Getting Married. Absolutely Clueless.

If you're still not sure about a location, you might want to check directly with some of the bigger hotels.  My cousin got married in Vegas a few years back, and iirc, they had theirs at the Stratosphere hotel.  There was a chapel in the hotel and, from what I could tell in the pictures, it was a very nice.   Very not-tacky. 

I think the Bellagio, Venetian, etc. all had similar facilities.

This is what we have started to do.  I think my tastes are just really different from other people's because I thought the Bellagio was a tack-fest from the picks, even though loads of websites recommend it.  I think this is why I started to panic! 

I had a fantastic experience with Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel: http://www.vivalasvegasweddings.com/

They were super nice and helpful, and I think my Elvis wedding + documents + dvd was about $300. The best part was Viva Las Vegas had a live web cam feed, so our extended family could watch from home!

I had bought a 60s white cocktail dress at a thrift store before I met my husband, which fit in perfectly with the Elvis theme. There are usually some nice 50s ones on etsy and ebay.

I got my hair done and it was gorgeous- but I paid about $150 for it, since it was on the strip. If you are renting a car, I would suggest driving a little bit off of the strip for cheaper prices.

After the wedding we had cocktails in the outdoor section of "Mon Ami Gabi" and watched the Bellagio fountain show, then ate at the Paris, but I wasn't too impressed with the food.
My parents rented a limo that we took from the bottom of the strip to the top, stopping at all the hotels that have the shows out front (TI, etc). The driver had it all planned out that we didn't have to wait for anything and we had the best views.

I loved the Flamingo suite that we stayed in, because it looked out on the Belliago fountains, but pretty much every hotel is great.

The only big problem is with Vegas weddings the cost of the photos. I saw someone that hired a photographer to follow them all around the Vegas strip for the wedding, and I wish I did that!

This is what we have started to do.  I think my tastes are just really different from other people's because I thought the Bellagio was a tack-fest from the picks, even though loads of websites recommend it.  I think this is why I started to panic! 

I thought it was tacky too! So glad to hear I wasnt the only one. Even though we knew we wanted to get married at TI since we met there, I still looked all over the strip just to make sure.

Thanks CB.

First a question for you, did you visit the Candy Anthony shop? I am pretty keen on Dolly Couture and really cannot decide if I can be bothered to visit Candy Anthony, particularly as it is much more expensive.

I am really nervous about having a dress made for me and then having to find a tailor separately.  Have you decided what you are doing?


 

Candy Anthony is pretty pricey, if you're happy with a Dolly then I'd go for one of those. I'm getting professionally measured, buying the dress to those measurements and then having it fit on me afterwards if it needs altering.

If you join one of the wedding communities then I'm sure someone can recommend a tailor in your area, but if you get professionally measured then it should fit pretty well

Okay, so some photos of the Chapel of the Flowers:

This is DH and me leaving after the ceremony.  You can see the chapel in the background:




During the ceremony:




These next two are posed pictures.  The candid shots were part of our package, but the posed ones were extra.






And this is on a little bridge outside the chapel, near the gazebo where you can have your ceremony if you want:



We had the Intimate Romantic package in the Victorian chapel.  My bouquet and DH's boutonniere were provided by the CotF.  They also sent a limo to pick us up and take us back, gave us a consultation the day before the ceremony about the music, flowers,etc.  Pictures were included, as I mentioned, and we also got a DVD of the ceremony, and they streamed it in real time from their website, so our friends and family who couldn't be there in person could watch it--they could even sign our electronic guest book and buy us gifts, which the CotF gave to us at the ceremony.  I booked everything online, and it was so not stressful and yet everything turned out wonderfully.  The staff was really professional, and our minister was amazing.  I'm gushing, I know, but I really did love this place! 

I got married at the MGM Grand Forever Grand Wedding Chapel in 2000 (which seems a very long time ago now!).  The chapels were both lovely (very classy and under-stated), the wedding package was a reasonable price, the minister was friendly and kind, and the co-ordinator was fabulous. 

I told the co-ordinator exactly what I wanted and she made it happen (right down to my bouquet, which *exactly* matched a picture I'd sent them).  She also booked time at the spa for my hair and makeup and made nearly all of the arrangements for a reception following the ceremony.  Since I was in the UK during all the planning and we flew into Vegas three days before the wedding, having them do all of the co-ordination was worth every penny!

We've been back to Vegas several times (it sort of ended up being an anniversary tradition) and every single time, we'd pop into the Forever Grand.  If there wasn't a wedding going on, they'd always let us spend a few minutes in the chapel....just remembering...

Even though I'm divorced now, both the ex and I have fond memories of our wedding at the MGM Grand.