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10 years ago, Bob and I decided to have a destination wedding in Las Vegas (we live in Pennsylvania).
It was a huge decision to hold such an important milestone event so far from home. Don’t even get me started about the logistical headache of getting us, our stuff, and all of the guests clear across the country. On top of all that, there was the worry that maybe we’d regret a destination wedding in years to come. Maybe we’d feel bad that we had a smaller guest list than typical at-home weddings? Nope and nope. As we celebrate the big number 10 tomorrow, I am happy to tell you that we have ZERO regrets. We had a blast, our guests had a blast, and the friends and family who really truly wanted to go, went (save for a few with really little kids)!
What makes a destination wedding MORE than a regular wedding is that your guests not only remember the wedding and many of the details, but they make their own vacation memories as well. How great is that? Aunt Connie loved the gift shops, Aunt Marnie went on a horseback trail ride in the mountaintops surrounding Vegas, Dad and Sherri went to a Kansas concert, a few friends went to Blue Man Group, the list goes on and on. Everyone has their own memories and had their own mini-cation, the center of which, was our wedding. That is incredibly cool!
So for today’s Fave Friday round up, I’m going down memory lane. Vegas may have changed a little since our wedding 10 years ago, but it hasn’t changed THAT much!
Consider these 7 cool things to do for your Vegas wedding!
1. Deliver welcome boxes to the wedding guests’ hotels It seems that I have always loved playing the hostess! We ended up with close to 40 friends and family making the trip to Vegas for our wedding. Most of them were from PA. We shipped some Tastykakes (a Philly staple) to our hotel, made up fun CDs with Vegas-themed music, and bought water bottles and other small items when we landed. We spent the afternoon we arrived at our hotel room assembling fun boxes for each guest/couple. Then we drove to the hotels where everyone was staying and left them at the front desk. The hotel staff handed out our boxes as the guests checked-in. They were extremely well-received by all!
8 Great Vegas Themed Songs:
Little Less Conversation (Elvis Presley)
Fly Me to the Moon (Frank Sinatra)
Come Fly with Me (Frank Sinatra)
Let’s Go to Vegas (Faith Hill)
Ain’t That a Kick in the Head (Dean Martin)
Viva Las Vegas (Elvis Presley)
Can’t Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley)
Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley)
2. Have a joint bachelor/bachelorette party on the strip. This one’s pretty simple. You’re in Las Vegas with the love of your life and some of your very closest friends in the world. Hit the strip and party it up!
3. Hire a hair and makeup artist to get the bridal party glammed on your wedding day! We took the “glam” idea quite literally and hired Glam Squad 702. James arrived before the crack of dawn and had us all “runway” ready in time for the ceremony.
4. Hire a photographer to take pictures of the entire day’s events. Most wedding chapels and venues in Vegas offer some sort of ceremony photography package. We wanted pictures of more than just the ceremony. We wanted a photographer who would cover the pre-ceremony and reception fun as well. We used Todd Wilson from Bently & Wilson Photography. He was FABULOUS! He arrived right on time and stayed with us from morning until into the evening. His pictures were wonderful and can still be found on display all over our house.
5. Use the “Lucky in Love” theme for wedding favors. When you’re in the land of a million casinos, embrace it. We used the “lucky in love” theme and gave each guest a scratch off lottery ticket, a shiny new (2006) penny for scratching and I made personalized poker chip labels that we stuck on chocolate poker chip candy (coins would work, too).
6. Hire an Elvis impersonator for your reception. If you’re getting married in Vegas, you won’t be able to count the number of times people will ask, “Is Elvis marrying you?!” We were NOT getting married by Elvis but we were asked that question so many times, we decided it would be hilarious if we surprised our guests with Elvis during the reception. It ROCKED! We hired Eddie Powers to arrive as Elvis. He sang, posed for pictures and seriously added to the amazingness of our day.
7. Head to the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign with your bridal party for pictures. One the most iconic symbols recognized worldwide – the Vegas sign! We actually rented a small party bus for an hour or so and took the entire bridal party, as well as some family and friends AND our photographer and got pictures at several locations on the strip, including that infamous sign.
So there you have it! 7 fun things to consider for your Vegas wedding. We are now 10 wonderful years past our big day and it’s amazing how many little details we still remember! Viva Las Vegas!
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