As I have mentioned before, it is incredible how smoothly our wedding day went. I owe it completely to the fabulous members of this Vegas board. I received so many compliments from our guests; they were blown away by how everything came together. Whenever they asked me how I came up with an idea or where I had found a certain vendor, I always referred to this board. My gratitude and appreciation goes out to you all!
Platinum Hotel – A+++
This place exceeded my expectations in so many ways. First off, their customer service is fantastic – every employee goes out of their way to ensure that your needs have been met and that any questions you might have are answered. We had initially booked the Princess Suite, but when our guest list grew we decided to upgrade to the Marquis Suite (2200 sq ft of awesomeness). We were allowed to check-in early to the suite which I really appreciated. The Marquis Suite is huge and had all the amenities we were looking for in order to host our dinner reception. We had a great view of the strip that made for an amazing backdrop to our celebration. Room service was yummy and I really enjoyed my post-wedding poolside breakfast. I wanted to steal the bed and live in the shower. And most importantly, my mom (who is disabled) was comfortable and did not have to walk a long distance to get to an elevator or room. I can’t say enough about my stay here, I really wish I could have stayed longer.
Francesca Lombardo – A++
I initially had some communication issues with Francesca, but I knew she was super busy (and rightfully so considering her reputation) and worth the wait. Once we had the details and beauty contract ironed out, I did not contact her again until a few weeks before the wedding. She responded immediately and provided me with a great “beauty prep guide” with tips for what to do in the weeks and days before our hair & makeup session. We confirmed the time and location and she let me know that she would be bringing an assistant to do our hair (for myself and my sister). I thought that was nice considering we weren’t a big party…I didn’t expect that extra attention for just two people! She was early and set up immediately. Francesca let me know that she carries an “emergency kit” with safety pins, fashion tape, etc. She & her assistant (I believe her name was Tiffany) got right to work and listened to our ideas and direction. They were both very personable and professional. It felt like we were done so fast and we looked flawless. I was having trouble with one of my fake eyelashes (my eye kept tearing) and Francesca stayed until she knew that the eyelash was set. She also gave me a little kit with glue and toothpicks in case I had trouble with it later in the day. My hair & makeup looked amazing and I still looked like myself (just a much hotter version of myself). PLUS the hair & makeup stood up to a 4 hour photo tour in the 98 degree weather AND 6 hours of clubbing!!
Chapel of the Flowers – A+
This place has weddings down to a science. It was refreshing being able to just show up and allow them to do what they do best. My coordinator was Robin, who was extremely informative and helpful at every turn. She always responded to me within hours of a call or email. We met with Robin the day before our ceremony for a tour and to go over all of our details. We chose the La Capella chapel and Tulip photo package (with some extras included due to the summer special). On the day of our ceremony, we were promptly picked up by our limo (we had an older gentleman as our driver, I cannot remember his name unfortunately). Our driver was very sweet and made sure our guests were taken back to the hotel since we left the chapel with Todd and our Presidential driver. Upon arrival we were greeted by our day-of coordinator (I cannot remember her name, but she was nice) and we met our photographers, Vanessa & Shanae. The photographers were AWESOME – super fun and they gave great direction. Even though they were with us at every turn taking photos, they were not intrusive and I didn’t even notice them during the ceremony. The ceremony was sweet and lighthearted. We were laughing and smiling throughout, which was great because I did not want to get overly emotional. Once the ceremony was over, we had some time to ourselves before beginning our photo bonanza – we spent an hour taking photos (Vanessa just kept going even though our time was up). It was great because we were able to take family photos in addition to our couple shots. The next day we came back to choose prints (included in our package) from almost 600 shots. That took about 3 hours (I didn’t realize how hard it would be to narrow those down!). We love, love, LOVE our photos from the chapel, absolutely gorgeous! I know this type of strip chapel isn’t for everyone, but it was the perfect place for us.
Bentley & Wilson Photography (Todd) – A+
It’s hard to say anything about Todd that hasn’t already been said. He showed up right on time, started taking shots of the getting ready moments and set up our “first look” photo. He directed our driver (the 2nd driver, from Presidential) to all of our tour stops and even suggested additional stops that turned out to be really great. We booked him for 8 hours and he said we had over 1000 shots! I haven’t seen our photos yet, but I must say, if you’re going to spend 8 hours with someone, it better be someone you like. Todd was so laid back and easy to talk to, he was funny and we were able to joke around with him.
Presidential Limo – A+
Our driver Tony was on time for our chapel pick-up and was patient as Vanessa & Shanae added more time to our chapel photo shoot. He knew exactly where to park and arrived in a heartbeat whenever Todd called him (it was like the batmobile, showed up out of thin air). He was a little stiff at first but joined in on our jokes once things got rolling. I know some of the limo companies are hit or miss, so I was pleased with the service and his knowledge of how to efficiently get from location to location.
Maggiano’s (delivery) – A+
When we returned to the suite from our strip tour, the delivery person from Maggiano’s was finishing the buffet set up of our food. It was delicious!!! We had fettucini alfredo with chicken, spaghetti with meatballs, stuff mushrooms, tomato caprese, garlic mashed potatoes and brocolini. Yum yum yum!! It was so good and I loved the full set up. We definitely enjoyed the leftovers the next day.
Retro Bakery – A+
This was another yum yum yummy vendor! They delivered our cupcakes within the time promised and they were so delicious, my guests were obsessed! We ordered red carpet, cookies’n cream, peanut butter cup, vanilla loves vanilla and drumstick. We brought home the left over cupcakes and are still enjoying their yummy goodness.
Nite Tours Las Vegas – A+
When we were planning our wedding, we were completely undecided on how to end our evening. Bottle service is so expensive and we didn’t want to spend the night waiting in line to get into a club. We also didn’t want to sit around and gamble. My friend told me about a VIP Club Crawl she attended for a bachelor party so we decided to give it a try (we had a group of 6 including bride and groom). We started out at the Gold Lounge inside Aria where we met our hostess, Carli, and were given 2-for-1 drink cards. It was crowded, but the music was great and the people were nice. We then walked over to Haze night club where we walked right through the door and onto the dance floor. We were there for about 45 minutes before being shuttled off to the “party bus” where we got free booze and a ride to the next club, LAX. At LAX we were again taken right through to the club and danced until we needed to head off (about an hour and a half later). We went back to the party bus, drank some more and were taken into Pure night club. We danced on the rooftop dance floor until 3am. It was so much fun and Carli went out of her way to pump up the group and make sure everyone was organized and having a good time.
Men’s Warehouse – A+
Hubby ordered the new Vera Wang tux from Men’s Warehouse and wow-oh-wow did he look good!! Everyone was complimenting him on the tux and I couldn’t have been happier. We picked up the tux at our local store and returned it in Vegas. Really good looking tux, and it was a perfect fit. He was seriously considering paying the “replacement” fee and just keeping it.
http://photobucket.com/jayandsusana