I wanted to give my reviews as I stalked this board for a year and owe it to future brides/grooms to pay it forward. So thank you to past reviewers as we feel we threw the party of the century! Our guests feel the same way and we want to do it all over again. It was definitely the best time of my life so I hope this helps someone.
Southwest Airlines: A+
I decided to carry on my dress and I’m so glad I did. It was a pain carrying it but it was worth it. As soon as I walked on board the flight attendants said they had seen us with it and the pilot would hang it up for me. A huge relief as it was a full flight. And because of this, I didn’t even need to steam my dress once we got there, it was in perfect condition. Also, the attendants asked our names and later in the flight called me up to the front to announce we were getting married. They had made a veil out of toilet paper and a bouquet out of napkins and drink stirrers and had me practice walking down the “aisle” to my then-fiance. It was adorable and so sweet, the whole plane was clapping for us and we were getting congratulations constantly even while waiting on our luggage. Made for a great start to our trip.
Fox Rental Car: D
Probably our worst decision. They have cheap rates and that is why we went with them but they were awful. First of all, they aren’t even at the airport car rental place. We took the shuttle to the main airport car rental place, realized they weren’t there and asked around about what to do. Turns out, you have to take a second shuttle to get to Fox and it is way far away! So annoying. Then we get there and wait in line for at least 45 minutes. There was a couple in front of us who were onto their 3rd car because the first two didn’t run properly! Then we were led to a crappy car that was dirty and stained. I couldn’t care less about it being a pretty car, but the hassle of taking multiple shuttles and the wait in line made us lose a ton of time so the minimal savings was so not worth it.
Lee’s Discount Liquor: A+
Make sure you go to the one a few miles south of MB. We tried the one on the north side of the strip but the selection is sparse. This one though is huge, great prices and great employees. I had a smaller bottle of vodka that one employee snatched up at the checkout and led me to the same vodka in a bigger bottle that was on sale for the same price. We spent I think $350 on tons and tons of booze and beer. I stressed about this a lot beforehand and really the only advice I can give is that people will drink whatever you provide so don’t stress too much J
Mandalay Bay Front Desk: D, Vista Suite: A-
We were relieved when we checked into MB that our vista suite was not given away as we had heard from prior reviews. We requested 60135 as that seemed to have the best view and we were told we could get it the next day as it was currently “destroyed” from a party the night before. We decided it would be worth it to move rooms tomorrow. We got into what we thought was our temporary suite and didn’t unpack as we thought we were moving. We checked with the front desk twice to be sure they had us down to move the next day. Next morning comes, we go to the front desk and they tell us that the people the day before lied to us, it was never going to be available. They were really rude about it and honestly didn’t care that they had made a mistake. I was really upset and walked away crying as I had my heart set on that room and thought we were getting it. The suite we did have really did have an amazing view and stunned all our guests so it didn’t matter in the end, but the manager was a jerk and so I feel I have to say something. Besides the view, please know that these suites have been partied in HARD. The furniture is worn, torn, dirty and scraped up and cigarette burns in the carpet. Lowering the lighting is a must hahaha. Also, our curtains kept falling down. The view and set-up was worth it to me, but these rooms need to be re-done.
Hussong’s Meet & Greet Dinner: A+
Absolutely fabulous. The food was so good and very reasonably priced. Margaritas were fantastic. Service was top-notch, gratuity was included in our bill but we tipped them over and beyond that they were so good. Then of course the best thing about this place is the band. We had the entire back of the restaurant and felt like we had our own personal mariachi band as they stayed with us the entire time pretty much taking our drunken requests. If you go here, please request Don’t Stop Believing, you can tell they love it 
We just had the greatest time here and I highly recommend it.
Harmony for hair & makeup: A+ Loved her! I did a trial and got her airbrush tan, I recommend both. However I got the tan on Thursday and wished that I either got it on Friday or got her darker option as I really liked it on Friday but it had faded a lot by Saturday. But still good. She was really nice and comfortable to work with and I LOVED my hair and makeup, couldn’t be happier. I have never felt so pretty and everything lasted until the next morning. My MOH and bridesmaid looked amazing as well.
Mandalay Bay Chapel: A+, Jaimie: A+ We had the Gold Chapel and paid extra for a plush aisle runner, rose petals, and tall vases filled with curly willow and floating candles. I thought it was worth it and the chapel was gorgeous. And Jaimie was wonderful to work with, I recommend asking for her! Very prompt, nice and accommodating. We had Adam as our officiant and he was wonderful as well, many guests commented on him. Oh, and my flowers were gorgeous. I just asked for a spring mix and they were stunning. A tip for those in heels: the floor in MB outside the chapel is super slippery with inclines. I nearly fell flat on my ass more than a few times so be careful
Cashman: C I didn’t expect much but the pictures were pretty bad. I don’t even care about their ridiculous prices because we literally had trouble finding 20 pictures that came with our package. The poses he had us do were hilarious. One has me smelling my bouquet and looking up at the camera. I look like a serial killer. My friends are not letting me live that one down hahahahaha I also look 20 lbs heavier in those pictures than I do in the ones from Todd. Not sure how they managed that! hahaha The guy was nice though and we did not get a ton of pressure to buy stuff the next day. They probably realized how bad they were
Todd from Bentley & Wilson: A+
He was perfect for us and everyone loved him. We had him for 10 hours and really loved working with him. I gave him a few pages of inspiration pictures and he made sure to get them all. We got our pictures back yesterday (nearly 2200!) and they are gorgeous, so many fun candid shots and he really captured our day perfectly. Highly recommend.
Double Decker Bus: A+
This was everyone’s favorite part of the trip I think, I highly recommend doing this. After the ceremony we went to the tour bus lobby to get picked up. They were late but whatever. We had our coolers of beer and really classed it up with boxed wine too We also had snacks which our guests appreciated so they didn’t start drinking on an empty stomach. Our driver and the guy on top were fabulous. We were a rowdy crowd and they pretty much let us do what we wanted. We stopped at the sign then at Fremont for 30 minutes. I definitely recommend time for people to walk around here, they also drop you off right by restrooms. We were going to do Bellagio but the fountains weren’t going so we skipped that, no big deal. Oh and we had to make a beer stop too. One of my favorite memories is at the end when Don’t Stop Believing came on and the whole bus was singing. After Hussong’s and the bus, that song was definitely our cheesy theme for the trip It was an awesome time and our guests absolutely loved it. I wish we had a videographer for this but some guests did video on their iphones so I can’t wait to see those.
Scheme Events: A+
I could gush for pages on them but will just say what others have said: they are worth it. I had no worries the entire day, they cleaned up and decorated the suite superbly. I left it in a horrible mess and my jaw dropped when I saw it done up. And they were just in general awesome. I can’t list out everything they did for us as it’s so much but trust me, this was one of the best decisions we made. We actually hired them for the full day and had two with us. We had Tara and Jacqueline and couldn’t be happier with them.
RSVP Rentals: A+ We had 4 ice chests, 15 folding chairs, 4 high top tables with linens and a banquet table with linen. We paid for delivery and pick-up. They were on time and really easy to work with. The high top tables are a must I think for an in-suite and I’m very glad we got a banquet table to set the food on. This freed up the large table for people to sit down at. We put a bunch of the folding chairs around here too and they were used quite a bit so I'm glad we got them.
Absolute Beverage: A+
Our bartender was great, really friendly and efficient. He had everything set up perfectly by the time we made it to the suite and also got ice for us later when we needed more. I think his name was Anson, he was professional and did a great job. Very reasonable prices, I highly recommend getting a bartender for an in-suite.
Masterpiece Cuisine: A+
Wow this food was great, way way way above my expectations. Nearly every guest commented on how great the food was. We had the angus sliders (unbelievable), spinach dip (my favorite, best I have ever had), crab cakes (not a single one left), tortellini kabob (really good but had a ton left over), shrimp skewers (fantastic), chicken bruschetta (great but a ton left over). It’s true that there is way too much food but better that than not enough. But, I should have made signs for the food so people knew what they were. For example, many people didn’t realize the sliders came with a bun and sauce, they just thought it was slices of meat and no one realized the bruschetta went on the bread, they thought it was just a salad type thing.
Retro Bakery: A+
Honestly the only thing I tasted was the one bite we fed each other but it was delicious. And the cupcakes are so adorable. We had so many left over I’m not sure anyone ate one though. We did the full size instead of the mini and that was a mistake. But that is of course not their fault and they were great to work with.
Travis Allen for Elvis: A+
This was a surprise for our guests and they all loved it. We had him for a ½ hour and he stayed for pics too. He sang Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog (someone requested it of him), Can’t Help Falling in Love with You (I should have skipped this, my husband and I were the only ones dancing to it and it was awkward to say the least, plus people don’t sing along), A Little Less Conversation and then Viva Las Vegas last and had us all do a conga line. It was awesome, everyone singing at the top of their lungs J However, this brought on our first visit from security.
MB Security (not really a vendor so no rating but they suck) So after Travis was done, there was a knock and the door and it was security. Scheme tried to handle it but they insisted on speaking to a registered guest. So I went out and 2 guards are just staring at me. It was so weird. So they said this is a warning. Ok, whatever. They continue to stare. I just thanked them and went back in. So maybe 45 minutes later, 4 of them (different ones), came up and said this was our first warning and after the third they would kick us out. This was actually our second warning idiots but their mistake Again with the staring. We talked about it later and we think they were looking for tips. I also want to add that our neighbors were very clearly smoking marijuana the entire night. I think they should have been knocking on their door instead of ours Travis mentioned he had only seen security come when there was a dj in the suite so maybe we just had asshole stoned neighbors
Other stuff/tips:
-Fleur in MB is awesome, great food and service -Do the zip line downtown if you have time, so fun
-Foundation Room is a must see, so gorgeous-Red Sushi at Golden Nugget is fantastic-There is a Party City close to the strip for cheap party supplies, this is better than shipping stuff -Play the slots on your way out, we won $400, I think it was because we were newlyweds
-Get the lobster omelet at Raffles (and use restaurant.com gift certificates)-Pay everything you can before you get to Vegas-Have vendor tips already in envelopes and lots of cash for tipping bellhops, etc-If you wear heels, have back up shoes. I had platform flip flops I changed into and they saved me -Have someone take pictures with your own camera, I hated having to wait on family and friends to share theirs
-Have a Xanax nearby I never thought I would be a nervous bride but I was FREAKING out, just nervous about everything going well. Never taken one before in my life but I’m glad my mom uses them on airplanes
-Everyone says this but take time for just the two of you to soak it in. At Fremont St we jetted off with Todd by ourselves and that time was wonderful.
-Drunk people on Fremont St may try to climb under your dress. Don’t let them
-Stand up straight and really smile. I’m a horrible slouch and regret not paying attention to this. And people are constantly taking pictures of you when you don’t realize it (strangers too, you will be treated like a celebrity!)
Ok this is embarrassingly long. Let me know if you have any questions! I will try to insert a picture.
