Vdara Hotel and Spa-A
This is my third time staying at Vdara and it was lovely as usual. Each time we've booked at Vdara it has cost us around 120/night via Hotwire. The rooms are all suites meaning the most basic room is incredibly comfortable. I love the location. It is close to Aria, Bellagio, and the Cosmopolitan. We asked for a nice view and they delivered. We were able to see the Bellagio fountains from our window. The room was very comfortable for getting ready and we had plenty of room for people to hang with us in the room. The bar downstairs is also a nice chill place to meet up with guests for a drink. We spent quite a bit of time there and the service was impeccable each time.
Avis car rental- A
We had a $50 voucher to Avis and decided to rent a car while we were there. It was the best idea we had! We were able to pick up our license, ship home my dress, pick up friends from the airport, etc. with ease. They even upgraded us from a small car to an SUV for $4 more per day. We ended up getting a loaded 2011 Ford Edge. We were so happy with the upgrade and the SUV ended up being really comfy for our impromptu Phoenix trip. The customer service was top notch as well.
Chocolate Lushes- A+
I LOVED our wedding favors and Chocolate lushes was the perfect choice. I would recommend them over and over again. We had 30 cake pops, and 30 bags of chocolate pretzels (one white chocolate, and one milk chocolate in each bag) for roughly $100. They were a hit! The cake pops were so moist and they were beautiful. It's hard to see from the pic but some had swirls, some green sugar crystals, others our monogram. I was so impressed with the way they came out. The communication with CL was excellent as well. They deliver in the LV valley for free if your order is over $50. She dropped them with the concierge at Vdara and all I had to do was pick them up. Amazing service!
Debi at Fit for a Bride- A
Wonderful to work with. Her sister called the day my dress arrived to confirm she received it. They also called the day before the delivery to confirm delivery time and location. My dress looked lovely and well pressed. She delivered it to the concierge at Vdara which made it convenient to pick up. Very sweet person and great service.
Pam at the Palette- A
Our flowers were stunning! Not a better word for it. She did an amazing job. She was so affordable. She delivered right on time the day of our wedding. I even received a "thank you for your business" card from her when I got home. I would highly recommend her. It was worth it to pay the outside vendor fee.
Melissa Ferreira Hair and Makeup- A+
I loved Melissa! She was amazing. Cute, spunky, and very talented. She arrived and got straight to work. She did the hair and makeup for myself and one of my bridesmaids. She is a bit more expensive than the other ladies recommended on the knot but she did such a great job. My makeup and hair stayed put all day and I got so many compliments! I loved what she did with my hair! I showed her a pic of my dress and gave her an idea of what I wanted and she went to work. The false eyelashes stayed on until the next day as well. I would highly recommend her. She did a great job! http://www.ferreiramakeupandhair.com/
Bently & Wilson- A+
Todd was amazing as expected. He is such a chill, relaxed person. This is a nice feature to have in a photographer on your wedding day. We had Todd for 7 hours. He photographed our wedding, the reception, and a strip tour. We went to the LV sign, Paris Hotel, Fremont Street, and Bellagio. He was great with communicating with the limo driver and was very aware of time. He took pictures of everything! It will be a bit before we have pics back, but I have no doubt that he captured every small detail. Another recommendation from me to add to the list of knotties that love him. I can not wait to see the pictures he took!
Earth Limos- A
Earth Limos was a great vendor as well. They were easy to communicate with, prompt, and very professional. They seemed genuinely grateful for our business which was refreshing. The price point was not too bad either. 119 per hour for a 14 passenger stretch hummer limo. They allow you to drop off alcohol before if you would like them to ice it down, but we ran out of time. It did have glassware and ice if we had brought any drinks with us.
Flamingo Garden Gazebo Chapel- A
I am so glad I switched to the Flamingo from 702weddings. When we were getting our license we saw the 702weddings chapel and the road in front of it was torn up for construction. Anyway, the Flamingo was a dream. The gazebo felt like a little oasis from the strip. It was beautiful! It is right next to a pool, but I did not hear any noise from the pool at all. The communication with the wedding coordinator was great. Everything was on point when we got there. The coordinator did a good job of explaining the ceremony to everyone and I loved the officiant. He did a great job and his message was very touching. All of our guests were impressed with the Gazebo chapel and the officiant. I couldn't have asked for a better ceremony. If I have one piece of advice, make sure you are set on your ceremony time. When we wanted to switch our wedding time because of the Firefly fiasco, they charged us 75.00 to move our wedding time.
Mon Ami Gabi- A++
I don't have enough good things to say about Mon Ami Gabi! They went above and beyond my expectations! Our reception was exactly what I had pictured in my head. I was so happy with them! We had a semi-private room (Le Cabaret) that had beautiful windows that looked out onto the blvd. We could see the Bellagio fountain show from the windows as well. We had a lovely brunch reception. The food was amazing! Guests were raving about the food! The communication with the coordinator was exceptional. She almost always answered my e-mails the same day, and she was very accommodating to my requests. I did not go with their menu but got to choose my own selections for the same price. We dropped off decor the day before and they set it all up beautifully. The waitstaff was phenomenal as well. Very gracious and on top of things. Our guests drinks were never empty. Every time I took a few sips of my mimosa it was refilled. The food is very large portions though. Everyone left stuffed. I would definitely recommend them as a reception venue. I was very impressed with everything and I couldn't have asked for a better reception.
Gimme Some Sugar- A for presentation, D for taste
Gimme Some Sugar was great with communication. They were very quick to respond to e-mail and very flexible. I switched my cake design a few times and they were fine with switching it each time. They seemed very sweet via e-mail. I wish I could give them a better grade. The cupcakes were beautiful and exactly what I wanted. But, they were terrible. I hated them, and it takes A LOT for me to hate a cupcake. This is the first cupcake I've met that I didn't like. We ordered lemon with buttercream icing. There was a hint of lemon in the cake but it was faint. Their buttercream tasted like butter. Not kidding. It tasted like I had bit into a stick of butter. Such a shame since they were so beautiful. If we hadn't had a contract with them already because of Firefly I wouldn't have used them. I probably would have used retro. Oh well. Luckily the dessert at Mon Ami Gabi was so good no one had room for cupcakes. I was embarrassed to send guests home with those they were so bad.
Double Decker Bus- B-
We used the Double Decker bus the night of our wedding so everyone could get together and hang out again. Everyone loved the bus and it was a lot of fun going on a strip tour! But the communication with them left something to be desired. I e-mailed them a few days prior to see about dropping off alcohol so it could be iced. I got an e-mail back from them and they freaked asking if I had changed my wedding date. I have no idea why. All of my communication with them we had June 4th confirmed but they were asking why I switched my date to June 11th. Then they told me they had my reservation for an hour and a half. I asked why we were being cut short half an hour if we paid for two hours. They accused me of telling them we only needed it for an hour and a half. Sorry, but I use things I pay for. So I told them we would like the full two hours. After all that was straightened out they told me we could call when we got in town so we could get alcohol to them. When we got in town we called three times about getting alcohol to them and were given the run around each time. Finally they said just to get ice and drop it off at their office they day of our wedding. We just told them to bring empty coolers and we ran and got the ice. Once we were on the bus, the guy that monitored the top to make sure we were staying seated was a bit of a grouch. Really unpleasant and rude considering we were a very tame group. We stayed seated and were just enjoying the trip. The driver was nice but I did not care for the other guy. Then to top it all off they dropped us off 15 minutes before the end of the reservation. I have no idea why they were so eager to get rid of us. In the end it was fun and guests enjoyed it, but it was a pain communicating with them.