Although I didn't post on here too much, I read all of your posts and know that I couldn't have done my wedding without all of you. Thank you again for making my wedding such a huge success. Here are my reviews, I will only grade them if I think they were exceptional or terrible and put approximate costs for budgeting purposes.
American Airlines--Everything went smoothly, considering we had so much luggage.
I was able to hang my dress up in 1st Class. We checked 4 bags so it was pricey.
On the way back the ticket agent was really crabby telling us b/c we still had to return our rental car that we were going to miss our flight--she was pretty rude but overall I was really happy with how everything turned out. $250 roundtrip per person from Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.
Avis Rent a Car--We paid $200 for a weeks rental. They were very easy to deal with, and in the long run saved us a bunch of money--getting our license, buying alcohol for the meet & greet etc...we didn't use the car at night too much but still saved money.
TheHotel--We stayed her for 6 nights--and the room was great had 1 1/2 bathrooms, and a separate living area--the standard rooms are about 700 square feet--we got an amazing group rate so pricing for 6 days (Sunday through Friday) with resort fee and taxes was only about $825--the front desk was great and my only complaint is the rooms are kind of dark.
Holsteins Restaurant at the Cosmopolitan---Burgers were really delicious, korean tacos so..so... bill for 2 burgers, korean tacos, fries, 1-adult shake and water was about $65
Zumanity -show was sooo much fun and bawdy. Do not go if you are easily offended.
You will hear alot of profanity, see lots of naked bodies and lots of sexual contact. They take people from the audience to participate in the show so if you're shy do not sit in the lower sections.
Drift Spa at the Palms Place Hotel--bought a groupon paid $59 for a swedish massage for myself and $59 for a deep cleansing facial. It was ok--nothing amazing but they did have a hamman (i think that is how you spell it) which was coed and it was fun to be able to hang out with my fiancee.
Marriage License--make sure to preregister for you license it saved us so much time.
Scheme Events--Day of Wedding Coordinator--We hired Tracy for 5 hours total---2 hour during the meet & greet and 3 hours for the wedding reception. She was so helpful and really gave me some peace of mind. I made her a list of everything I needed done and it was! They charge $100/hour + tax and require a 3 hour minimum.
Meet and Greet at Mandalay Bay Hotel in a Vista Suite--room had an amazing view, we reserved through our wedding Coordinator from the Wedding Chapel. Paid about $900 for 2 nights including tax and resort fee. I wish we could have stayed in this room all week. The space was great for about 45 people and the bar is set up very well, they do provide an extra mini fridge in the room so that came in handy.
Masterpiece Cuisine---I ordered way too much food but wanted to make sure we had more than enough--ordered 10 diff appetizers for 45 people and I believe the cost was around $1400 . We had peanut thai kabobs, stuffed mushrooms, bourbon meatballs,
caprese skewers, tri-tip sliders, trio of hot dips, pasta salad, blue cheese chicken tartlets, cookie tray and a few other items I can't remember at this moment---everyone LOVED the stuffed mushrooms ,meatballs and sliders.
Las Vegas Custom Cakes--I ordered my cupcakes for the meet & greet and I can say they were truly beautiful. I got the romantic ones with a W Scroll. the cupcakes were $4 each + tax and a $50 delivery fee. They were delicious and I knew I over ordered--so I did order some inexpensive cupcake holders from Oriental Trading and my guest loved packing up their cupcake as a takeaway. Flavors we got---red velvet, lemon with raspberry mousse, white with bavarian cream, chocolate with salted caramel filling and white with chocolate mousse filling.
Harmony Medina --$230 trial and day of wedding hair and makeup.
Really amazing--so friendly and down to earth. I had a trial and spray tan about two days prior. Spray tan was a little lighter than I would have liked. She went over my face twice and it was great but my legs were a lttle too light but upside----absolutely no streaks!! On the day of the trial I showed her a hairstyle and she replicated it exactly--I brought my own hair extensions and no one could tell it wasn't all my own hair. I brought 2 makeup pictures--she did the smokey dark eye during the trial butwe went for a light eye on the actual wedding day. Until you get your wedding dress on you don't realize how amazing you truly look--everyone said there was an audible gasp when the doors opened and I went down the aisle---of course my dress was amazing too. It was a Maggie Sottero Dress--Adorae dress total of $2000 including dress, veil, shoes, alterations and jewelry. If you're a curvy girl this dress was made for you.
Mandalay Bay Chapel---if you're getting married I highly recommend that you use the Platinum Chapel and pay the upcharge. The silver and gold chapel are really tiny and don't look as elegant as the platinum which will seat up to 100 people.
I had 2 wedding coordinators while I was planning from January through November and then a totally different girl on the day of the wedding. They were very receptive but I was dissapointed in my bouquet. I paid the upgrade from the petite bouquet to the large bouquet and it was still tiny. It had 12 roses but looked like a mini bouquet if it matters to you I suggest you provide a picture of exactly what you want. I had the simple love ceremony (don't think it's offered anymore) which includes a ceremony during the week, 12--4x6 pictures, boutannaire for groom, petite bouquet, bottle of champagne, pianist fee and officiant fee --I paid about $1600 including upgraded chapel, upgraded bouquet--ordered 2 additional bouttanaires, 2 mother's corsage and Matron of Honor bouquet. We didn't use the pianist--I provided my own CD and the officiant they provided was really good (wish I could remember his name). The Cashman pictures were pretty good but I didn't order any extra's.