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Hotel Chapel vs Wedding Chapel

Cynthia1964Cynthia1964
First Comment
in Nevada-Las Vegas
My fiance and I are getting married on short notice since I will be starting a new job in March. We plan to drive to Vegas on the 17th, get married on the 18th, and return home on the 21st. My fiance has never been to Vegas and I haven't been there in 20 years. We are both very excited to get married and do all the touristy stuff.

Our question is where should we get married? Our budget is $2000 for the wedding ceremony, hotel, and souvenirs. Should we stay at one of the larger hotels on the strip and get married in one of their chapels or stay at a cheap place off the strip and use one of the wedding chapels? We've heard that the traffic on the strip is horrific so staying in one of the strip hotels is more sensible. Also what is a resort fee?

Please share your recommendations/suggestions for hotels and/or chapels? We've been researching like crazy and we're totally overwhelmed by the choices.
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Re: Hotel Chapel vs Wedding Chapel

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    07ultraclassic07ultraclassic member
    First Comment
    I went to www.lasvegas24hours.com and looked at chapels there. You can choose strip/off strip, freestanding or hotel chapels, see pics, check out their package prices, etc. 

    I use expedia and/or travelocity to get pricing ideas when I go to Vegas for the time period I'm looking for, then go to the individual hotel's website to book (usually extras and upgrades are better when booking direct.)  Resort fees are (*cough*bullshit*cough*) usually required and get you a newspaper, gym access and internet. Most hotels require them, some don't though, and each hotel's website will tell you if they have them and/or charge for them, or not.
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    nycherylnycheryl
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    Welcome and congratulations!!

    I wanted to chime in on the traffic situation.  I see no reason to book a rental car and drive around the strip if you stay there.  If you stay off the strip, that's a different story.  I've been to Vegas 7 times in 5 years, and rented a car once because we stayed downtown.  Cabs are relatively efficient (you can ask them to take back roads), there's a monorail, etc.

    For your budget, I'd recommend looking into Chapel of Flowers:

    http://www.littlechapel.com/Ceremony/Packages.aspx

    They have ceremonies for as little as $200.  Then you can spend the rest of your budget on your hotel, food, etc. 

    I'm assuming it's just the two of you in Las Vegas?  If you have guests joining you, you will also need to budget for your reception/thank you meal.

    **Planning Bio**
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    Cynthia1964Cynthia1964
    First Comment
    My fiance and I are debating whether to stay in downtown and get married in one of the chapels like Chapel of the Flowers or stay on the strip (like the Luxor) and get married in one of the hotel chapels. It will just be my fiance and I in Las Vegas...none of our family/friends can take the time off/spend the money on gas. We'll be driving up from Southern California on Saturday, March 17th so we will have our own transportation.
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    Cynthia1964Cynthia1964
    First Comment
    Would I be correct in assuming that if we stay on the strip, we wouldn't need to use our car since the public transporation system is pretty good? Would I also be correct in assuming if we stay in downtown, having a car would be a good idea? Finally, would I be correct in assuming that to stay on the strip is more expensive yet more convenient than to stay in downtown?
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    lsvenssonlsvensson member
    First Comment
    I prefer to stay on the Strip for convenience-- you can always visit downtown for an afternoon.  Public transit is good-- there's a bus called "The Deuce" that runs up and down the strip AND will take you all the way to downtown and back for $7/every 24 hours.  Very easy to use.
    image Check it-- my planning bio! Wedding Countdown Ticker White Knot
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    07ultraclassic07ultraclassic member
    First Comment

    Everything is accessible by cab, and monorails and buses work too nearly as well.. just slower. (Monorails and buses don't go 'everywhere' - cabs do.). A bus pass that goes up and down the strip all day/night is $7 (?) for 24 hours. If we're not in a hurry to get somewhere (or if it's not too chilly out), we take the bus, otherwise, cabs are readily available and if traffic isn't "too" bad, it's no more than $20 to get from one end of the strip to the other (or DT to the far end of the strip).

    You can stay anywhere and get to anywhere you want - you aren't limited to north strip chapels if you stay downtown, or south end chapels if you're at the south end .. Vegas is a lot of stuff packed in a relatively small-ish area, in the grand scheme of things. 

    You could take your car point A to point B once you get to town, but decent parking will cost you, free parking will have you walking A LOT. Reserve the hotel of your choosing, try the bus system out the first day you're there to scout things out, then take a cab to your precise destination on wedding day.   You could take a cab to the ceremony and the bus back, too .. you're not bound by any one mode of transport.

    We go to Vegas at least once a year, if not more. In 8 years, we've only had a car once, and that was to go check out the Dam.

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    nycherylnycheryl
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_hotel-chapel-vs-wedding-chapel?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:be35e2eb-461e-4725-a3cd-536601762916Post:bbb8f2f5-7ed4-4287-bbba-26b405c4854b">Re: Hotel Chapel vs Wedding Chapel</a>:
    [QUOTE]Would I be correct in assuming that if we stay on the strip, we wouldn't need to use our car since the public transporation system is pretty good? Would I also be correct in assuming if we stay in downtown, having a car would be a good idea? Finally, would I be correct in assuming that to stay on the strip is more expensive yet more convenient than to stay in downtown?
    Posted by Cynthia1964[/QUOTE]

    Yes.

    Yes.  You can use valet at any of the hotels on the strip, even though you pay a tip each time and it has a wait most of the time.  Per my previous post, you'll want to take back roads instead of driving down the strip.

    Yes to the first part, but the second part depends on what you plan to do/see/visit.
    **Planning Bio**
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    Roy5361Roy5361 member
    First Comment
    I have NEVER used a rental car while staying in Vegas. Cabs, monorails and The Deuce are the way to go! The deuce will get you up and down the strip all the way to downtown (the only thing is that it can sometimes take forever to go from point A to point B but who cares? You are on vacation!!)
    **Planning Bio**
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    vegasgroomvegasgroom mod
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer First Comment
    I usually rent a car; I've found the weekly rate for even a nice car from a 'high end' rental place like Hertz, after tax, is still only about $215 for a week, and we typically stay at least four or five nights.  We save money over cabs:

    Airport to hotel, probably at least $20 after tip, maybe $30 depending on where we're staying.

    Same thing on the way back.

    We have several must-visit restaurants for each trip which means if we're not staying at at least one of them, a drive to Palms and MB is going to happen.

    If we don't night club at Palms the same night we eat there, there's another trip because we typically visit Moon or Ghost Bar.

    We always go to Fremont at least once and we like to visit the Vegas sign too.

    There's an off-strip sushi place I like to go to.

    All in all I figure I save about $100 to $150 by renting a car.  If it's a shorter trip, I don't rent one.

    Married in Vegas - June 2011


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