Southwest Airlines: B
I've flown Southwest for most of my flights. This time around, tickets for myself, my DH and my daughter cost a grand total of $80 for all three of us. I used my credit card points along with a $59 deal to get this fare. I called SWA ahead of time to ask how my wedding dress would be handled on the flight. The very nice man on the phone assured me that there was an aft closet that the flight attendants would be happy to let me use. Through airport security, I received special treatment with my dress. I actually had a TSA follow my dress through the scanner and hand it to me on the other side. So I get on my flight and the a flight attendant immediately says, "Is that a wedding dress? Have worn it yet?" I thought great! She's going to offer to hang it up. I replied "Yes. Is there a place to hang it up?" She then shakes her head no and reassures me the flight isn't too full so there should be room in the overhead bin. Luckily, she was right and it did get a bin to itself.
Treasure Island Hotel and Casino: B
My mom is a frequent flyer to Vegas and this is her go to place. It's a decent hotel but I'm sure there are better for comparable price. The rooms come without a coffee maker and wifi is $20 extra a night. I'm not sure that's standard for Vegas. My mom had mentioned that if we signed up for a player's card, we would get free play and discounts. We signed up and got entered into a monthly drawing. That's it!
Marriage License Bureau: B
The B is not for the service but location and parking. This place is downtown and on a Saturday night at 7pm, it was scary! Despite the place looking deserted, there was no parking. We had to park quite a ways away in a paid city hall parking structure. I was truly scared as as walked to the bureau. There were homeless people everywhere. At one point, a random car drove by and called us a profanity out the window. When we made it, there was only one couple there and since we had done the online registration, it was literally 10 minutes and we were in and out.
Kahunaville: A
I've eaten at Kahunaville on previous trips and it's always been a good dining experience. We ate here twice on our trip, for dinner and breakfast. For dinner, I had the chicken sliders. They were grilled chicken on a Hawaiian bun with some sort of sauce on a bed of pineapple. For breakfast, I had my usual island stuffed toast. Basically, it's french toast with cream cheese and strawberry filling. On the Saturday night that we were at Kahunaville, the bar was packed as usual. DH accidentally led us into the bar and the dancing madness. People were yelling this shot chant that we couldn't get out of our heads for the rest of the trip.
Oleksandra Salon and Spa: A
After chickening out of using a HMU company that would come to my room, I found a groupon for $120 worth of spa and salon services for $60. I ended up paying $80 out of pocket including the 20% gratuity they add on. So all in all, it was $140 including tip. I started with makeup. Robin was great! I showed her what I wanted and did exactly what I asked for! Iris did my hair and it was fabulous!! Exactly like the picture I showed her and it held up all day and night.
Treasure Island Wedding Chapel: A
I worked with Bianca as my coordinator over the phone and by email. She was great! She answered all of my questions. Since all of my guests arrived early, they offered to start the ceremony early. I wanted something short and sweet and that's exactly what I got. It went off without a hitch and I was very pleased!
Joey Allen Photography: A+
We were supposed to meet Joey in front of the chapel at 2:00. Since we started the ceremony early, we were done by 1:17 and I was worried about having everyone wait around until 2:00. Luckily, Joey has impeccable timing and was already outside of the chapel! So we got started early. After some group shots, Joey transported my groom and I to The Bellagio, where we took most of our pictures. Joey is no nonsense and very particular, which is exactly what you want in a photographer! I know my pictures will be stunning because of his attention to detail. Even though we started early, Joey took his time and carried the session through the time we should have ended had we started at 2. I am so very excited to see my finished pictures!
Maggianos: C
Now I am sure most of the Brides who are using Maggianos have a private room, so you may not deal with the same issues. I made dinner reservations for my 15 guests, months ago. I had 3 email confirmations and 2 phone confirmations. We got to Maggianos before our 5pm reservation and checked in. We waited, and waited, and waited. My groom and my mother went in on three separate occasions to ask about the wait. They kept being told 5 more minutes. Finally my mother basically threw a fit and we were finally seated at 5:35. The food was excellent and there was plenty of it with the family style. My sister enjoyed it so much, she went back to Maggianos the next day.
Cashman Photography: B
We had an obligatory package with Cashman with our Treasure Island package. I made it clear to the photographer ahead of time that I was going to be taking photos later in the day with my own photographer. She was a very nice girl. She wasn't pushy at all. The day after the wedding, we had a meeting to review our photos. The lady did present all the extras but she wasn't pushy. I expected them to be pushy and persistent. The pictures were mediocre and the price of the pictures and extras was outrageous! A single glossy photo magazine with 30 pictures was $95!
Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars: A
I had to make a decision between the Bucchanal and Wicked Spoon. Since Caesars was closer, that was the choice. It was excellent! We went for lunch on a Monday and it was $32 pp. There are 500 items served. Some of my favorites were posole (and I'm from NM, so that says ALOT!), Kung pao chicken, wagyu beef sliders, pecan tart and Aztec chocolate ice cream.
Cirque du Soliel: Mystere: C
I've been to Love and it was amazing. I heard lots of good things about Mystere and that it was more kid friendly. I decided to take my almost 4 year old daughter. She was terrified at first and so was I! It was a really bizarre show. My daughter started enjoying herself and the main character decides to jump right at her in our seats. She blew my daughter a kiss and all was forgiven, but it was still a weird show.
