Las Vegas Wedding-Last Minute Questions

In My Humble Opinion
1

We’re getting married next Saturday (the day before Easter) in Las Vegas. Several potential problems have lurched into view thanks to our legendarily poor planning skills. Any recommendations from Vegas Dopers, those who’ve been there before, or other people who know how to get things done in general would be greatly appreciated.

  1. Is there anywhere to get a wedding dress altered in 2 days or less?

  2. A ladies’ hairdresser.

  3. A place to buy a gentleman’s tie.

  4. A dry cleaner’s (I guess the hotel can do this, but I’m not sure).

  5. How long does it take to get a marriage license (we will have the forms filled out beforehand)? Also, which Marriage Bureau office generally has the shortest lines? I realize it’s unlikely that anybody would have been there often enough to have formed an opinion, but it’s worth asking since we’ll have a car.

  6. Any general advice regarding the Little Church of the West? They seem reputable, but I’d like to be sure.

  7. A good bakery or other place to buy a cake from with no more than a weeks’ notice. Not necessarily a wedding cake per se but a nice cake the guests would actually enjoy eating.

  8. A nice restaurant at which to feed approximately 12 people. Price is not that big of a concern: people are flying all the way out there, the least we can do is feed them well.

  9. A good bar for the the more merrymaking-inclined guests to decamp to after dinner.

  10. How long before a departure do you need to arrive at the airport?

  11. Is there anything to avoid like the plague?

Thanks.

2

1. Is there anywhere to get a wedding dress altered in 2 days or less? Are you insane? Alter a wedding dress in 2 days? No. Ask the concierge, but don’t be surprised if he/she laughs at you.

*2. A ladies’ hairdresser. * Lots of 'em. Where are you staying?

3. A place to buy a gentleman’s tie. Lots of 'em. Where are you staying?

4. A dry cleaner’s (I guess the hotel can do this, but I’m not sure). Lots of 'em. Where are you staying? Might be best to talk to the concierge, or at least the customer service rep when you’re making your reservations.

5. How long does it take to get a marriage license (we will have the forms filled out beforehand)? check out http://www.littlechurchlv.com/
*6. Any general advice regarding the Little Church of the West? * The website suggests reservations
*7. A good bakery or other place to buy a cake from with no more than a weeks’ notice. * A couple places. Where are you planning on having the reception? At the restaurant?

*8. A nice restaurant at which to feed approximately 12 people. Price is not that big of a concern: people are flying all the way out there, the least we can do is feed them well. * Lots of them. Where are you staying? I can think of 5 or 6 on the Strip, and 3 or 4 quite a ways from the tourist corridor.

9. A good bar for the the more merrymaking-inclined guests to decamp to after dinner. Lots and lots of them. Where are you staying?

10. How long before a departure do you need to arrive at the airport? Check with your airline, but I believe 2 hours is suggested.

11. Is there anything to avoid like the plague? Let’s hope Dmark pops in with a link to his handy-dandy website.
Congratulations, best wishes, and hugs, of course. email (username@gmail.com) or PM me if you don’t want to tell everyone your exact location. Hell, if you say please nicely, I might be able to do some of the running around for you.

3

#2. I am sure there are tons and tons. I used the salon in the Paris hotel for myself and all of my bridesmaids. They did a great job and the price was right.
#4. When my husband and I married in Vegas we stayed at Bally’s. We flew Southwest. Southwest does not accommodate garment bags, which I realized after boarding the plane. So I had to have my gown pressed/steamed/whatever. Unwrinkled. The hotel was able to take care of this for me overnight.

#5. It took us about 30 minutes total, maybe less. On a Friday in June. We went to the Clark Ave. office in LV.

#8. I really like Buca di Beppo for stuff like this. We had our ‘rehearsal dinner’ there the night before our wedding. 50 people and it went off without a hitch. I like the food, and the fact that it’s ‘family style’ really helps cut down on the cost.

4

[QUOTE=MadPansy64]
1. Is there anywhere to get a wedding dress altered in 2 days or less? Are you insane? Alter a wedding dress in 2 days? No. Ask the concierge, but don’t be surprised if he/she laughs at you.

*2. A ladies’ hairdresser. * Lots of 'em. Where are you staying?

3. A place to buy a gentleman’s tie. Lots of 'em. Where are you staying?

4. A dry cleaner’s (I guess the hotel can do this, but I’m not sure). Lots of 'em. Where are you staying? Might be best to talk to the concierge, or at least the customer service rep when you’re making your reservations.

5. How long does it take to get a marriage license (we will have the forms filled out beforehand)? check out http://www.littlechurchlv.com/
*6. Any general advice regarding the Little Church of the West? * The website suggests reservations
*7. A good bakery or other place to buy a cake from with no more than a weeks’ notice. * A couple places. Where are you planning on having the reception? At the restaurant?

*8. A nice restaurant at which to feed approximately 12 people. Price is not that big of a concern: people are flying all the way out there, the least we can do is feed them well. * Lots of them. Where are you staying? I can think of 5 or 6 on the Strip, and 3 or 4 quite a ways from the tourist corridor.

9. A good bar for the the more merrymaking-inclined guests to decamp to after dinner. Lots and lots of them. Where are you staying?

10. How long before a departure do you need to arrive at the airport? Check with your airline, but I believe 2 hours is suggested.

11. Is there anything to avoid like the plague? Let’s hope Dmark pops in with a link to his handy-dandy website.
Congratulations, best wishes, and hugs, of course. email (username@gmail.com) or PM me if you don’t want to tell everyone your exact location. Hell, if you say please nicely, I might be able to do some of the running around for you.
[/QUOTE]

Everybody is staying more or less in the middle of the Strip. I should have pointed out that we do, in fact, have a reservation for the wedding ceremony itself. Also, whilst I’ve been typing away, the (much) better half has found a wedding-dress alterer person here who can take care of it.

5

[QUOTE=psycat90]
#2. I am sure there are tons and tons. I used the salon in the Paris hotel for myself and all of my bridesmaids. They did a great job and the price was right.
#4. When my husband and I married in Vegas we stayed at Bally’s. We flew Southwest. Southwest does not accommodate garment bags, which I realized after boarding the plane. So I had to have my gown pressed/steamed/whatever. Unwrinkled. The hotel was able to take care of this for me overnight.

#5. It took us about 30 minutes total, maybe less. On a Friday in June. We went to the Clark Ave. office in LV.

#8. I really like Buca di Beppo for stuff like this. We had our ‘rehearsal dinner’ there the night before our wedding. 50 people and it went off without a hitch. I like the food, and the fact that it’s ‘family style’ really helps cut down on the cost.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the heads-up, we’re flying Southwest, I wouldn’t have known until it was too late.

6

[QUOTE=Furious_Marmot]
Everybody is staying more or less in the middle of the Strip. I should have pointed out that we do, in fact, have a reservation for the wedding ceremony itself. Also, whilst I’ve been typing away, the (much) better half has found a wedding-dress alterer person here who can take care of it.
[/QUOTE]

Oh, good! Altering a wedding dress on short notice gives me hives to even think about. But then, merely *hemming * a wedding dress on short notice gives me hives.

For the rest, hmmm. Mid Strip should have everything else you need within walking distance. I’ve emailed a former coworker (her ex-partner just retired from the wedding biz) about cakes, dry cleaners & hair dressers, and the rest should be quickly and easily handled by the chapel & concerierge.

Congrats & Best wishes!

7

My wife and I got married in LV last May, although we had a little larger ceremony (nothing crazy though) and had our reception at the Bahama Breeze. We served appetizers and had an open bar for a couple of hours and they hired a guy for us that played accoustic guitar and sang. It was really nice actually.

My wife just said to check out www.theknot.com message boards. There are specific forums for Las Vegas. Also, if you’re looking for a photographer, I can reccomend one that we loved. He gave us all the pictures on a CD (almost 500 in two hours) and we own them to do with what we want (no checking with him on anything). He was fantastic!

Shoot me a pm if you want his name or any other information. We loved doing it there. It was easier for us and more fun for the friends and family that attended.

8

Congrats on the upcoming nuptials!

For a bakery, the best in town is Freed’s.

They have a great selection to choose from, and their prices are not cheap, but fair considering what you get. I am sure most good hotels could also make a decent cake, but you won’t go wrong with ordering from Freed’s! Check out the site and the pictures of wedding cakes…and feel free to invite me for leftovers!

9

I actually got married at that chapel back in 1997 (I am no longer married, but obviously it wasn’t the chapel’s fault!) and I would recommend it. We did it totally spur of the moment - we called around when we got into town and they were able to fit us in. It was decent.

I don’t remember having to wait long at all for a license - we didn’t have any paperwork filled out ahead of time (and I don’t think it’s all that complicated anyway - at least it wasn’t back then) and I think it probably took us longer to get from the strip to the office (I have no memory of where it actually was, but it was definitely off the strip) and back to the strip than it did to actually get the license. They didn’t even check our IDs!

10

[QUOTE=scout1222]
I actually got married at that chapel back in 1997 (I am no longer married, but obviously it wasn’t the chapel’s fault!) and I would recommend it. We did it totally spur of the moment - we called around when we got into town and they were able to fit us in. It was decent.

I don’t remember having to wait long at all for a license - we didn’t have any paperwork filled out ahead of time (and I don’t think it’s all that complicated anyway - at least it wasn’t back then) and I think it probably took us longer to get from the strip to the office (I have no memory of where it actually was, but it was definitely off the strip) and back to the strip than it did to actually get the license. They didn’t even check our IDs!
[/QUOTE]

Oh yeah, we didn’t have anything filled out either. The license office isn’t open 24 hours anymore, but it took about an hour from when we got down there just because of the line. And they only take cash… no cards or checks.

11

[QUOTE=whatami]
Oh yeah, we didn’t have anything filled out either. The license office isn’t open 24 hours anymore, but it took about an hour from when we got down there just because of the line. And they only take cash… no cards or checks.
[/QUOTE]

Another disaster averted! I almost never carry cash or an ATM card. I will have to make an exception.