Hello,
I am a long time lurker who got married in Las Vegas on June 26th. I had a destination wedding for most of our guests but my parents actually moved the Las Vegas when I was in college. We had an amazing wedding weekend! I used some vendors I haven’t heard a lot about on the board and thought I would share.
Canyon Gate Country Club – A+ Canyon Gate was beautiful and Melissa and Shelley were so responsive and helpful. Since I was planning from a distance with only one trip on site to pick out food, this was crucial for me. The venue is gorgeous and they let us use whatever vendors we wanted (other than food which you have to get through them). Their Sunday package is a deal at $40/person for a plated dinner, non alcoholic beverages, champagne for a toast, and the cake is included. They did linens, chairs, food, dishes, etc. which are all included in the cost. You can upgrade but the basic package worked well for us. They provide chivari chairs and no additional cost. The patio where the ceremony took place has amazing views of the mountains and the views from the ballroom are to die for. When the sun was setting everyone was on the covered patio/deck taking pictures. I looked at several country clubs in Las Vegas and Henderson and they were by far the most flexible and accommodating.
Casually Elegant Weddings (Pastor Ed Bruning) – A+ Pastor Ed was fabulous and I cannot say enough good things about him. He allows you to personalize your wedding as much as you would like but also offers a guide which you can pick and choose from if you do not wish to personalize. We customized our ceremony quite a bit and I can tell you I was nervous about it. I was worried the ceremony might be too short or it wouldn’t feel very special since we did not know Pastor Ed personally. All of my worrying was unnecessary. Pastor Ed did an amazing job and I am so pleased with how everything went.
BellTrans – A We used BellTrans to shuttle our guests from the hotel to the venue. They were prompt, timely, and affordable. They allowed me to change my reservations just a week before the wedding with a simple e-mail. I was able to tip the drivers prior to the wedding day which was nice since we had several buses and I could not be on all of them. It was one less worry on my wedding day.
Flora Couture – AMichelle and her team did a great job of creating bouquets from my pictures of flowers from another florists website. They were much more affordable than the quotes I received from other florists. I decided to use a brooch bouquet for myself and they allowed me to change the contract with no trouble at all. I then decided to add live flowers to the cake and once again they updated the contract with no problem.All Night Long Entertainment – A I cannot seem to remember the name of the DJ at our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, but I can tell you that he was fabulous. He kept people on the dance floor all night. My husband doesn’t think he played all of the songs on our play list, but we weren’t at the cocktail hour so we can’t be sure. I did have to request more slow songs to be played so I could dance with my grandfathers but overall he did an amazing job.
Glamsquad – A+ James and Anthony did hair and airbrush make for me, my mom, and my sister. They aren’t cheap but they were worth every penny. They were so fun, friendly, and helpful. They made us all look gorgeous. I had a picture of only the back of a hairstyle I wanted and James did an amazing job. My mom and sister weren’t prepared with ideas but they came up with something on the spot and everyone looked amazing. They were teaching everyone interested how to put on false eyelashes. They came in, got the job done, and got out quickly. They are amazing at what they do.
Red Eye Photobooth – A+ The photobooth was something we added late in the game. I really wanted one but could not find an affordable option. Red Eye was the least expensive I could find by far and they did a great job. They didn’t provide props but my mom gathered props for us and the photos are great. Our contract specified only one print of each session but the attendant printed one for each person in each picture and a copy for us. The photobooth was a hit; even my grandparents were in there with props hamming it up. We have some great pictures that I will treasure forever.
Bentley Wilson Photography – A+ I have not received our professional pictures yet but Todd was awesome. He started taking pictures the second he arrived and never stopped. He went on our DD Bus tour of the strip with us and our group and took some group photos. I can’t wait to see them. Todd is so laid back and accommodating and I can’t wait to get the pictures.
Double Becker Bus Company – A+ We had a DD Bus pick our guests up from the reception and go back to the hotel. We started at the north end of the strip and all the way to the Las Vegas sign. We stopped at the Bellagio and the Las Vegas sign to take pictures. Someone from the company came the day before and picked up our drinks. I think this was the biggest hit of the night!
Cravin’ Cake Bakery – A+ Cravin Cake is the vendor Canyon Gate uses for cakes and since cake was included in our package, we went with Brittney. Her cakes and frosting are amazing (and I don’t even like frosting). We wanted to do a cake pull (southern tradition) and she said she could but didn’t know what it was. I sent her the charms and some info I gathered online to tell her about them and how to do them and she did it fabulously.
MGM Signature – B We rented a two bedroom penthouse suite as our gathering place for the weekend and hosted a meet n greet and a happy hour for the girls before the bachelorette party. We had a full kitchen, 2.5 baths and a ton of space. It is attached to the MGM by an indoor walkway and you can use all of the pools, etc. My only complaint is that parking was a pain. Each room got 2 parking passes but the attendants were still rude. My sister in law had a babysitter come one night and she added her to the room reservation and asked them to give her a pass. When she came, they told her the garage was full. She parked at the hotel and walked. The same thing happened the next day and when my sister in law went down there to meet her she saw them tell her it was full again. She went to the attendant and explained she was her babysitter and she should have a parking pass waiting and they let her in. They were also rude about vendor parking even though we had room numbers to use with unused passes. Parking was just a pain and they were really rude about it. Other than that, the place worked out great.
Sorry this is so long, I just found this board to be so helpful in my planning process and I wanted to provide as much useful feedback as possible.