*Update - I forgot a few I wanted to mention so I've added them in below
Mirage A+We both loved the Mirage. We’ve stayed at Caesars and MGM in the past and this is the first time we have wanted to come back again. You won’t get lost in the Mirage and I loved the location on the strip. We had a 1 bedroom Tower Suite – it was a little dated but GORGEOUS and huge at 1200 sq. ft. The view was incredible overlooking the pool and looking up the strip towards Paris. We hosted 20 people in here easily with drinks the night before. Didn’t have to involve the Mirage at all. Purchased our alcohol from the ABC store at Fashion show mall, mix and cups across the street at Wallgreens. We also rented a Cabana for the day after our wedding. Yes, it was pricey but totally worth it. The pool at this hotel is out of this world and the Cabana’s make you feel like a high roller. I also wanted to mention that we got $75 in food/drink taken off our bill from the Players Club. We are not big gamblers just play penny slots. We signed up for the Mirage card and linked our accounts. We only gambled at the Mirage. Before checking out I went to the Players Club desk and asked if there were any comps and he removed the charges for us. VERY COOL!
Rat Pack is Back A If you are looking for a group activity check out this show at the Plaza downtown. It was great. I know the girl who plays Marilyn in it and she got us great seats for our group right up front in this great booths. The whole theater screams old vegas. Thoroughly enjoyed the show and so did our guests. You can get same day tickets at the half price ticket booth on the strip - not the booth located downtown.
Lori White A+I loved Lori. She did my trial the day before and then on the day of also did my Mom’s makeup. It was nice having great hair/makeup 2 days in a row ☺ She was great to work with and I would recommend her to everyone.
WestJet AMy biggest stress was whether they would let me carry my dress on the plane. I was relieved when the stewardess told me to hold my dress until last. She was able to put it in an overhead bin by itself. I had brought a portable steamer but was shocked when the dress hardly needed it. Yeah, was able to save some money on steaming services ☺
Bell Trans AI ordered an airport pickup online for $65 prepaid. This price couldn’t be beat. The shuttle bus was plenty big enough for the 16 of us that travelled together. The driver was waiting for us at the baggage claim. Totally worth it.
Earth Limos B-Had the 26 passenger party bus (although there is no way it would have seated 26 people) booked for 4 hours – to take guests to the chapel and go on a strip tour after ending at Maggiano’s. I had great dealings with them leading up to the day and really it all worked out as the bus looked good but some things still bug me. I found out the day before that the groom had to get to the chapel a little earlier than I had planned. So I literally needed the bus for an additional 10 minutes. They came early as planned and I assumed we still had it till the original end time. I was wrong. The guy was kind of a jerk about it and wouldn’t give us extra time even if we paid – so we ended up at Maggiano’s early. Speaking of pay, I guess I should have asked whether they needed the money upfront. It was a cash sale I had negotiated with tip included. However, I had the cash on me and I wasn’t getting on the bus till after the ceremony. Guess the driver wanted the cash so one of my guests spotted the groom the cash. Problem was they gave an extra $20 tip because no one knew it was included in the price he said. Wouldn’t have been a big deal if he had given us the extra time but he got $20 for nothing at all. I had told all my guests about the party bus with a stripper pole – so imagine my surprise when I get on board and there is no pole ☹ I didn’t even figure out how to hook up my ipod and play music but no one seemed to care. It also would have been nice if he had actually driven on the strip but he went the back way to everything.
Chapel of Flowers A++I am so happy with our ceremony. It was truly romantic and touching. We had everyone in tears but it also had it’s fun moments too. Highly recommended. We paid $1000 for the traditional package with some add-ons in the Victorian Chapel. I think this is the nicest spot to get married at this venue. The Victorian is located inside the cute white chapel you see from the outside. The guest doors lead right to a great shaded gazebo. It was beautiful – not cheesy at all. They have some beautiful areas for photos. We had the first look service, 3 custom bouquets and a bout, DVD, 32 photos and they even sent us in a limo the day before to get our wedding license. The best part was all of our family who couldn’t make it were able to watch it live online. I also loved that I could provide them with a CD of the music we wanted played. It all worked flawlessly. We went back a few days later to pick out our photos. It took us an hour and a half to decide but it was worth it to come home with photos in hand. I was impressed with the photos but not enough to pay $600 for the CD. We were good with what came in the package. They also had a second “lifestyle” photographer shooting. I asked not to even be shown these photos as you can only buy that CD after you’ve purchased the main one. They complied and I don’t feel like it was a hard sell or anything.
Maggiano’s A++Ditto to what every other bride has said. This place is amazing. We had the Abruzzi room with 23 guests and it was perfect. We had the bar in the room and they would make you any drink you wanted. I was drinking something called an Alligator. YUMMY! The food I tried was great – I wish I had eaten more. Guests are still raving about the food. The service was amazing too. We arrived 15-20 minutes early and were allowed in the room – there was just no bar open yet. My group were drinkers so we stayed until the bitter end to make use of the open bar. So I would say we got our money's worth and more. The party in the Calabria room finished up much earlier than ours so they told us to feel free to use the whole balcony. It was just wondering having access to that. If you are between using the DiCarlo room and the Abruzzi like I was - upgrade for sure. You will be so glad you did. We danced a little but mostly just mingled. No one was sitting and lots of people loved the Balcony and the view of the Wynn.
Creations Bakery AWe LOVED our cake. It was tuxedo with ½ white ½ choc layers and chocolate mousse filling. It had dripped chocolate on top and chocolate covered strawberries. The only downside was the size. I don’t think the cake was big enough for the number of guests we had. There would not have been enough if everyone had wanted a piece. Plus I was hoping to take some back to the suite ☹
Todd Wilson A++Totally enjoyed working with Todd. We had him for 3 hours. We met back at the Mirage after the ceremony. We took some photos there then we went to the Sign. We stopped quickly at Planet Hollywood and then headed to Maggiano’s. While the guests went upstairs we walked over to Wynn with Todd and got some photos there. Todd came upstairs and took some shots of the room, favours, etc. I can’t wait to get back the photos. I’m sure they will be FAB! BTW, Todd actually handed a guest his camera so he could get his photo taken with my beautiful Marilyn Monroe bridesmaids ☺
Fontana Bar at Bellagio A This was a great place to go for dancing. I knew when we finished up at Maggianos at 10pm I wanted to walk down the strip. So we walked back to the Mirage. I changed into my sketchers - great idea
We all went to freshen up for a few minutes and then met in the lobby. We walked from the Mirage to the Bellagio. The bar has a patio where you can watch the fountains. There was a great band playing current hits so we were up dancing. It closed at 1am since it was a Tuesday night. Loved it. The decor was beautiful and we weren't out of place in our wedding gear.
Firefly BWe ended up at Firefly in the Plaza after the Rat Pack Show. The view from the restaurant of Fremont St is awesome. I really enjoyed the food and would recommend it. The lower rating is for the service. I know they said that the food comes out randomly but DH and I were left without food while everyone else had at least 2 or 3 plates already. They were also difficult about splitting up the bill and were no help at all in assisting us to calculate out what eveyone owes. Some people had several bottles of wine while others didn't drink so we couldn't just split it evenly. It took us a long time to get it sorted out while they obviously wanted us to leave as we were the last table.
Peepshow A+
DH and I went to this alone on our last night in Vegas. It was incredible. Lots of gorgeous and talented girls and a few hot guys too. We had 3rd row center seats which were perfect.
Lastly, I just had to share that I ran into 2 very different brides. It was such a kick seeing another bride.
