Nevada-Las Vegas

Reviews - Caesars Venus Garden and Sage at Aria

Ceremony

Caesars Palace: Overall A

Co-ord  B: we had Ashley.  Even though we notified her three times of our new address, she still had our DVD sent to our old place (massive kudos to the guy who lives there now, who tracked us down).  Every time we emailed her it was like starting over, her customer service skills would massively improve if she just read over the file, or past emails before responding.  But everything on the day went off with out a hitch.

Officiant A:  like others have said he is awesome. Really really lovely guy who made everyone feel at ease.  He explained everything, so I’m glad we didn’t bother with a rehearsal cos it would have been pointless.

Flowers A: our floral was exactly what we asked for, and I thought the price was reasonable (given the usual wedding tax plus the chapel mark up)

Venue  A: Venus gardens are pretty, during the ceremony we couldn’t hear the pool at all

Music A: we went with traditional music, the keyboardist also played a bunch of Sinatra songs after the ceremony while we did the group photos

 

Reception 

 Sage: A++++++

Sage was just amazing from start to finish.  We used the semi-private dining room for our 27 guests . I think you could fit up to 50, but the set up was great, it didn’t feel empty or anything and it's private enough for speeches. The evening began with pre-dinner drinks for an hour in Sage’s bar/lounge area before moving to the semi-private dining room where for three hours we indulged in a five-course (plus amuse bouche) tasting menu, excellent paired beer and wine and amazing service.  Aria’s events manager, Christina, was a dream to deal with.  The venue is just so gorgeous and has an elegant feel.

 Our menu:

Amuse Bouche:
Unfortunately I don’t have a proper description for this dish but it was a crumbed and fried duck dish in the shape of a ball and served on a little spoon. In any event, it was delicious.

First Course:
Pacific Yellowtail Crudo (Shaved trumpet mushrooms; black truffles; toasted pine nuts) OR Wild Mixed Greens (Bergamot Vinaigrette, Oro Blanco Grapefruit, Toasted almonds)

Second course:
Charred Baby Octopus (Grilled Shishito Peppers; Oven-Dried Tomatoes; Basil Aioli) OR Foie Gras Custard ‘Brulee’ (Blood Orange; Toasted Cocoa Nibs; Salted Brioche)

Third Course:
Maine Lobster Ravioli (Lemon-Olive Oil Puree; Sweet Corn; Mascarpone; Fresh Mint) OR 
Roasted Day Boat Scallops (Braised Oxtail; Wild Mushrooms; Salted Caramel Reduction)

Fourth Course:
Liberty Farms Duck (Root Vegetable Salad; Duck Leg Terrine; Cardamom Infused Honey) OR
Snake River Farms Prime NY Strip (Beef Marrow; La Ratte Potatoes; Glazed Maitake Mushrooms)

Fifth Course:
Chocolate and Espresso Cream Cake (caramel sauce; smoked white chocolate ice cream) OR Roasted apple baklava (phyllo crisp; crème fraiche ice cream) OR Artisanal cheese (seasonable accompaniments; house-made bread)

(they were more than happy to accommodate allergies/vegetarians and prepared other dishes for those guests)


 After party

Caesars Palace Senator’s Suite A :  After Sage, our guests got cabs back to Caesars and joined us in our suite.   The suite is huge, with views of the pool.  The bedroom alone  was the size of one of the smaller suites.  It has three bathrooms and a spa.  It also has a bar with an empty bar fridge and microwave.  Room service were happy to supply champagne glasses, plates and cutlery for our cake and champagne.  The living room area had a large dining table for 10 people, a large couch, ottoman, coffee table, side tables and 4 arm chairs.  It’d take about 40 people max.  There’s a surround sound system that we just plugged my ipad into (byo cables). There was also twice a day room service.

 Travis Allen B: Travis was good, but it was hard to get in contact with him when we were in vegas.

 Retro Bakery B: Cupcakes were tasty and delivered on time.  However, for the top tier cake, I requested white icing with red dots, but I got white icing with white dots.  As the cakes arrived 1 hr before the ceremony, there wasn’t much we could do.



Makeup: Francesca from bobbie pin beauty A+

She was awesome.  Our wedding had a 50s feel, and I picked her cos she’s worked on the shoot for one of my favourite brands, Bettie Page Clothing, so she definitely understands retro hair and make up.  She was lovely and very easy to get along with.

 

Photographer: John Morris Photography A+

John was so easy to work with.   Unlike other many other vegas photographers, he actually responds to emails in a reasonable time frame, and he was also happy to tailor a package to exactly what we wanted.  I love his style, he’s very old school, in that he doesn’t seem to rely on post processing as much as other photographers we looked at – which I think is really important that the photos are an accurate representation of what happened on the day.  He was great during the reception, lots of stealth shots of all guests having a great time.  I know he doesn’t feature on this forum much, but definitely check him out!

 

Suits:  Al Philips Formal Wear C

The suits were boxy and old fashioned. In Australia and Europe a more slim fit tuxedo style is the norm.  They were able to take the suit jackets in a little, however the pants reminded me of mc-hammer :S  Apparently that’s the only style they have and is the “standard American style”.  The guys looked alright in the end, but it’s something non-american couples might wish to check if they’re hiring suits.  In-suite fittings was handy, service was ok.

 

Limo: Presidential Limo A

Good service.  We went the white stretch hummer for a bit of a laugh, plus it was the only thing that would comfortably hold our bridal party, their partners and our photographers.  Sparkling wine provided and red roses for the ladies.

 

Dress Steaming: Debi at Fit for a Bride A

Good service, took great care of all our dresses

 

Stationery:  Embellishedbytiffany (Etsy) A

Tiffany was awesome, she dealt so well with my terrible mockups J

 

Honeymoon: Fairmont Mission Inn and Spa Sonoma A

The main honeymoon part of our trip was at the Fairmont in Sonoma.  They took such great care of us.  Highly recommend the Hikes, Spa treatments and the Michelin starred restaurant.  


Brides and Bridesmaids Attire

Brides dress: Henry Roth (heavily altered - floor to tea length)

Brides shoes: Shoesofprey.com

Bridesmaid dresses: pinupgirlclothing.com


Click the linky below for some photos :)

Review Photos 

Re: Reviews - Caesars Venus Garden and Sage at Aria

  • wallacjewallacje member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer
    edited December 2011
    Great reviews!!! I like your pictures too, the suite and reception place look great.  I think we had the same officiant too, he was really nice.

    Congratulations again!!!
  • edited December 2011
    Great reviews Thanks!!! Photos aree great too! I am glad everyone is having good reviews about Debi at fit for a bride, I am shipping my dress to her this Sunday and I am a little worried... not about her services but about it getting to her. 
    imageAnniversary
  • empeguesempegues member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for all of the details... I think this is the first time I've heard details of the CP suites. 
  • direy25direy25 member
    2500 Comments Fourth Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Great reviews, thanks for sharing!  It's always nice to hear about some of the less common venues.  Congrats!
    Married 5.6.11

    Lilypie Premature Baby tickers

                              image                          

                                                             
  • edited December 2011
    Thanks for the reviews and congrats!  :)

    Just curious, did you contact Retro after the ceremony? Did they apologize about the cake or offer any type of consolation?

    I agree, always great to hear about lesser used/known vendors.
    Anniversary
  • edited December 2011
    Thanks for the reviews! I've been going back and forth about whether or not to pay for a rehearsal at CP and now I definitely don't think I'm going to. Between the officiant and the WC, I think we can all figure it out. Your food sounds amazing, by the way!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_reviews-caesars-venus-garden-sage-aria?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:e987f330-50a0-42d9-b0bc-b9502e63a8d9Post:53bbe5d8-ee11-46b2-b5d9-ccb063d42065">Re: Reviews - Caesars Venus Garden and Sage at Aria</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thanks for the reviews and congrats!  :) Just curious, did you contact Retro after the ceremony? Did they apologize about the cake or offer any type of consolation? .
    Posted by ebonyivory10[/QUOTE]

    <div>No we didnt bother.  On the day we had far bigger things to worry about (like having trouble getting in contact with Travis Allen) and we left vegas pretty soon afterwards.  Also it's kind of a what do you expect for the price? y'know? - my other croquembouche/macaron tower quotes were in the $600+ region while retro was under $200.  Also it wasn't the end of the world for us (ha the groom didnt even notice).  But I just though some other brides and grooms might want to know in case the cake is a big thing for them - in that case, i'd definitely recommend allowing a bit more time by getting the cake delivered earlier, just in case.</div>
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_reviews-caesars-venus-garden-sage-aria?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:e987f330-50a0-42d9-b0bc-b9502e63a8d9Post:6411c659-b4b4-4bb7-8d84-aaca1c44c873">Re: Reviews - Caesars Venus Garden and Sage at Aria</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Reviews - Caesars Venus Garden and Sage at Aria : No we didnt bother.  On the day we had far bigger things to worry about (like having trouble getting in contact with Travis Allen) and we left vegas pretty soon afterwards.  Also it's kind of a what do you expect for the price? y'know? - my other croquembouche/macaron tower quotes were in the $600+ region while retro was under $200.  Also it wasn't the end of the world for us (ha the groom didnt even notice).  But I just though some other brides and grooms might want to know in case the cake is a big thing for them - in that case, i'd definitely recommend allowing a bit more time by getting the cake delivered earlier, just in case.
    Posted by benjillian[/QUOTE]

    Gotcha! I was just curious. I think we may get our anniversary cupcakes from them, so I was wondering what their customer service was like.
    Anniversary
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