Reception Help! Wynn or other Strip Brides

laughinpink

Hi All!
I am new to the board and have loved reading all of your advice, so thought you might be able to help me out.  My fiance and I have an appointment at The Wynn in a couple of weeks, looking to get married late spring/early summer of next year! So, before making our final decision I wanted to get some advice on receptions.
I know Wynn offers cake/champagne type of receptions ,but what if you want more of a reception with dinner, dj, etc? Any advice? I have Maggianos is nice, but my only color is pink, so the red probably won't work well with my wedding. We will probably have between 40-60 guests.
Also, do you only want the cake from The Wynn if you do the cake reception or will they take it elsewhere?
Thanks in advance!!

downtownbebebrown

Hi Wynn Bride here!

I think worrying to much about the red decor clashing with pink is silly. I think its fine and personally i think the deep red will have a nice monochromatic look. The pink will really pop.

Second. Wynn is strict. Period.  Also you don't have to use them for a cake (unless you choose a package that comes with cake?) if your reception is at  Mag's, then i would go to whom ever you want in Vegas to make & deliver your cake. This would be cost efficiant too.

If you do a Recep at Wynn in a ballroom then you must do their Cake & Catering. 

Most of all ask your host. 

xxB

victoriaturner

I am having my reception in a private suite at the Stratosphere which looks lovely, I think it would hold quite a few (I have nowhere near that amount of guests, we are coming from the UK). We arent having a DJ though just going to go out afterwards. It is the only place I looked at for receptions as I knew I wanted there. Might be worth a look.

Good luck finding somewhere

Natedawg71

I don't remember seeing red in the banquet rooms at maggianos. It was dark brown and ivory. My tablecloths were eggplant and green and they looked great!

ahhhitsshannyn

Yeah, don't worry about the color of the curtains. No one notices them, not even me and my color was red. There is not going to be any venue that matches with your pink but that is not an issue. I always recommend Maggianos since everything goes perfectly and you never have to worry about a thing. Unless you want to spend big bucks (I'm assuming) at the Wynn for a ballroom, I would go with Maggianos or somewhere else. I also think Wiwicaty is doing her reception in a salon suite at the Wynn, and I believe she is doing a cake/ app type reception, but you have to use their catering and the prices are high, and I am not sure it will fit that many guests. Good luck!!

csusunshine

I got married at the Wynn in February and had my reception at Lawry's the Prime Rib which is off strip by only about a 5 minute drive away if that. The prices were great, the resturant is beautiful, and planning was SO incredibly easy!

wiwicaty

Hi there, welcome to the board

You can have the Wynn do whatever you want for you... if your budget allows it. You can have a sit down meal at the Country Club or at Tableau or at any restaurant of your liking. If you want a ballroom type of event you can rent either one of their ballrooms. I'm pretty sure you'd have to go with their in-house entertainment company just like with any other type of service they provide. I have a couple of brochures, if you want to PM me your email address I can forward them to you. With that many guests the other thing you can do is reserve a private villa and have a catered reception; I don't think they'd allow you to bring 60 guests in a suite.

Happy planning! 

laughinpink

Thanks everyone! A suite at the Stratosphere might be cool as that's where my fiance and I got engaged!! Victoria-Do you know how many they allow in a suite?
Downtown Bebe-you may be right about Maggiano's. Red may look cool!! Thanks for that!   How did you get everything set up how you wanted it at your Reception? Did you hire a day coordinator?
I also thought a restaurant overlooking Lake Bellagio at Bellagio or the one at Paris may be nice because we both love the founations so much.
I'm just trying to get my ideas ready for our trip in a couple of weeks so I will know where we need to go look and start booking. If I want venues, planning, outside of Wynn I want to be prepared so I won't choose one of their packages. What do you guys think about the Wynn locations? Do they have nice ones for DJ, dancing, dinner, etc?
Thanks!!

lsvensson

If you're looking for a reception location on the Bellagio Lake, they have a ballroom called the Monet Room for use.  IT's gorgeous, but again, you do have to use their catering.  It was out of my price range for dinner (and I didn't want a lunch reception), but I wish I could have used it!

1DestinationBride

I was a Wynn bride who got married this past November in the Primrose Courtyard and had my dinner reception in one of the ballroom down the hall from the salon.

The food from the catering staff is yummy...eveyone is still talking about our dinner from that night. The dance floor was a good size and my ballroom also had a balcony so that was really nice.

downtownbebebrown

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_reception-wynn-other-strip-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:42432e25-b08d-41ad-ad9a-2c12067db95cPost:24ef25a8-9d41-43a0-86b6-8ca4ad3a2818">Re: Reception Help! Wynn or other Strip Brides</a>:
[QUOTE]Downtown Bebe-you may be right about Maggiano's. Red may look cool!! Thanks for that! :)  How did you get everything set up how you wanted it at your Reception? Did you hire a day coordinator? [/QUOTE]<div>
<div>My Wedding is in Nov this year =) I am doing a Scouting trip in June... Till then i am taking a chill pill with major planning. </div><div>
</div><div>I personally am not doing Mags but they i hear are very hands on hand helpful. </div><div>Email them forinfo! <span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#000000;line-height:normal;" class="Apple-style-span"><a style="color:#0000cc;" href="mailto:MG0193Banquet@maggianos.com" target="_blank">MG0193Banquet@maggianos.com</a></span></div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div><div>[QUOTE]</div><div> If I want venues, planning, outside of Wynn I want to be prepared so I won't choose one of their packages. What do you guys think about the Wynn locations? Do they have nice ones for DJ, dancing, dinner, etc? Thanks!!
Posted by laughinpink[/QUOTE]</div><div>
</div><div>If you do the Wynn, Sounds like you will need a ballroom for all you want. This is expensive, but if you have the dough, sit back and let the your WC run and plan it... With everything run by you first. Food is the best, per plate i think it was like $150 per person (not sure). The Reception is the $$$ part if you go with the Wynn.</div><div>
</div><div>Remember too the Floral at the Ceremony is $$$ extra. Photos are $$$.</div><div>Personally i am debating Flowers at the Ceremony b/c the prices are insane. I hope my WC will work with me on the price.</div><div>
</div><div>Goodluck!</div><div>
</div></div></div>

laughinpink

Thanks girls, lots of help! I guess as far as the prices for the Wynn, I guess it depends on how much $$$. I'm probably going to have a budget of $15,000 for the wedding, reception and honeymoon.
The ballroom with the balcony at the Wynn sounds nice. 1DestinationBride-did you have a DJ and dance floor for your reception at the Wynn? I'm wondering if there is plenty of room for all that and if there is any type of view? The Monet Room at Bellagio looks really nice. Lsvensson-Do you think they would take care of decorations and everything there at Bellagio and does it have a view of the fountains out front?

smokeybailey

So let's do the math, Pinkie.  Assume $3500 for your HM.  That's probably low, but I don't know what you are doing.  Anyway, assuming a tax rate of 8.1% and service at 18% that actually leaves you a budget of around $9015.  I don't know how much the Wynn ceremony packages are but let's assume $1000.  Then let's deduct (and these are low, low, low):

Flowers and decor:  $500
Invites, postage and other paper:  $150
DJ:  $500
RD or welcome dinner/event:  $350
Photog:  $500
Hair, makeup, dress:  not included
rings:  not included
Cake:  $200
Afterparty:  not included
Videographer:  not included
Favors or welcome bags:  $100
WP gifts:  not included

That leaves you about $95.25/head for around 56 guests (add in you and FI and your vendor meals).

Not sure if you can do a Wynn ballroom for a $5715 minimum but you can ask.

Natrasha

Smokey is good at math! Not even sarcastic. Your breakdowns are very helpful.

GOLD STAR!

smokeybailey

Dude, I wish my job was breaking down budgets into bite size pieces.  I LIVE for budget questions so I can do my magic.  One of the reasons we chose Vegas was the 18% service vs. the 21% at my local venue (and the sales tax rate is lower too). BUT so many brides totally forget about that service charge and tax. 

direy25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_reception-wynn-other-strip-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:42432e25-b08d-41ad-ad9a-2c12067db95cPost:e3f583bd-5558-4c39-a5bb-348b78d65e2a">Re: Reception Help! Wynn or other Strip Brides</a>:
[QUOTE]Dude, I wish my job was breaking down budgets into bite size pieces.  I LIVE for budget questions so I can do my magic.  One of the reasons we chose Vegas was the 18% service vs. the 21% at my local venue (and the sales tax rate is lower too). BUT so many brides totally forget about that service charge and tax. 
Posted by smokeybailey[/QUOTE]
OMG THERE'S GOING TO BE SERVICE CHARGE AND TAX?!?!?



















Just kidding.  I know that was totally unnecessary but I just had to...

smokeybailey

ZOMG111!!!!ELEVENTY!!121211

Yes!  And it is equal to about 27.5% of just about everything.  CRAZY SAUCE!

LilMissScareAll

It killed me to learn that they added the service charge on and then they taxed that as well.
Taxes and service charges suck. They're costing me an extra $2500 (approx)

lsvensson

Yeah, I've priced out options at both the Wynn and Bellagio, and Smokey is right (jesus, the math is spot on, nicely done... I am, um, less than mathematically inclined)...both Wynn and Bellagio are way above that range (which was the case with me too, so I feel your pain).  The other issue with the Wynn, at least, is that you must use their in-house floral and other services...and they are MASSIVELY overpriced.  I say this mostly out of jealousy...they are also absolutely gorgeous spaces and I wish I could have had my reception there.

I'm tentatively having my ballroom reception at Mandalay Bay, which might work with your budget-- they have a cocktail reception menu for $80/head, I think, which includes a cake. 

Also, per some of the other brides' suggestions-- check out Maggiano's, it's across from the Wynn (convenient for your guests) and has awesome food at a much more reasonable rate.

lsvensson

Also, like Smokey said, no matter where you go, keep in mind the tax (8%) and service charge (20-22%...which all ballroom caterers will charge you).  Add that extra 30% in to your budget.  It literally added thousands to my overall reception budget (sadface) so it made a lot of reception places that were seemingly affordable, unafordable.  Good luck!

laughinpink

Thanks for the math Smokey! Yeah... I wasn't thinking about service charges AT ALL!   But that's all something to think about. A Wynn location or ballroom may not be practical. Especially since I'm not going to need a huge space... were now thinking about 50 guests if we don't invite children. Just thought it would make things less stressful for the reception to be at the same location. But I guess it wouldn't be bad at another venue that takes care of the decorations and cake like a restaurant?? But I guess every place that serves food is going to charge that service fee? Also, the wedding is going to be at 8pm, so most likely will not serve dinner at 10pm, just appetizers, drinks, cake, dancing...
Also, I wasn't factoring in a rehearsal dinner. We figured we would not have one... instead were all heading out for Bachlor/Bachlorette parties after the rehearsal. But instead I will probably need to factor in cost of a show or entertainment during the bachlorette party. One of the reasons I decided on Vegas....hopefully LESS STRESS and MORE FUN!! I tend to stress rather easily...

smokeybailey

If you are having your WP rehearse, you have to host them in some way shape or form.  So yes, you would have to host the show, booze, food, etc.  Why not do something inexpensive like burgers or pizza then if you want to head out for a night on the town you can?  BUT if you plan it then you should really pay for it.

And yes, no matter where you eat, you will have a service fee (tip) and tax. 

Oh, and anything purchased through the hotel will have the same. Ceremony?  service charge.  Flowes through them?  service charge.  DJ through them?  Service charge.  I don't know about the photogs though.