Christophe's Salon & Spa in MGM - A+++: They were my and my MOH's life savers! MOH left a message for them prior to 9, stating we had an emergency and to see if we could get in. We went down there about 10 mins to 9. We were able to talk to the receptionist when she opened the door and they got me in for makeup right away followed by hair and then MOH for makeup at 10:30. Carolyn did a fabulous job on my makeup! She was so fun and helped me to relax after my stressful morning. Campbell did my hair and it was looked exactly like the pic I showed him. Also when he was done and handed me the mirror to see the back, my MOH and I said, we love it! To which he responded (as he heard all about my problem with Jennifer at Muse) in his awesome snarky way: Better than that BITCH could've done. Love him! That made us crack up and released whatever stress was left over from dealing with Jennifer all week.
Fit For A Bride - A+: Made a reservation online a couple weeks out from our wedding. Sent a text to Debi advising our room and tower number when we checked in and on Tuesday, left the dresses (wedding and 2nd dress) and hubby's suit at Bellhop for them to pick up on Tuesday morning. Sent another text letting them know they were with the Bell Desk and ready for pickup. I got a call later that day advising that they had them and what the charge would be, as well as when they would be dropped off (by 5 the next day). It was $190 for my very wrinkled dress with pick-ups, a second "party" dress and hubby's suit. It may have been a bit pricey, but me not having to run yet another errand (as we ran many) and he peace of mind that came with knowing the garments were in good hands, it was well worth it.
Forever Grand Wedding Chapel at MGM - A: I worked with Annie at the chapel and she was always very professional and responded in a timely manner whenever I sent multiple emails with questions on just about everything. They gave us a nice tour of the chapel and where everything would happen and where people would go before and after the wedding, at our meeting there on Tuesday. So on Thursday, we all knew where to go and be at what time. The minister, whom everyone loved, came in beforehand to talk to me and let me know how it would all work. It was a brief (15 mins) but perfect ceremony.
Cashman Photography - C + : They are the photographers contracted with MGM, as no one is allowed to take photos inside the chapel except for them. We did a very basic photo package, as my sister and brother-in-law have a very nice camera and take great pictures with it. I should state to begin with I'm not a fan of photos of myself, and so when it was just hubby and I getting our studio pictures, after we'd done family and group photos, we were both over it and ready to move on to the party. I'm sure that compared to the other photographers that are contracted with the chapels, they are about the same price wise. However we had our follow up appt with them on Friday, where we only chose about 5 extra photos that didn't come with our package. We didn't like most of them and were not about to pay that much to get rights to all the photos. I think it's slightly ridiculous as they had all of the photos printed out, as well as a booklet of us, and thank you cards, etc. Seemed like a big waste to us to print that all off when they are just going to be recycled.
Bells Tran - A : We reserved a 24 passenger bus to take our 40 guests from MGM to Hussong's Mexican Cantina. They were there right on time and got us all there in two trips. It was $66 for 1 hour, which I thought very reasonable, especially considering if everyone would've gotten there on their own.
Hussong's Mexican Cantina in The Shoppes At Mandalay Place - A++++++++ : I worked with Natalia to set up everything and she was amazing! So helpful and patient with the many changes I made. We bought pitchers of beer and bottles of wine. We even had leftover wine bottles which we were able to take with us. They had them all packaged up for us when we were on our way out. We also got the $26 per person menu. I was thinking of adding on a 2nd appetizer for everyone for $2 per person more, but glad I didn't. Just the basic package was more food than anyone could eat. A couple of the tiniest girls in our group ordered the burritos, and it was so funny when they came out because they were ginormous! The food was beyond amazing, everyone raved about it and still were raving about it when we left two days later. The staff there was extremely attentive with them checking in with hubby and I every 5 mins to see if we needed any drinks or anything else.
DDB - A++++++++++++: This was by far the favorite part of the day, if not the trip, for most of our guests. We contracted the bus for 2 hours to stop at the LV sign, then Bellagio, then onto wherever if we had time left. Well, 2 of our guests ended up missing it because they were at the bar, or lost a bag, I'm not sure exactly, and we ended up leaving about 25 mins late because of this. I was worried that we weren't going to be able to throughly enjoy it with only an hour and a half, so I inquired about extra time. The driver (for the life of me I can't remember her name now, but she was awesome), said it was fine and she got me, and not to worry about time, the next trip wasn't until 11 that night, and they picked us up at 6. We stopped at the LV sign. The line was ridiculously long, and my sister as well as others figured out that if they took the photo at a certain angle, they could crop out the other people there to make it look like it was just us in front of the sign. Also, everyone was able to sit on the top of the bus, even my 3 year old nephew. I would've have hated for him to be the only one down on the bottom there with mom or dad, while everyone was having such a good time on top.
Next stop was the fountains at Bellagio. Hubby and I just missed the fountain show, but everyone else was able to catch it and get good photos. When we got back on about 20 mins or so later, I was asked by the driver where to next. I wasn't sure and didn't want to press my luck (wanted to go to Freemont), so she just said she knew some place. Next thing you know, we are headed to Freemont Street. I had put my brother in charge of the playlist for the bus tour, and we were all rocking out to some good tunes while the tour guide, got on the speaker and told us about some of the buildings and LV History. We got down to Freemont and got 30 minutes to hang out before getting back on the bus. We all got some great pictures with the different people down there dressed as Rick James, MJ, Tupac, etc. There's a great photo of hubby with 2 showgirls, that I can't wait for my sister to send me so I can frame.
While we were off the bus, I saw our tour guide and mentioned that I knew he was an Elvis Impersonator, he asked how I knew, to which I replied, that it was obvious.
He was actually Elvis in Katie Perry's 'Waking Up In Vegas' Video. I said that I knew he wasn't supposed to (as I think it's $500 or so for an impersonator on the bus) sing a song, but would he mind singing one? He said he wouldn't mind at all, so when we got back up on the bus and started going again, he got on the mic and dedicated it to hubby and I and belted out an amazing Elvis song. He then followed that up with 4 more songs. Everyone was singing along, having a blast and couldn't believe what a good singer he was. I really can't say it enough, about what an amazing time the DDB tour was and I highly recommend it to everyone who is getting married in Vegas. It is something that everyone will be talking about for a long time still.