I think we have our location! I had viewed venue options at Mandalay Bay (ceremony locations, MiX) back over the summer during an LV trip with friends, and my fiancé and I just traveled back to the city over the holiday weekend so he could take a look at the chapel space and so we both could tour our top reception choice, Auerole. We loved it - and are going to book our ceremony and reception as soon as possible for our 2015 date.
The restaurant is a great location and the menu is classic and upscale. We saw two options for our party of about 60 guests, the private dining room and the semi-private dining space attached to the swan court. The former was nice but very corporate, which was as expected from the photos I had seen online. The semi space was so nice and has great views out to the court with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a water feature, small fountain and two very big swans! It is nicely appointed inside with six rounds of 10 and four half moon booths fitting four. There is a partition separating the area from the rest of the restaurant, and a center and back wall area for cocktail hour. The colors are muted neutrals - tans, golds, white and brown, and the restaurant provides centerpieces, though we will likely bring in our own.
We plan on having our cocktail hour in the space, with guests going out to mingle in the courtyard, and then having our dinner in the same area. We'll do an after party up at MiX, or whatever it may be called after it turns into the Delano property. We are foregoing dancing and a deejay, so this more simple form of our reception will work well in the venue space. As an aside, I asked a few people about the changeover of THEHotel to The Delano, and other than MiX, which is yet to be determined how it might be changed, no one foresaw issues with venue/room block scheduling in the next year or so.
It's such a relief to have a few things sorted out, with just contracts to sign once we can confirm the dates are available. My fiancé and I actually met in Las Vegas while both on vacation, and are so excited to have our wedding back in the city when it all began!
I'm having trouble uploading pics, but please message me if any brides or grooms out there want to share notes if you're also planning your wedding at THEHotel/MB.