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Nevada-Las Vegas

8-22 Wedding Reviews

Warning- these may be long-winded, but I had the most amazing vendors working on my team the day of the wedding. The Chapel at Mandalay Bay: A-The site itself is wonderful, very modern and elegant which is exactly why we chose it. The wedding coordinator I had was wonderful- in fact she will get a separate review below. I had seen complaints about them not being exactly tactful about you having to sign your receipts at the wedding, but I went in 2 days before to ask my last questions and drop off my CD, and my WC let me sign then, so that was no issue. The only reason they did not get an A in my book was due to the flowers day of. While they looked beautiful, I specifically asked for no berries in the bridesmaid bouquets, and there was. The groomsmen's bout's looked wilted half-way through the day. And when they were supposed to be ready for pick up at noon for pictures, my husband had to wait, only to be told that in fact only his and my flowers were ready. They looked wonderful though, so I only dinged them a bit.Chapel Wedding Coordinator- Angela: A+ Angela was wonderful at keeping in contact with me, answering my millions of emails. She even checked in on me a few times just because. When we met before the wedding, she assured me everything was taken care of, let me drop off a few things, sign the receipts, etc. She was also very helpful in my "ordeal" of trying to contact the minister. Also, she worked to make sure that my husband's special request NOT to be video taped was followed, which was huge. She was great to work with and definitely put us at ease. Chapel Minister- Rev Adams: AAfter a long time trying to reach him to change portions of the ceremony, Rev Adams and I finally got in touch, and we talked all the details out. Turns out I was just needing a little last minute stuff to freak out about, because none of it was a big deal for him to change. The day of the ceremony he meets with you in the dressing rooms, and he went over all our details again. He even managed to get the new last name pronounced right, a feat I definitely want to acknowledge. His ceremony was true to the video channel, but his inflection and delivery was what made it personal. We got many compliments from our guests about the ceremony, asking how we found him, etc. Hair and Makeup- Lori White: ALori and her assistant showed up right on time and set to work doing my mom and my hair and makeup, as well as makeup for 2 sisters. I think we all looked great, and despite the random rain and humidity on the wedding day we held up pretty decently(rain in August in Vegas must be EXTRA lucky on your wedding day right?). Lori is about the sweetest person you could ever meet, and while we chatted a lot at the trial, I think she could tell I was recovering from a rough night the night before and let me kind of sit in quiet. She even made the spot on my neck where I burned myself with a hair iron disappear. She does great work and is a sweet person.Bus- Bell Trans: A+I booked Bell Trans knowing they got mediocre reviews, but loving how cheap they were! I also loved that they let you book separate hours, instead of blocks like many companies wanted. We booked for 2 hours to get people from Mandalay to Palazzo in 2 trips, with a stop at the sign for photo ops on the 1st trip full of bridal party. Then we booked for 1 hour to get people back to Mandalay after the reception. We managed to get the same driver both trips, and he was a fast, but safe driver, had no problem with our multiple trip system (which was a big concern of mine), and even helped with guests getting on board. Plus he had the A/C cranked and the bus cool, which I really appreciated. They provided reliable, wonderful service and I would definitely use them again in the future. Reception- Grand Lux Cafe at Palazzo: A+++++Grand Lux, and their events coordinator Rich were my absolute favorite vendors. I think my favorite thing about Rich is that he doesn't mess with you- He tells you straight up that while he wants your big day to be wonderful for YOU, it is really just a small drop in the bucket for them since they do so many. While that may not sound 'romantic', it put me at ease knowing he could manage it no problem. He was wonderful with answering all my emails. He usually took 1-2 days, but I know he is busy and has odd days off, so that was fine by me. He was very flexible with the menu and pricing, letting us swap our the vegetarian meal, drop the dessert to bring cake, and working with us on a very affordable room minimum.  Rich had informed me he would not be there for the actual reception, but gave me the contact name of the head waiter for our party. Let me tell you- our 3 waiters (Josh, and 2 others I can't remember) were the best waiteers I have ever had at a restaurant! there were about 40 people, and the 3 of them had everything completely well timed and under control. I felt as if 1 waiter was waiting just on the 2 of us he was so prompt. When we hit our preset bar cap, they discreetly informed us and continued to do so as we raised it throughout the night. They cut and served the cake beautifully, and helped us manage the timeline of the reception well. The IPOD music went off without a hitch, and the cake, favors, and guest book were all displayed beautifully. All around wonderful service. We heard all night how great the food was, the staff, and the gorgeous room. Definitely recommend these guys- they were wonderful. I can honestly say it was the ONLY reception I have ever been to where people raved about the salad, all the food choices, and the wonderful drink service.Cake- Las Vegas Cake Designs: A+We worked mostly with Kim (Dawn's sister) and she was great! We had a 3 tier cake and 2 tier Mario themed grooms cake, all were delicious! We ordered nearly 80 servings of cake due to thinking we would have a few more attending- well at the end of the night our party of 40 ate all but 7-8 slices! People raved about all 4 flavors we got, and went back to try them all. The cakes looked perfect, and I feel they are such a bargain compared to other bakeries we looked at. I am kind of sad because we had set our hearts on taking home a good bit of leftover cake- looks like I will just have to order us a small one now...darn!Dress Alterations and Steaming- Debi at Fit for a Bride: A+Debi was such a sweetheart and did a wonderful job adding my bustle, then later on steaming my dress. She worked with my crazy schedule, since I ended up leaving my dress with her abotu 2 months for the bustle due to being out of town for graduate school. She remembered the conversations my husband and I had with her at each visit, and she does great work. I get the feeling I will be using her to clean the dress in the near future. Tuxes- Men's warehouse: ANo complaints, everything came in right, everyone looked sharp. That's about all the feedback I got regarding the tuxes. Favors- Ethel M chocolates: A+Love these local candies, so I knew that's what I wanted to do as our favors. I took my mom to the location at Fashion Show Mall, and we picked a mix of about 6 flavors, then mix and matched then 2 to a box. They have vrey unusual but delicious flavors, and guests loved the surprise of what flavors they would get. Pre-wedding Family Lunch- Margaritaville: B+I tried calling to book advanced reservations for our party of 13, but they told me they were unable to take our call ahead at that time. I was confused by this, but we went anyways, and had to wait until everyone was present to be seated. After we were seated, the service was fine- not great but fine. The food was good as usual- love the conch fritters and nachos. The music seemed to be louder than normal that day though, which made conversation a bit hard. All in all it was a good place for family to meet, low key, and affordable, but the service was just "fine". Photographer- Todd Wilson: A+++I haven't gotten my pictures back from him yet, but I am certain they will be lovely. This guy was amazing- snapping pictures the moment he walked in the door. He is very friendly, cutting jokes with people (as appropriate of course), putting you at ease, and working with the style of pictures you really wanted. We booked for 8 hours, and I can't imagine how many photos we will have in the end- my guess would be easily in the 1000 range. He really seems to fit in with the family/friends at the reception. We had at least 10 people come up and comment how much they liked him just as a person! We had to force him to eat, since he wasn't sitting down for a moment at the reception, and he seemed very thankful for the meal. I saw him capturing all the little details at the reception, and he was very unobtrusive the rest of the night- I barely noticed him except for that occasional click I could hear from the camera. I can't wait to get our pictures back from him. Hotels:Harrah's Deluxe Room 1 night: A+ Awesome bargain and great room. I love their beds. Mandalay Bay 550 room 1 night: A, 750 room 2 nights:A++The basic (550) room was beautiful, but looked a little rough and scratched up. The larger 750 room was perfect for getting ready in, the whirlpool tub was amazing. It was also good for having a little party in the night before the wedding, as there was seating for about 10 plus people sat on the bed. Luxor pyramid room: BLooking a little run down, but not too bad since we got a great deal. I am not loving the new resort fee they charge of nearly $11 bucks! I think for the same price I prefer harrah's honestly. I think that's it at this point. I will post further reviews if I think of any.

Re: 8-22 Wedding Reviews

  • edited December 2011
    Oops- a few moreMani/Pedi- 4 Your Nails on Flamingo/Maryland: B+I chose them because they were affordable ($35 total for mani and pedi) and just a few blocks off strip. Unfortunately I was SO busy all weekend that I had to get them done Wed. afternoon for my Sat wedding. I told the lady please paint them well and top coat them well so they don't chip. They looked great, until about Friday night. Saturday they looked a bit rougher, and buy the morning after the wedding, they looked horrible. I give them big points for being a bargain compared to strip locations, but I woudln't use them if you need it to last more than a 2 days. Guest book- Peter Lik's Las Vegas and Beyond: A+Our guests loved looking through this book of Las Vegas photos by local artist Lik. His pics are amazing, and they loved finding their favorite picture to sign and leave us wishes on. I saw some people standing up there just  looking at the book for 20 minutes! I like that it is something we will keep out on our coffee table instead of packing away, so it will always be out as a reminder of the wedding. Cashman pics: they did decent, about what I expected.  I was very glad we did NOT get a hard sell at all the morning after. I think he could tell we were sleepy as we had a long night out with friends. There was no pressure at all.
  • linz6784linz6784 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congrats on being married!! Thanks for your amazing reviews - It sounds like you had an amazing time. I'm getting married in 12 days and am using a lot of your vendors, so you really put me at easeThanks! Can't wait to see pictures
  • thrashtobethrashtobe member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Great reveiws, cant wait to see pics from Todd!all the best for the future
  • edited December 2011
    Great reviews! Thanks!
  • edited December 2011
    Thank for the reviews!! and Congrats again:)
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  • achang2001achang2001 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Just out of curiosity, what flavors of cake did you choose? I see that everyone seems to love the cream cheese/cinnamon combo. I am having a 3 tiered cake as well as a groom's cake and having a difficult time deciding on the flavors.....
  • edited December 2011
    We had white with hazelnut mousse, cinnamon with cream cheese, and lemon with raspberry as the main cake. The grooms cake was grand marnier flavored with grand marnier filling.
  • Ray_RayRay_Ray member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Great reviews- thanks! Glad everything went so well. Congrats again!
  • edited December 2011
    Congrats!  IT sounds like your reception was brilliant!!  I hope you get your photos soon, I know the wait to see mine killed me! xxx
  • edited December 2011
    Congrats again, it sounds like you had an awesome time and I am glad everything went smoothly for you. Quick question, when did you give Grand Lux your wedding favors? Should I just bring them with me? or drop them off earlier?
  • edited December 2011
    One more thing, do I have to give Rich everyones choices of there entree before or does everyone order while they are there?
  • edited December 2011
    When we booked the Grand Lux, Rich gave us the option of either sending out RSVP cards with the menu choices, or having our  guests order at the reception. We chose to have them order from our 3 selections at the reception as opposed to giving him head counts for each entree about 1 month out, and it worked very well. He prints up a specialized menu for each place setting for the guests to order  off of. As far as favors, I informed him that I had favors, and asked to set up a meeting the day or 2 before the wedding, where I dropped off the favors, the guest book, etc. From there, they handled setting them up and each place setting had a favor box at it when we walked in the door. It looked very elegant that way.
  • edited December 2011
    Thanks you have been a big help. I figure when I come up with questions its better to ask you than having to bug Rich all the time.
  • edited December 2011
    Congrats! I can't wait to see pictures :)
  • tamijoy514tamijoy514 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    we had Todd booked for 8 hours also and we wound up with almost 1200 pictures!
  • edited December 2011
    CONGRATULATIONS !!!! What great reviews - Sounds like everything was Fabulous !!!! Enjoy being a Newlywed : )
  • edited December 2011
    Congrats!  Glad everything went so well.  Your review was extremely helpful as I am using many of the same vendors. Thanks!
  • atlcatloveratlcatlover member
    Seventh Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Congrats!!So glad to hear that everything went well and looking forward to your pictures!
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