Double Decker Bus – This was one of my favorite things we did. At first, my guests didn’t really understand what we were doing and I think a lot of them were considering not going. We had dropped off beer, water, and wine the day before. The bus was on time and had everything iced down. I was under the impression that they were providing cups, but they didn’t have any, so we stopped at the store and got some. Not a huge deal, and it was something I should have confirmed with them the day before. Anyway, we started off at the Flamingo and went the back way to the Las Vegas sign. For a Friday night, there was hardly anyone there. Everyone on the bus that wanted to was able to get their picture in front of the sign. We then went up the strip from Mandalay Bay all the way past the Stratosphere and into down town. We parked right off Fremont street and got to see the Fremont St Experience. We hung out there for about 45 mins. Everyone had a blast. We rode all the way back up the strip and got off. The driver even let the boys run the cooler upstairs to unload the leftover alcohol, even though our time was up. Overall, all of our guests really enjoyed the bus and had great time.
Lori White – LOVED HER! She is amazing. Initially, when I started this process last year I had my heart set on Francesca. I originally booked Francesca last fall to do my hair for my engagement pictures. About a week before that shoot was scheduled, she bailed on me and said she accidentally double booked and was not available for that date. She did send me Lori’s contact info. Lori wasn’t busy and did my hair for that shoot. She was on time and did a wonderful job. When the time came to book my wedding hair and makeup, I sent both Lori and Francesca an email asking if they were available and what prices were like. Lori had better prices and was nicer in her reply so I went with her, especially because I knew I could trust her to show up on time and not bail on me. I sent her some inspiration pics and she helped me choose some extensions to add volume to my hair because my hair is so thin and fine. I had a little trouble with her email when I was trying to schedule my trial, but a quick phone call resolved that. She was on time for my trial and the wedding day. I was going out for my bachelorette party the day of my trial and she was sweet enough to rework my hair into a different style. On the wedding day she did my hair and makeup perfect. Of course I had a huge zit on my chin (STRESS!) and she covered it up well. My hair and makeup both lasted perfectly until I went to bed, around 2:00 AM. She is so easy to talk to and very calming. I loved working with her; she was definitely one of my favorite vendors J I highly, highly, highly recommend her!
Flamingo Chapel – We got married at the gazebo in the back of the garden, right behind the actual chapel. There was a pre party for Jimmy Buffet going on at the pool and there was a live band playing. They stopped right at 12:00 and started back up at 12:20. We were able to get the ceremony done in between. Since we brought our own photographer, we cancelled Imagine, so I don’t have a review on them. We did get our wedding video in the mail today, and I have no complaints about that. It’s pretty straightforward. They did catch my husband (!) having a little sniffle right as I came down the aisle. I had told 2 coordinators and the minister that we did not want to stand inside the Gazebo because we wanted all of guests to see everything and my mother was going to Skype the ceremony to my grandmother. They all said not a problem. When I got down the aisle, the minister asked us to step inside and I said no, but he insisted and was kind of making a scene. So we stepped inside. I was really irritated at that, especially because I had confirmed with everyone that I didn’t want to be inside. It didn’t ruin anything, but was just slightly irritating. Our minister, don’t even remember his name, was pretty standard. I asked him to keep it very short and sweet, and he mostly did. He told some story at the end that neither I nor husband remembered or cared about. We were just really hoping the ceremony ended before the band started up again J Overall the venue was pretty, but the service at the Flamingo is a bit lacking. I never felt like a valued customer or a special bride.