as soon as I got home. Good thing I had my original pair with me!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Ok, quick note before I go back to my research (there are still so many things to think about with this stuff!)but I have narrowed it down to these hotels: Caesar's Palace, Mandalay Bay, Treasure Island (but not pirate themed-they have an "A la Carte" package!), Flamingo, MGM Grand and Planet Hollywood. Caesar's is on the bottom because I just don't like the hotel very much, MGM, Mandalay Bay, Flamingo are in the middle, and TI and ph are on the top at the moment, but we'll see how it goes because right now I'm entering info into a spreadsheet to compare the hotels and their packages side by side, so all of that could change very soon.

Wedding size: I don't want more than 20. If there are more people than that, that we cannot get married without (I can't imagine who they would be) we'll reconsider, but I cannot imagine the number going over 25.

Shoes: Haven I would LOVE those SWs. If they still had them I would grab them, but they don't, and I can't find them anywhere else. However, what I have found is the same shoe only in white satin. I'm thinking, dye those puppies, and then trip to the hobby store or swarovski.com and I'll make a version of them myself! (Plus, they'd be cheaper!)

Ok, back to my excel spreadsheet!

ETA: What kind of shoes were they Julabean?