Philly bride looking for some help with her Vegas wedding!

FutureMrsP2014

Hi Ladies!  I am a Philadelphia bride looking for some information for my Vegas wedding.  My FH and I recently canceled our big wedding here in Philly, and decided to have a small intimate wedding in Vegas.  We were thinking January 6, 2015.  How is the weather in January?   I have been online, looking at different wedding locations at the various hotels, and was wondering if there are any wedding venues that are highly recommended and wont break the bank?  We are trying to keep it at about 40 people, maybe even a little smaller than that.  I plan on flying out sometime this summer to see places in person, so I am trying to gather a list.  I am also interested in finding a venue for a small dinner reception, nothing crazy.  Last, I know most hotels require that we use the photographer that comes with the package, but I wasn't sure if there is a way around that.  Any input is greatly appreciated.  Thank you so much!!

Valeriecruz82

Hi and welcome! I just got married a little less then 2 weeks ago and had our wedding at the gazebo at the flamingo and I loved our location. They have so many options as far as budget goes too. I do know they have their own photography company they use but they did such an amazing job with our photos we purchased all of them. But I know they allow you to bring in your own for a a vendor fee. I didn't have a restaurant style reception instead we had an in suite reception where we invited all of our guests to our hotel for appetizers, cake and champagne and a shot I'm not sure about the weather in January but I have been to Vegas in December and the weather was in the low 70's. Best of luck Vegas is the perfect place to get married!!

PrincessMich425

We're from Phoenix and having our ceremony at the Flamingo (probabably the gazebo) and an in suite reception at the Mandalay Bay. I think we're going to pay the outside vendor fee and have Todd take our pics on site. Vegasgroom.com has so many great resources and this board has put my mind a ease about doing a destination wedding. Everyone here is so wonderful!!!

tcnoble

Congrats! A lot of people recommend the Flamingo and the Platinum... lots of Aria brides here too but I'm not sure Aria is as budget friendly.

I'm a local and the weather in January is hard to predict. Sometimes its 60s-70s and sunny, other days its 40s-50s and rainy. So you might want to consider that in your planning. If you have any other questions please ask!

ssteele04

another Flamingo bride here! We are getting married in the indoor Chapel they have many packages and you can use outside vendors for a fee, I know Maggiano's has been a hit for receptions, we are just having a small in-suite reception, as of today we have 35 confirmed quests 

wrigleyville

We got married at The Quad (formerly Imperial Palace). They let us use Todd from Bently & Wilson, for a fee. We were also allowed to use a different florist, for a fee, but we went with their flowers.

We had 43 guests (45 with Todd and the bartender) and hosted our reception in one of the Vista Suites at Mandalay Bay. It had a great view of the strip. I wanted to make sure everyone had a seat, so we rented some extra high boy tables and some chairs, along with some uplighting to jazz it up a bit. The rentals only cost about $75 altogether, and they were totally worth it.

We used Masterpiece Cuisine for our catering. They've done lots and lots of in-suite receptions there, so they know how to avoid the staff. We fed 45 people a ton of food for about $1200 after tax and tip.

We bought our own alcohol and hired a bartender. It worked out really well.

The suite has a long table, so we used that to set up the cake and cupcakes, our card box, and the goody bags with favors.

We didn't get a DJ, as the suite has an iPod hookup and I was concerned about noise. We REALLY did not want to have our reception cut short. I turned it up to party level, so it was loud enough to dance but not so loud that it would bother other guests. 

Right before our reception started, I slid a note with some scratch-off tickets under the neighboring rooms' doors and told them to please call our room if our "party" got too loud (I didn't dare say "reception"). We didn't get a single complaint all night.

Rosebubbly

Wow @wrigleyville‌ that is suuuuch a great idea with the neighboring rooms!! I never would have thout of that.

shoebunnie

@wrigleyville‌ that's a great idea! We didn't have to worry about that fortunately because my best friend was in the room next to us but I wish I would've thought of it just in case.

KrisLSmiley

That is a great idea about the neighboring rooms!  Might have to try that.

wrigleyville

We do the same thing with our neighbors when we invite people over, and they do the same for us. It's just... neighborly. (We don't do scratch-offs. That was a Vegas thing. I meant we leave a note for them.)

I find I'm WAY more forgiving of noise if people give us a heads-up and an "out", as in, I won't feel like a beast for calling them because they TOLD me to call. So, when I do hear the party noise, I expect it, and it's no big deal because I was prepared for it. It's not quite as jarring, and, therefore, I don't get irritated. So, I figured I'd do the same thing in the hotel. I don't even know if anyone was in those rooms, though. Oh well. The maids probably liked the scratch-offs. I hope they won something!

Rosebubbly

I am going to try my darndest to have friends and family nearby but I know how highly unlikely that is.