Hey all, we just got back from our pre-wedding trip to Vegas and we got lots done! Just wanted to give a bit more info about what we did in case anyone is curious.
Maggiano's - We did a tasting for our reception. Appetizers - LOVED the spinach dip, liked the calamari. The calamari wasn't the best we've had but it wasn't the worst. We thought we might want to have something a little less greasy for an appetizer, but we might choose those two options and then get a fruit and veggie platter set out before dinner for some light snacks. Salads - we're going with the caesar and the spinach salad. We sampled the chopped salad but didn't think it was too special. The spinach salad had some bacon, goat cheese, pine nuts and a good dressing and seemed more 'salady' then the basic chopped salad. Pasta - we're going with the chicken and spinach canneloni (Delicious!) and mom's lasagna with marinara sauce. The lasagna was good, but nothing tooooooo crazy. It was probably just that the chicken and spinach canneloni was so good, the lasagna couldn't compare. Entrees - Beth recommended the pork option and then we wanted some chicken so we tried the chicken parmesan and chicken saltimbocca. Both were good, but the chicken saltimbocca had a little piece of cripy proscuitto on top, with some caramelized onions around the dish that just made it fantastic! Desserts - These were all so good! We ended up choosing the tiramisu and apple crostada for our two desserts, but the cheesecake was a close third. The chocolate cake (can't remember what it was called) and the creme brulee were good, the other desserts were just better, in our opinion.
We also toured the room, I LOVE the way it looks. We also weren't aware that we get access to the balcony with the Calabria room! It was a pleasant surprise. Sabrina (who was SUPER nice!) said that they try to block off a bit for us because it's shared with the room next door, but it is ours to use as we see fit. It has a nice view of the Wynn and Stratosphere so I was happy!
Valley of fire - we drove out here one day to see how long it took and see how busy it was. Our wedding is on a Saturday at 1 pm and we drove out on a Saturday at about 11 am. Traffic wasn't too bad, once you get to the small road near the park, it would have been much slower if we got stuck behind a slow vehicle (you can't really pass because the road is pretty curvy) but no issues for us. It was a full hour to drive out to the Valley of fire, we thought it might be a bit less, but no, it was exactly an hour. The space at the Seven Sisters is really nice (this is where we're getting married with Scenic Las Vegas Weddings) and has picnic tables and shaded areas so that will be great for our guests! The visitor's center is really nice too, with lots of information about the valley. It didn't seem too unbearably busy while we were there, but that could change once it gets warmer in April.
Marriage License - We have ours! So crazy. We kept saying we should just go and get married while we were there and get it over with! But then our guests (and us!) would miss out on a good party so we didn't do it :P haha. I filled out the pre-app before we left but I closed the page accidentally before I could write down the confirmation number so I had a little freak out but after I called the bureau, they assured me that I would be in the system and not to worry. We got there at about 10:30 AM on a Saturday and there were about 6 couples filling out forms but we just went into the empty express line and basically walked right up to the desk. And it was totally fine that I didn't have my code, we were in the system, like they said. We signed a couple forms and bing bang boom, we were out of there in about 5 minutes! Easy peasy!
Harmony Tapia (formerly Medina) - My fiance and I got a spray tan from her because I have one booked for before our wedding but was nervous how it would turn out. We loved it! And we loved her! Harmony was so friendly and easy going. I'm so glad I have her booked for hair and make up! The spray tan worked wonders on our pale Canadian skin. She chose the 'darkness' of the tan since I had no idea and we were both very pleased with how naturally tanned we looked after. If any of you are getting that done, make sure to bring loose clothing to wear after (I had a loose sun dress) and you can't get wet for 8 hours after so don't plan a pool day! You also can't put liquid foundation or lotion on, so make sure you're not going out to some bar where you have to get all dolled up!
It was a very successful trip! I can't wait for our wedding! Only 52 more days! Eeeeek!