Hey all, I'm back and married! Thought I'd share my experiences with my vendors for our fabulous weekend.
Makeup: Aria Salon They get an A for final outcome. I decided to go with the Aria salon for time's sake. The artist was great and worked very hard to cover up a last minute zit that showed up the night before the wedding. I didn't pop it, and I should have. Ultimately, we agreed to make it into a beauty mark and no one noticed it at all. As a matter of fact, I got so many compliments on the make up, it was insane. I also booked an airbrush bridal session ($150) that the booker had down as just make up. This was easily remedied though. I also booked hubby and my stepson for beard clean ups. Somehow that turned into the correct booking for hubby but a haircut for SS that was an unbudgeted $75. They both looked great though!
Ceremony: Aria Chapel They get a A for premises/B for pre-ceremony service/D for day of service/F for price. I knew when I signed on the dotted line, it was twice as much as similar chapels (Wynn). I picked it for the ambiance and facilities. They were gorgeous. The flowers were gorgeous. However, Erika was not there on the day of my wedding, even though she left a kind note. The gal on duty was zero help. I have to say that the hour you get in the awesome dressing suite goes by in a flash. You don't have time to drink the bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for you! The coordinator had an attitude and didn't give up direction on time (like they want you to run late and incur a late charge) and did not get items that were requested in a timely manner. That said, they played my music beautifully and the ceremony itself, was short, sweet and beautiful. I would recommend they adjust their pricing a bit. It's high and I did not feel as if we were the only ceremony at the time.
Photography: Cashman They get a B. I know that there is a lot of animus towards Cashman because they are the only vendor, but everyone was able to take photos during the ceremony and our prints came out lovely and were ready the next day. We stayed within our package (24 5x7 prints in a book plus a DVD of the ceremony) and everything came out lovely. We have a website where anyone can order and buy prints, We got two 8 x 10 prints - one regular and one metal. We got that on Tuesday and the metal print came with a stand. It's lovely. We used Capsule for the guest shots and other than getting folks to actually upload their shots, we are looking forward to ordering some books from those.
Mandalay Bay Hospitality Suite They get an A+. The suite was awesome and the housekeeping people are outstanding. I was hugging them by the 2nd day. We had the suite and adjoining bedroom for three nights. The spaciousness of the suite was wonderful. We had a private ice machine and back door to the space, two powder rooms and four flat screen TVs. There were also several closets and plenty of space to hide things. The bar was long and had a sink as well as three empty refrigerators to place all the drinks you wanted inside. We took large cardboard recycle boxes (collaspable) and bags to hold our trash. We did a lot of cleaning ourselves, but on the plus side, no cleaning fees. Well, and I tipped her well ever single day. Almost all of our guests stayed at MB and all had good things to say. We ate at Citizens and Border Grill. Both were fantastic.
Goodnight Gracie They get an A. Right on time, excellent prices and compliments all around. We did not have much left over, and that's just how I wanted it. Plus, they allow a discretionary tip. I'll be sending that this weekend.
Drago Sisters Bakery They get a C. The price was right, they were spot on time, but... I'm a cake gal and I just didn't think the cake was very good. The butter cream and cake were heavy - a sin with wedding cake I believe. I was disappointed because I really wanted to love my wedding cake but I didn't. On the plus side, pricing was very good and the cake was pretty!
Cosmopolitan Terrace Suite They get an A. We adored our suite! It was right above the Bellagio fountains, as promised. We loved that room. We got a deal because I signed up for their Identity program back in July, so it was a steal as well! We ate at Wicked Spoon (YES!) and Holsteins (meh, not so much) and gambled the days away (no winning, but lots of points). We will definitely stay there again. Service was top notch and location was excellent.
Here are some non-pro pictures
