Skyline Terrace: In-Suite Ceremony or at a Chapel?

xoeden · March 2015

Hey guys,

After so much planning, fiddling, and trying to finalize what we want to book (we're still in baby stages), we think we're doing to do an in-suite reception at MGM's Skyline Terrace. When I went over everything with my mom, she mentioned just getting married at the MGM chapel, or possibly having an officiant come in and do it in-suite.

What are your thoughts and/or experiences on a completely in-suite ceremony? How did you handle things like 'first look,' if you did it? Is it easier or more difficult to just get an officiant? We're wanting to doing this super low-key and we're non-denom., so we're fairly flexible there.

finallymrsroberts · March 2015

I've no experience, but I almost did this too. Only changed my mind because we have a two year old and I didnt think the suite looked safe for him! There are a couple of MGM Skyline Terrace weddings on the Little Vegas Wedding blog, if you haven't already looked.

adverb · March 2015

I'm getting married at the Skyline Terrace in October!!

It really depends on your guest count. The room can have seats for about 20 people assuming you don't rent any chairs and you're willing to move stuff around. You can accommodate 30-40 if people are willing to stand.

I would think the officiant would be the same in-suite or in a chapel.

Keep in mind too that MGM's chapels are going to have specific rules, and I think they make you use a specific photographer. With an in-suite ceremony you can do whatever you please. But I would say if it's more than 50 people then DEFINITELY get a chapel.

What are you planning for your in-suite reception? That is the part I'm having a harder time with

Also, here's a link to a couple that had an in-suite ceremony (they did the buffet for the reception though). You can see they did their first look on the staircase:

http://offbeatbride.com/2014/12/las-vegas-rooftop-wedding

gingertansey · March 2015

xoeden · March 2015

Oh, @adverb, you are posting exactly what I wanted to read!

We're thinking very low key, and I'm really leaning towards everything as in-suite. We're inviting a maximum of 50 guests and are expecting between 20 and 40 to actually make it. Most of it will be (immediate) family and very close friends. I'm thinking we would do first look and photos first, then come back to the room to greet everyone and have the ceremony.

Standing for a 15 minute ceremony would be no big deal for the majority of our guests, because with the exception of three very lively family members, everyone's going to be middle aged or younger. Then, low key reception with finger foods (we're thinking Masterpiece Cuisine -- everyone's raving about them and the pricing looks fantastic for something like this!) We'll bring up our beer & liquor and just do cupcakes -- simple, low key, hang out kind of party.

Since we're 99.9% adults, it'll probably just be drinks, snacks and talking. We might do first dance with just an iPod dock (not sure if they have a system in the suite; there's been mixed reports) and a couple of speeches (pre-approved, I want to minimize my own crying!).

Okay, end of word vomit.

adverb · March 2015

Yeah I've been working with Masterpiece. They are one of our top options, I'm just not super crazy about the food because it's more hearty stuff and not quite as healthy. Also, remember that you do NOT have a lot of room for appetizer space, unless you're willing to sacrifice the big white table (which I'm not since I want to give people some place to eat food if they need).

It might help to watch videos of the suite to to get an idea of what it looks like. Make sure you google "Balcony Terrace Suite MGM". Here's one that's not too bad (there's some other good ones too but they have a lot of cussing in them, so be forewarned LOL):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stlxMD8vMsc 

The inside is NOT very big. The balcony is friggin' incredible though, of course.

Where were you planning to do the First Look photos if not in the room? I guess I'm confused if they will already be there.

From what I heard they DO have a BOSE sound system in the suite. You might have to bring your own audio cables. I will ask my friend who got married there if they for sure had an ipod dock.

When is your wedding? Mine is in October but I am going in Late May for a scouting trip. IF they have availability the day of, you can tour the rooms (hoping it works out). If you have anything in particular you want to know, let me know and I will try to do my best to find out. I will definitely look for an ipod dock (Although I wonder if it varies by room)

xoeden · March 2015

Those swearing videos -- I've totally seen, haha! We're thinking really ultra low key and are in the beginning stages. Given as that most of my family is from Canada and his is from the snowy eastern USA, we're expecting most of it to end up outside (I'm kind of thinking twilight ceremony might be nice).

I've seen comments about first looks being in suite: on the deck and one with the bride coming down the stairs. There's always options! I'm not sure if we'll even do first look, but now I'm playing of the idea of doing first look and wedding photos before the whole ceremony and reception, period.

I've seen mixed things about the sound system -- I've heard they have one, I've heard it's been broken, I've heard they only have an iPod dock, and I've heard they have nothing. Who knows what's actually right (maybe hotel concierge?)

We're doing a scouting trip in May (chapel scouting and my fiancee's first trip to Vegas), but we have not set a date because we're not sure what we're doing yet. We've already been engaged for a year and a half, so it's not like we're in a big rush to get it done.

That's amazing that you can tour the rooms if there's something available. I should arrange that for our scouting trip!

adverb · March 2015

When is your trip in May? That would be fabulous if we were there together! We're there May 28-30.

I think the first look would be the coolest on the balcony, but I am in LOVE with that vegas skyline, so that's just me.

I actually called concierge today and they told me the rooms have an AUX cable, but they weren't sure about a specific ipod dock.

Also, how funny you said "we've been engaged for a while and not in a rush to get in done." I'm the exact opposite. Got engaged in February (a month ago) and I'm itching to have it already. I'm not a big fan of dragging things out because then I just agonize over them. I pretty much set a date as soon as we got engaged. If it were up to me I'd do it sooner (like in May), but I wanna give our out of town guests enough time to budget PTO and save up.

xoeden · March 2015

Oh, boo, @adverb, you're going later than us! We're going May 10th through 15th, but after your post, I did send an e-mail to MGM concierge to see if I can get in for a viewing. I'd love to hear your feedback when you check it out, though! We are so on the same page with that skyline idea!

An AUX cable doesn't mean anything unless it plugs in to something, so they've got to have something.

We've been engaged since December 2013 (that's practically forever for you!), and I'm thinking spring of next year purely for the reason that I wanna avoid tan lines. We don't even have dates, because that's just too much planning. I've been pretty much given free reign in planning, but with so many choices in Vegas, what do you do? Well, you bounce around from idea to idea for 15 months, that's what you do!

I've also e-mailed to check out other suites at other resorts for comparison purposes (specifically the Cromwell, which is my #1 location which seems to also have the worst freakin' customer service of the bunch, and the Cosmopolitan).

Have you booked the suite already? Super excited to hear about your scouting trip and how everything goes for you!

adverb · March 2015

Aww dang. You'll be there before we will. I was highly considering that weekend for Mother's Day, but Rock in Rio is going on so it's gonna be tough (it's right around the MGM too).

This is the number for the Luxury Sales Department: 855-646-7831

They are open 9-5 PST. They are the ones you would call the day OF to tour the rooms. I don't think you can make an appointment. It's based on availability. But feel free to let me know if you find out anything more concrete. You can call them and ask questions too about the room, although they were hit or miss for me.

I maaaaay check out other venues, but I don't know. I have my heart set on the MGM. The room inside is NOT very big, but that balcony is and it's incredible. But if you want a room with more interior space (especially depending on when you're gonna have it), you might like the Cosmo better with it's wrap-around terrace. Also, I have Mlife status so I get a little money off the room (every bit helps!).

I DID reserve the suite for my days. You just put a deposit down, you don't pay for it in full. And the deposit is fully refundable up to a week before I think? One of the things they told me was that "they will do their best to accommodate my room request but they can't guarantee it." That's code for: "If a high roller party comes in, we'll kick you out because we can get way more money from them." It probably doesn't happen often, but I'm sure they gotta put that clause in their to protect themselves. I'm hoping that doesn't happen to me or I would cry

I'm getting the room for a Sun & Mon so my hopes are very high. I imagine if it does happen, it's more likely on the weekend. I highly recommend looking at having the wedding on a Sun-Thurs. It is SO much cheaper for you and for your guests to get rooms. Plus, certain vendors often weekday discounts because business is slow.

xoeden · March 2015

I had free hotel nights, which is why we're there that week. My boss gets married on the 16th at home, plus that's a long weekend for me and with Memorial weekend the following weekend, we took the free nights.

Thank you so much for that phone number! I will make sure I give a call while we're there (I was able to book a viewing at the Cosmo through one of the coordinators, but we're also touring the wedding suite just because.) Personally, I love the Cosmo, but I think my fiancee will not, so we're more just going for the comparison.

That's my biggest thing about wanting to book with Mlife or Total Rewards over the Cosmo/Identity. I'd really like to book with Total Rewards simply because I do more with them (and again, I reeeeeally want the Cromwell), but that Skyline suite is to die for!

There's 14+ Skyline suites, so I'm sure there may be a clause, but what are the odds that a dozen plus high rollers are gonna roll in and want that particular suite? MGM does have nicer ones that are less entertainment-friendly.

We're thinking probably Monday or Tuesday. Most, if not all, of our guests will be there for the week as a vacation (most packages out of Vancouver are Sunday to Thursday anyway (my side of the family)).

Hurray for weekday discounts!

adverb · March 2015

Who did you call to book a viewing at the Cosmo? I may do that just because, even though my heart is set on the MGM. I think the Cosmo is an overall better venue though. It's more upscale, they have a WAY better buffet, and better location on the strip. The MGM certainly isn't bad though, it's just a little costly for what it is.

Do you have an info on the Cromwell wedding venue? I haven't seen anything about them.

If you have status with Total Rewards, it may be worth looking into what kind of price they can give you for the Cromwell room/venue. I'm MLife Platinum and got 25% off my room which helped a LOT.

If you DON'T have status with Total Rewards (or want better status), you can look into the Total Rewards Visa Card which gives you automatic platinum status.

xoeden · March 2015

I just e-mailed with Christina, who's the coordinator who first answered my e-mails. We also set up a viewing of their wedding suite. Of all the coordinators up and down the strip I've contacted (which has literally been every one and half of downtown), she's been the fastest to e-mail back (as with Iliana at the Flamingo/Linq). Here's her contact info:

Christina Perna

christina.Perna@cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

702.698.7062

The Cromwell doesn't have a chapel at all, but you could always in-suite it. It's more expensive and there's no balconies, but the hotel.. How do you not fall in love?! The Cromwell suite (the size of 5 rooms) starts at $2100/night -- booked by phone only; it appears to be a solo suite). The Gallery suites start at around $1100 a night and are about the size of 4 rooms.

I don't have status with either property yet, but if I go with a Total Rewards property, I'm definitely going to do the card and use it for wedding-related expenses. It'll also help with our citizenship/permanent residence applications if we can get both names on the card.

A 25% off the room must have made a reasonable drop in the room price!

adverb · March 2015

Thanks for the info. I notice I tend to favor the people that respond quickly. If you do end up going with Cosmo, you should talk to @faith4keep because she just did a wedding buffet there and stayed at the wraparound room (her ceremony was at the Tropicana, though).

Those Cromwell rooms are lovely. I think it all depends what's important to you. Also, when you're getting married. If it's too cold or too hot when you do it, the baclony isn't as much fun.

The card is pretty cool from what I hear. And you get a 2 free buffet of buffets passes. They do LINQ highroller tickets instead, but I think the buffet is a much better deal.

The 25% was nice. I got mixed information on whether I was supposed to get them on the suite. But I got them so I'm not complaining. It wasn't a huuuuge savings because it's on the weekday. It would have been 2x as much off had it been on the weekend. But it would have been more too

xoeden · March 2015

I've favoured faster responses too, which is part of the reason why I've asked more questions at the Cosmo and Flamingo than anywhere else.

Also, the Platinum Hotel has been great in responding too. The coordinator I e-mailed with actually e-mailed ME as a follow-up to see if I had any questions, rather than just sending the generic package info and never coming back. It's a shame the hotel won't work for what we're thinking.

I read @faith4keep's reviews and the minimums for food & beverage were enough to make me want to pull out my hair. The majority of my guests won't drink and we're expecting ~30 guests, so how does one actually hit a 5k minimum at Wicked Spoon? Them's be some expensive diet Cokes, and the idea of trying to organize the chaos that is our families for a buffet in the main room is so not worth the headache. Stumbling on all of the threads about Masterpiece + Caesars and Masterpiece + MGM seemed to just be a blessing in disguise!

I'm hoping we can arrange something with Iliana at the Flamingo to find something with the Cromwell, or maybe I'll contact luxury sales to see if I can book a viewing of the Cromwell or Gallery suites, just to see.

We don't have dates set, but tossing around mid-April, so it should be good for a balcony option at MGM/Cosmo/wherever, if that's the route we go. I'm also playing around with the idea of first look / photos / twilight ceremony on the balcony for timeline, which I think would be really nice.

I think the Buffet of Buffet passes would probably be a better deal, rather than the High Roller. I've done it, it's fun, but 24 hours worth of food for two people so interests me more than a half an hour spin on a ferris wheel that won't be the only attraction in a couple years.

Still, 25% off on a two night stay is like 50% off a one night stay! Positive attitude, right? Right?

adverb · March 2015

Platinum hotel was my second choice because they had the skyline view of Vegas and reasonable prices. But, I don't really need to have the traditional wedding with the ceremony and the sit down meal. If I was more about that, I would definitely go with them.

Yeah if I did the buffet at Wicked Spoon (which I considered), I wouldn't bother with a private room because the F&B minimums are way too high.

I originally wanted to get married at sunset because that's when the lights come on, but the photographer told me sunset was the best time for pictures. So I decided to get married in the day and then get all the fun shots during sunset.

xoeden · March 2015

Sunset doesn't last very long, which I think would be more headache than it's worth to try and do photos at that time. Make sure you pick out a few really important shots that you really want to nail!

adverb · March 2015

Haha.. well I guess I should have been more clear. 45 mintues BEFORE sunset and 45 minutes are after are the best time for pictures. So I really have like a 90 minute window of prime picture taking time. As much as I would love the sunset in every shot, that's gonna be a little hard to get.

xoeden · March 2015

This is true! Make sure to get your shot list organized.

adverb · March 2015

@xoeden - Just one more thing to plan, right??? LOL.

xoeden · March 2015

adverb said:
@xoeden - Just one more thing to plan, right??? LOL.

But it's the most fun thing to plan! I've been saving shots for years (but that's the photographer in me, haha!)

xoeden · March 2015

@adverb, you have got to see these photos if you haven't yet.

http://joeyallenphoto.com/lasvegasweddingphoto/2014/06/30/june-30-2014-dustin-moon

adverb · March 2015

@xoeden OMG SO AWESOME!!! Wow, I can't believe you found a Balcony Terrace wedding I haven't seen pictures of yet.

Do you know anything else about that wedding? So many shots of food! Although it looks like they rented extra tables. I don't know it's hard to tell.

I LOVE how they took pictures in the MGM lobby (that's the shot at the end). I might steal that. Also not sure if I wanna do the first look at the middle of the stairs like they did or do it on the balcony. Seems more impactful on the balcony, idk..

xoeden · March 2015

I have no idea! This is a photographer I found in my bookmarks that I liked the style of (and pricing), but he has no social media presence, so I just started snooping around one day.

This definitely looks like a DIY wedding to me though; it seems very relaxed and casual, right down to a friend with an iPhone doing the ceremony.

That seafood on ice in a bucket is just crazy to me though! Obviously they must have gotten away with catering or just believed in a whole hell of a lot of air conditioning.

I've been dealing with Mari at MGM and she says the two big rules they have are no outside photography and no outside floral. Floral seems like not a big deal for you and photographers are easy to sneak in.

adverb · March 2015

@xoeden - Um... no outside photography? What the heck? Do they have their own personal photographers? Or are you talking about for the chapel?

I thought they were really big on no outside caterers.

AndreaZubia85 · March 2015

I have booked Joey Allen for my photography he is so nice amd so timely with his responses. I love all his photos!

xoeden · March 2015

adverb said:
@xoeden - Um... no outside photography? What the heck? Do they have their own personal photographers? Or are you talking about for the chapel?

I thought they were really big on no outside caterers.

Apparently catering isn't an issue, but photography is if you're doing a ceremony direct through them. Mari was actually quoting me about organizing the ceremony completely in-suite, which if all they care about is photographers and flowers, it puts me really at ease for using an outside caterer. And I think the photo thing will still be easy to get around.

Also, @andreazubia85, I completely agree with you! I love the editorial style.

Skyline Terrace: In-Suite Ceremony or at a Chapel?

Re: Skyline Terrace: In-Suite Ceremony or at a Chapel?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards