Planning a Vegas Wedding!

ANFlores003

Hi Everyone!

My FI and I have decided on Las Vegas for our wedding. It is a toss up for ceremony/reception right now and I was wondering if anyone has had their ceremony and/or reception at the Palms? If so, what was your experience like? If you considered it and chose another venue what were your reasons?

Also, any recommendations for bakeries, photography, etc. would be appreciated as I am new to writing posts and stuff.

Thanks in advance!!

vegasgroom

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_planning-vegas-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:fdbea1e8-a905-4eb4-814f-ec63fc72bb78Post:8ef30fed-cff4-40ae-a8f2-87e0c12bba43">Planning a Vegas Wedding!</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi Everyone! My FI and I have decided on Las Vegas for our wedding. It is a toss up for ceremony/reception right now and I was wondering if anyone has had their ceremony and/or reception at the Palms? If so, what was your experience like? If you considered it and chose another venue what were your reasons? Also, any recommendations for bakeries, photography, etc. would be appreciated as I am new to writing posts and stuff. Thanks in advance!! :)
Posted by ANFlores003@gmail.com[/QUOTE]

We looked at the Palms because that's where we typcially stay when going to Vegas but found it would not really work for us.  They do not have a chapel, so their only official wedding option is to do a private block of time at the pool, which is not an option at certain times due to pre-existing weekly events, but we didn't want to have an outside wedding anyway.

Their reception options are basically one or more rooms in their convention area.  The rooms are extremely plain and boring, since they were built to hold conventions, meetings, etc.  So if you want a reception there that doesn't look like you're having a reception in a convention center, you need to spend quite a bit on decor.  They also could not give us any pictures of any reception that they had ever done, but say they've had a few held there, so basically we didn't have a high level of confidence that they'd pull off our reception exactly as we would have wanted it and ruled them out.

If you're talking about less than 100 people one of their themed fantasy suites might be an option for an in-suite reception but those are very expensive, $10k/night and up.  <a href="http://palmsfantasy.vegas.com/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://palmsfantasy.vegas.com/index.html</a> Plus a suite with a stripper pole in the shower isn't the greatest idea for wedding night unless you have an open marriage LOL.

natalienoelle27

I second everything Vegasgroom said. I actually had my reception planned there. I did the contract and backed out. It was set for the skyvilla. Its one of the biggest suites they have but in the end I couldn't have my ceremony there unless I did it in the suite...which I didn't want to do. And even if we would pay for extra tables and chairs it would be too tight and still not enough. With the room fee of 10 to 20k for 1 night plus another 10 to 15k plus in food and drink plus dj, seating, decor other bs fees it just wasn't enough bang for our buck for a 4 hour party. Plus no real place to dance. I was afraid people would get bored. So with all that I backed out. There is a very nice lady that I worked with though. Her name is Kerstin Rivkin (if u need a contact name). I would definitely consider somewhere else to have your wedding. In general, the Palms is not wedding friendly.

pebbs_17

for photography, look into Bently & Wilson or Mike Lichtenwalner.

aerinpegadrak

Check out the Vegas FAQ, it has a nice listing of some of the more popular venues and vendors.  We picked our caterer and our venue based on those recommendations.

vegasgroom

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_planning-vegas-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:fdbea1e8-a905-4eb4-814f-ec63fc72bb78Post:30a1bacf-cee7-425c-9306-87918e938822">Re: Planning a Vegas Wedding!</a>:
[QUOTE]There is a very nice lady that I worked with though. Her name is Kerstin Rivkin (if u need a contact name). I would definitely consider somewhere else to have your wedding. In general, the Palms is not wedding friendly.
Posted by natalienoelle27[/QUOTE]

That's who we met with too, she was very helpful, just wasn't a good option for us.

vegasgroom

Oh yeah, we're using http://www.mikelphotos.com/ (aka Mike L) for photography, and their prices are going up as of August 1st so if you like them, now's the time to book your date. :-)  They require 50% deposit.

wallacje

I just booked Mike L for our June 2011 wedding! Definitely didn't know they're prices were going up, glad I got my deposit in already.

I'm excited, I love their pics.  They were my second choice, Todd was already booked!!!

ANFlores003

Thanks everyone for resdponding. This is really going to help me get a jump start on everything!! I really appreciate it.

Amanda