We are a couple from the UK who came to Vegas to get married. We brought with us 3 x family members from UK and 2 x friends from Australia, none of whom had ever been to Vegas before.
The wedding licence we did the day before. Cab Aladdin - Courthouse $17. We were in there maybe 10 mins? No queue at 5pm Tuesday, we were the only ones there, but the lady was just really slow in checking everything. Wedding Licence cost $55. They offer you a certified copy of the licence for $4, no idea why anyone would want this, as it%26#39;s the certificate you need to change your name with banks etc. Cab back to Aladdin, we thought we%26#39;d have to wait a long time for it as it is in an out-of-the-way spot, but one pulled up dropping off someone else just as we were leaving, so it was perfect timing. This time it was $19 back, bad traffic.
For hair/makeup I used Debbie from Beautiful Brides. I wasn%26#39;t thrilled with her, but she sure did a better job of my makeup than I could have done, I never wear it so can%26#39;t apply it either. I asked for barely any makeup and it felt like I had a lot on. My SIL gave her free reign and she got really heavy makeup, so I%26#39;m glad I asked for hardly any.
My hair - I wanted very loose curls, and it wasn%26#39;t exactly what I wanted, but by the same token there was nothing wrong with it, just a bit more curly than I was imagining. By 10pm that night the curls had dropped to what I was imagining originally. Her timings were spot on, she finished exactly when she said she would. 3 of us took 3 hours, she did all the hair first, then all the makeup. Cost = US$110 per person, I gave a $20 tip and I don%26#39;t think the others gave a tip but I couldn%26#39;t afford to tip for everyone.
Our limo - we used Las Vegas Limos and were very happy with their service. $90 for 2 hours for a 7-seater stretch, we gave a $20 tip. We booked 2 hours so it would collect us, deliver us to the chapel, wait while wedding was on, then drive us to the Welcome sign for photos, then drive us back up to the hotel for the reception. Unfort, because our wedding chapel was running about 20 mins late, and we had a 20 min photo session after the service which we weren%26#39;t expecting, we ran out of time to go down to the Welcome sign in our limo and get pics taken. Never mind, no big deal, just went straight to the reception instead. Remember to buy your own champers if you want some - we forgot, and they didn%26#39;t have any to offer us.
The chapel - weren%26#39;t too happy, but again, not too big a deal. Flowers were GORGEOUS (and at $150 they bloody well would want to have been) - I asked for red gerberas, white roses and some eucalyptus. Worked really well and looked fab. Pity there was no smell, even from the roses. The reason I paid so much for real flowers was coz I wanted the scent, so that was a bit of a bummer. No biggie tho! They were running late, and we were basically dumped on a sofa and ignored for 20 mins till they were ready for us. I requested the minister not use a certain passage in his ceremony (as I have been married before and used that particular scripture then, didn%26#39;t want anything to be repeated this time around!) but he was unable to leave it out. He said his whole service was built around that passage and if he didn%26#39;t use it, then he%26#39;d not have anything to say. I would have thought he%26#39;d have had other options than just the one standard script. The service was quick and simple, all done in less than 10 mins. They stuffed up our music which again wasn%26#39;t a big deal, but I%26#39;d really had my heart set on leaving the chapel to a particular song and they played the right CD, but the wrong track. Oh well. We did feel part of an assembly line, but again that was part of the cheesyness that we were expecting. No big deal, we still had great fun and we know we made the right choice to marry in Vegas. It was kinda funny to be handed an envelope which said ';Minister%26#39;s Tip = $60'; - I always thought a tip was a voluntary token of appreciation for exceptional service, but it appears in America they are expected for everything, regardless of standards.
Our reception - we had a private room at Canaletto in the Venetian which was beautiful. The food was delicious. The service was.... well, too attentive. Bordering on rude. It appeared they were in a hurry to get rid of us. They brought the courses too close together and cleared plates before we had all finished eating. So intent on clearing plates that they were actually standing behind one guest waiting for her to finish and grabbed her plate as soon as she put her fork down! 7 people 4 courses plus 1 bottle of wine and a few beers came to $450. Tip of 18% compulsory and they charged us for the water which I wasn%26#39;t expecting. Overall, the food was nice so I%26#39;d eat here again but I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d have had my wedding meal here simply due to the staff and the bill.
After the food we wandered slowly from the Venetian to the Aladdin, stopping in casinos the whole way down to look around %26amp; have a drink %26amp; take pictures. Took a Gondola ride in the Venetian (indoors) and had our very own singing gondalier. Unfortunately it wasn%26#39;t till after we%26#39;d left that my new hubby asked me whether I though we were supposed to have tipped him. Neither of us had even thought about it, but I am guessing we should have??
So many people congratulated us and cheered us, and we had many lovely people go out of their way for us. In Imperial Palace we went to the Car Collection upstairs and were wandering around taking pics of the cars and the security guard came up and congratulated us both and offerred to let us have our picture taken IN any car of the collection that we chose. They%26#39;re all roped off and you can%26#39;t get into them normally. There are cars there costing $2million! Actually, the Imperial Palace, although it was a dive and it%26#39;s a good thing they%26#39;re gonna pull it down next year, the people in there were the nicest people in the whole of Vegas.
My feet were aching sooooo bad by 10.30pm that we had just enough time to catch a fountain show at Bellagio and get back over to Aladdin, buy some peppermint foot balm and get up to our room for a bubble bath to rest our weary feet. We were soooooo tired!
The rest of Vegas was a blast, but I%26#39;ll write about that in a seperate trip report, this one was just for anyone planning a wedding at LCOTF or wanting to find vendor reviews. Hope it helps someone? Feel free to ask any q%26#39;s if you%26#39;re a Vegas bride-to-be!
Trip Report - Wedding Day - Chapel %26amp; Vendors usedGreat report! They offered a certified copy of the license because in the US the copy must be certified. For example, when I went to get my driver%26#39;s license changed to my new name, I needed to send away for a certified copy.
Trip Report - Wedding Day - Chapel %26amp; Vendors usedIn regards to:
';They offer you a certified copy of the licence for $4, no idea why anyone would want this, as it%26#39;s the certificate you need to change your name with banks etc.';
In the US you need a certified copy, not the actual certificate to change names, etc!!
Congatulations-- Sounds like you had a good attitude despite not getting what you wanted, Thanks for the report
What Chapel did you use?
I didn%26#39;t see it mentioned in your post.
I%26#39;m getting married in Las Vgeas next week and I%26#39;m hoping it%26#39;s not the one I am using!
When my husband and I got passports we needed a certified copy of our licence to get it.
I also just got married in Las Vegas at the Venetian, I believe the $4.00 is for a copy on your marriage licence, not certificate. That has to be mailed to you after the ceremony is done and it costs $10.00 per cerified copy / or for a certified copy of a form that stated you infact are married. These are the ones you need to change you name, for the dmv etc.
was canaletto as bad as it sounds...
we are having a small wedding dinner there also next week and im kinda worried after hearing your story. i guess ill just scream at them if they try and take my plate..or ill just bite their hands off.
Thanks to everyone commenting about the copy of the licence etc
I think maybe my terminology was confusing?
You buy a marriage licence for $55
They offer you a certified copy of this marriage licence for $4
After we get married, we send off for a certified copy of our actual marriage certificate, this costs $10 and you send it off to a totally different place once you%26#39;re married.
So, I%26#39;m not sure if Americans need a copy of the marriage licence AND their marriage certificate.
But essentially the marriage licence is NOT proof that you got married. It is just proof that you showed up to the licence bureau and filled in a form.
For proof that you actually got married (which is the proof you need for changing banks, drivers licence etc) you need a certified copy of the marriage certificate.
Not the licence.
But hey, maybe in America you need the certified copy of the licence as well? But you certainly can%26#39;t use it on its own as it%26#39;s not proof you actually got hitched.
Sorry popoki321, I mustn%26#39;t have made it clear. LCOTF = Little Chapel of the Flowers.
Pookaloki, yep, you wrote more eloquently what I meant to say to begin with, thanks :)
Adrenaline,
Canaletto%26#39;s food was divine. I can%26#39;t fault that. Delicious, hot, plenty of it.
We had the $35 lunch menu, so with compulsory gratuity and tax applied I was expecting a bill of $312.38. Actual bill was $454.67. And they didn%26#39;t even leave me with a copy of my bill so I have no idea what that was comprised of. I know there was a bottle of wine %26amp; some beers on there, but poss some other stuff. I can%26#39;t remember if the coffees were included in the menu but I know we all had coffee afterwards, maybe they charged us extra for this? I had asked all my guests to pay for their own alcohol but when the bill came I asked for it to be taken out and paid for seperately and I was told no, this wasn%26#39;t possible, I had to pay for it all in one hit.
They were prefectly nice and gave us menus to keep for our memories book, but it just made me mad that they brought the courses all so close together. We were planning on being there 2 hours and were in and out in just over an hour. I think the ultimate rudeness was clearing the table while others were still eating, and standing right behind my MOH while she finished her pasta and grabbing her plate as soon as she was done. And they cleared the bread away too quickly too, one guest was still eating bread and went to dip it in the olive oil and it had been taken away! Ooooooh the olive oil is soooooooo yummy!!!!!
Just keep an eye on them. If they start to do things like that, ask them to leave it, tell them you want more time between courses, maybe ask the maitre%26#39;d to come and ask if you are ready before they serve the next course. If we had been given a choice we would not have had any of our courses delivered when they were. We%26#39;d only just sat down, had maybe 5 mins, and our entree was brought. We%26#39;d only just started the bread! Then they cleared that and 5 mins later our mains came out - no time to digest, or to talk or savour the entree. They cleared the mains while half of us were still eating, and then they brought dessert out straight away. We were all kinda full and would have preferred more time to wait for dessert. And then they asked us if we wanted coffee before we%26#39;d even picked up the spoons for the dessert.
They were not meaning to be rude, just too efficient. We felt rushed.
I have to reiterate yet again tho, that the food was absolutely scrumptious! :)
Hope it all goes well for you, please post up here and let me/others know what your experience was.
Good luck for your weddings to the girls about to go!!!
Cheers
Ness
Uh-oh....Little Chapel of The Flowers....That%26#39;s where I%26#39;m getting married.
I%26#39;m hoping since I am getting married on a Wednesday at 1:00 it won%26#39;t be too crowded and we won%26#39;t be rushed. I decided against using my own music for the exact reason you stated. I was afraid it would get messed up, so hopefully we won%26#39;t have that problem. I am bringing my own flowers, even though they are providing me with some roses. I felt their prices were too expensive so I made a beautiful silk flower bouquet.
I guess I%26#39;m expecting things to go wrong...I%26#39;m expecting the worst so anything better than that will be fine!!!
Thanks for the information. Congratulations on your wedding.
We got married at 1.30pm on a Wednesday and they were running late and appeared busy.
Are your vows etc important to you and you want to have some decision on what you say? if so, call them up now and sort it out. We thought we%26#39;d get the opportunity to select our vows from a list or something, but there was none of that - just what the celebrant uses on everyone.
Don%26#39;t stress about it, I didn%26#39;t, and it%26#39;ll all be fine on the day. trust me, you%26#39;ll be so excited and nervous and everything that a little hiccup or two won%26#39;t even appear on your radar :)
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