Strip photo tour between wedding and reception?

Re: Strip photo tour between wedding and reception?

• hmgiffor member

  

  April 2015

  I think whatever option you choose that you include all the guests as they may not want to roam the strip all dressed up and you may run the risk of people not showing up for the reception. A DDB  is always fun but June is a little warm and there is an inside portion for people. You could maybe provide fans for people. 

  

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• damnthetorpedoes member

  

  April 2015 edited April 2015

  As a guest, I REALLY don't like having a gap between the ceremony and the reception with nothing to do, so I would definitely either plan something for all the guests or eliminate the gap.
  

  
  

  Two big things I would think about, in considering the party bus:
  

  
  

  - Where your group is coming from. The average high in Vegas in June is 100 degrees. If your group is from places with milder summers, they are probably not going to enjoy being outside for very long. If they're from the Southwest or the South, they're likely to mind less. (I grew up in Middle Tennessee, where the high in June is in the mid to high 80s with 80-90% humidity -- to me 100 degrees in dry heat feels basically the same.) An alternative to the DDB would be a regular enclosed party bus, which will stay a lot cooler, although you'd lose some of the fun of sightseeing while driving around. 

  
  

  - Energy level of your group. Right now, your ceremony's starting at 3 and your reception isn't starting until 7, and I'm assuming your reception is going to run until at least 9. That's asking your guests to stay engaged and social for at least 6 straight hours. For some groups, that's a really short party; for others, it's a bender. 

  
  

  
  

  If you go for the DDB, just to keep things safe I'd stock the bus with tons of water and Gatorade, and little if any booze -- maybe enough for one toast for everybody. People can drink more at the nice air-conditioned reception. 

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• Knottie70416392 member

  

  April 2015

  Thank you for your replies so far.
  
  In regards to where we are coming from, the answer is cold rainy old UK!! We are not used to temperatures above 70 degrees ha.
  
  I think I have decided the DDB is out of the question now, it will be too hot.I have asked for Maggianos to be moved forward to 6pm-10pm.
  
  My plan now is still the wedding 3-4pm then wedding photos with the guests 4-5pm in/around the bellagio. Then 5-6pm potentially get a few photos of just bride and groom in a different hotel with the photographer, and ask the guests to make their way to maggianos for 6pm?
  
  I am really struggling at the moment as you can see, with what to do with guests
  
  I have been to 2 weddings this last summer and told my partner that I would never want my guests to be left alone between wedding and ceremony like we have been.
  
  Any advice would be appreciated from previous vegas brides

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• finallymrsroberts member

  

  April 2015

  Hi! We are coming from the UK too Our wedding is in 3 weeks and the ceremony is at 3pm, I have a limo straight after the ceremony to take my guests to reception venue, which is in suite so they can mill around the hotel before going straight there if they wish (we'll be having photos). Food is coming at 5pm. We only have 8 guests though so it's less of a nightmare to arrange! I'm impressed you've managed to get 30 people to agree to come to Vegas! Not even my fiancés Mum will come!

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• xoeden member

  

  April 2015

  We're doing the opposite. Rather than doing first look, we're planning on doing our own strip tour and photos before the ceremony, that way we can spend from ceremony to reception complete with our guests.

  
  

  Can't help too much on timing, but I think it's smarter to scrap the bus. I'm from Vancouver, BC and we have the same 'lovely' weather as you; our summer highs for a super hot day is maybe 22; June for us is usually 15-18. I LOVE the heat and the desert, I went Memorial Day weekend a couple years back (last weekend in May), and it was so hot that we couldn't spend more than 30 minutes at the pool and stayed in the shade or indoors as much as possible during the day. 

  
  

  A 100 degree high in June sounds a little low to me, so unless you're planning on keeping an air conditioned bus, I'd say you're probably better to ask an outgoing friend to maybe lead your guests through the Conservatory at Bellagio on a walking tour or something before meeting them at the restaurant.

  

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• CCvegasbride member

  

  April 2015

  We are getting married at 4pm in the Bellagio then are having some photos taken between 5 and 6, then heading to the Cosmo for meal/reception from 7 - 10pm.....we had thought about a strip tour at some point, but don't want to have to cram it in, and also as we are getting married in July I expect it will be roasting!! I would really like to go to the Vegas sign though!  We are also coming from UK with 12 confirmed guests so far...we are hoping that we kind of naturally make our way from Bellagio to Cosmo with a stop or 2 along the way for drinkies and photos!

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• MeridianLV member

  

  May 2015

  People may refer to Vegas as having a dry heat, but the sun heats car interiors well over 140F, the sun has an additive effect on top of the sensation of ambient temperatures of "only" 100-110F (in the sun it can feel like a hot blow dryer is constantly bearing down on you), and the DDB transports are made mostly of metal, which absorbs lots of heat.

  
  

  I know the DDB transports have little or no air conditioning, and most people probably don't like to sit on a bus sweating and being uncomfortable in the heat without any escape.  A DDB strip tour would be best done well into the evening during summertime.

  
  

  If the temperatures are around the average and we have a sunny or partly cloudy day (common), you and everyone around you will be sweating on the DDB.

  
  

  Midday reception with a later evening DDB tour after the sun goes down would be more comfortable.  However, you might not get everyone to come along with you that way. 

  
  

  I suppose the only way to have your cake and eat it too would be to move your wedding to October or November when it's closer to perfect temperatures in Vegas!

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• tcnoble member

  

  May 2015

  Knottie70416392 said:

  Thank you for your replies so far.
  
  In regards to where we are coming from, the answer is cold rainy old UK!! We are not used to temperatures above 70 degrees ha.
  
  I think I have decided the DDB is out of the question now, it will be too hot.I have asked for Maggianos to be moved forward to 6pm-10pm.
  
  My plan now is still the wedding 3-4pm then wedding photos with the guests 4-5pm in/around the bellagio. Then 5-6pm potentially get a few photos of just bride and groom in a different hotel with the photographer, and ask the guests to make their way to maggianos for 6pm?
  
  I am really struggling at the moment as you can see, with what to do with guests
  
  I have been to 2 weddings this last summer and told my partner that I would never want my guests to be left alone between wedding and ceremony like we have been.
  
  Any advice would be appreciated from previous vegas brides

  I"m not sure what happened to spacing in that box. 

  
  

  1. Doing a DDB tour at that time period would, for many, be unbearable. You made a very wise choice in deciding to cancel that!

  
  

  2. You really shouldn't leave your guests unhosted until 6pm. I mean, you CAN, but it would be rude. You mentioned doing photos with guests from 4-5pm? Are you certain all your guests will want to be a part of this? I would guess they don't want to stand around for an hour of photos. With that being said, you still leave guests unhosted. I know everyone likes to think "It's Vegas!! People can keep themselves entertained for xyz hours." Yeah sure they can but they shouldn't have to.

  
  

  Is your ceremony a religious one that will last a full hour? Ours wasn't and was over within 15 minutes. Just something to consider for your timeline.

  
  

  If your ceremony is not religious, ideally your timeline would look something like this

  3-3:15pm ceremony

  3:30pm-4:00pm group photos at Bellagio - make sure your guests know you'd like photos with them at this time - depending on your group size, this should be feasible to get done quickly. Keep in mind it will be HOT at this time and nobody is going to want to stand around long for photos. 

  4:15pm Maggiano's ready to accept guests for cocktail hour - couple photos resume

  5:00pm Bride and groom arrive, dinner/reception follows

  
  

  I hope this is helpful in some way - being a local, I'm as used to the heat as anyone and still find it uncomfortable.. especially dressed up!

  
  

  
  

  

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• adverb member

  

  May 2015 edited May 2015

  I will be having a gap between my ceremony and reception, but it is at the same venue. We are getting married at the MGM in the Balcony Suite at around 4. Ceremony should last until 4:30. Take group pictures until 5:00. And then head out to Bellagio/Paris for night photos at 5:30 (just as the sun is setting) and get back around 7:00. We plan to have food put out around 6:30 and probably start the bar right when we leave. So it really won't be too long of a gap. People are welcome to stay in the room or head down to the casino if they want. I REALLY wanted night photos though and it just wasn't practical to take them at the end of the evening when we would be tired (and potentially drunk). We are taking some daylight photos before the ceremony to get that out of the way.

  
  

  I'm open to suggestions, but so far, this is what I've found is the best to work since I really want my night photos.

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• xoeden member

  

  May 2015

  How set are you on having the night photos done on the day-of? I'm seriously considering doing our photo tour the day before or the day after (is that weird?)

  

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• vegasgroom mod

  

  May 2015

  Yeah the hour long ceremony sounds odd unless it's religious; you'll probably be in and out the door in 25 minutes if it's typical vegas ceremony.
  
  How many guests are we talking?  Can you get a small bus to take them all to Maggiano's?  It's not walkable at that time of day/year in wedding attire so it means a lot of cab rides, which would be awkward having a huge line of wedding guests waiting in the Bellagio cab stand line.
  

  ---

  Married in Vegas - June 2011

  
  

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• hmgiffor member

  

  May 2015

  We did night photos the day before and they turned out great. We didn't wear our wedding attire but he had on a suit and I had a tulle skirt that was custom made. I'm so glad we decided to go with the day before vs. the night of as the whole day was a blur and I enjoyed just spending time with our guests. 

  

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