Soooo I'm in Vegas from Northern California and DH and I renewed our vows yesterday [:D] We went through an assymbly line production from the company Vegas Weddings (
http://www.702wedding.com) and it was ALMOST perfect. DH didn't want it to be too wedding like and I didn't want things to be too unwedding like so this was a good fit for us. On to the reviews!
Vegas Weddings
www.702wedding.com - planner, Jose- Grade B+
Jose was attentive and answered my emails promptly. We chose the "rekindle" package and because of a current promotion got upgraded to the "recreate" package. Beware to read the fine print, because we got charged the 19.1% extra for the price of the upgraded package. We were prepared for this, though, as well as the extra minister fee. From beginning to end they made sure we were taken care of. Limo driver picked us up from our hotel and was very friendly even giving us tips on where to go, what to ask for, etc. afterwords. Patrick, who I assume was the manger on duty, was wonderfully attentive upon our arrival and right to the end, congradulating us, very complimentary, offering us refreshments, etc.
The only gripe I had was with the photographer. And not necessarily her but the company she contracts with. Our package included 24 shots of the ceremony. There were really less than a handful of shots that she took that didn't need to be edited to be passible, and most just plain sucked. She had taken pictures before and after but those weren't included, yet we were forced to sit through viewing them which just pissed me off. I let my husband be "groomzilla" on this one. While pictures weren't our main focus, of course, I was visibly upset and on principal DH said he would not buy because the quality of work was purposfully bad during our ceremony only to see exceptionally good photo after photo later that were not included. The photography sales manager Shelly was patronizing, I did NOT like her tone of voice as she said she felt "sorry" for me, and included all the photos from the ceremony as well as some of the better ones. That was really the only bump in our road. If my husband had been up to it, and I know he wouldn't have been as he does not like his photo taken, I would have gotten a smaller "wedding" package then hired a photographer to take pictures along the strip or something. I just wish the photography company had not been disingenuine about their work (shoddy photos during the ceremony, excellent ones later) to try to con you into getting more photos at premium prices. Lucky for us this was NOT our wedding and a couple good shots was all I was after.
Dinner- Mon Ami Gabi: grade- B+
We were on time for our reservation but still had to wait to be seated. We asked to be seated by one of the windows from the beginning (requested upon reservation) but were not immediatly accomedated. The staff seemed overwhelmed and undertrained at the desk, and this was only a Wednesday early evening! Again, let DH be groomzilla (there's a theme here) after seeing a walk in couple being seated before us. After he said he was ready to just come back to the hotel we were seated but not by the window. DH complained, again, after seeing several open and set tables by the windows and we were finally seated with a wonderful view of the Bellagio fountains. Our waiter was impecable, service after we were seated, awesome, food cooked to perfection. I was thrilled that their gluten free menue was extensive and tasted good. They even comp'd our champagne. So while rocky start, awesome experience and so worth it!
Hotel- Stratosphere- C-, but you get what you pay for.
We staid here because we have a family (2 year old and 5 year old) and the prices were reasonable. We paid for a room with strip views only to be put in a room with a nice big view of the concrete leg of the tower, and one floor below what was promised on the website. YAY Groomzilla to the rescue! Apparently the manager on the floor knew DH and was in the same cohort in graduate school. No problem, we were moved to a much better room. Our main problem here was that I'm gluten free and my family wanted to spend a lot of time at the pool. The pool does not allow outside food/ drinks and day after day I had to get a manager to carry in snacks for myself and explain again and again that I have food allergies and cannot eat at their snack bar or from the vending machines there. Our houskeeping staff was lackluster and got mad when we asked for toilet paper (we do not like our room serviced while we're staying). However the rooms were clean and modern, buffet was passable, noise was realitively OK even if the staff were boneheads.
Around the Clock Babysitters- Manager Marge, Babysitter Sandy- A +++++++++
If you have kids, call them. They come to your hotel room with a bag of goodies and entertain the kiddos for a reasonable fee. Then you can frolick and play all you want (or want to pay for) minimum 4 hours, $75. The sitter "got" our son who is hard to deal with (ADHD) and had nothing but accolades for him and our daughter. Totally certified, sheriff's card, CPR, First Aid, etc, etc. None of their sitters are under the age of 40 (says Marge)Just wonderful lady who you can tell enjoys her job. Came back to our room with both kids asleep and the room clean. Wow.
Some Photos:
http://tinypic.com/r/2mqt2dl/6http://tinypic.com/r/29p3k9y/6http://tinypic.com/r/70hvuv/6