A Vegas Wedding - The Final Chapter

Caravan: a procession traveling together in single file. Makes sense if one is traveling in a covered wagon, or in a funeral procession, but try to get a caravan of 12 vehicles to stay together in single file in Las Vegas on a Saturday afternoon - I speak from experience when I tell you that it is nearly impossible. Oh did I mention yet that this trek also involved getting out of the strip, maneuvering 2 freeways and then the long, winding road into the mountains.

One would think that following a gigantic motorhome would not be that difficult, but in a vacation mecca like Las Vegas you never really realized just how many gigantic motorhomes there really are. From our exit from the parking lot of the hotel, the caravan was broken immediately. Being the resourceful wedding guests that we were, we began a caravan chain, from the motorhome car, by car trying to relay direction, traffic hazards, turnoffs, etc. At one point in our car we had three cell phones going at one time relaying directions back and forth. It would have made our poineer covered wagon ancestors proud, no matter the difficulty, we kept the caravan alive and intact.......well more or less. There were a few stragglers, but we eventually got them rejoined with the rest of the herd.

We thought it would be a relatively short drive, but actually took almost 40 minutes to get all of us out into the wilderness and into the natural preserve land that housed the red rock canyon. The Bride and Groom were still very tight lipped as to what awaited us, and only later would we find out that was because they had no idea either...the company and the site were chosen off of the Internet because their site looked good.

Finally we turned off the road and passed into the natural preserve. Almost immediately we made another turn in to the visitors parking area....we presumed that was to allow anyone not with the group to have time to rejoin us, but we were surprised to find the motorhome parking. Slowly, we all exited our vehicles...men in their shirts and ties, women in their cocktail dresses, to be greeted by cold gusts of wind that blew all over this parking area. On the edge of the parking strip off in the distance was the Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful site. We were not alone in the parking area either, there were a group of bikers, some tourists, and before we left, another wedding party.

After milling around a bit, it was confirmed that yes indeed we were at the wedding site. Additionally, we had to get a move on, because we were losing light. So there among the onlookers in the parking area we had the wedding. The ceremony was lovely, and I was truly honored to be invited to share in a couples public commitment to each other. Yes, it was very cold, the women shivered and the men pretended not to, but the beauty of the Canyon in the background was undeniable. After the ceremony and pictures we found out the reception was to be held here as well, under a metal awning at the other end of the parking area. In the fading light and increasing chill we ate cold sandwiches and warm soda until it was so dark, we couldn’t make out the happy couple anymore without the assistance of the headlights of one of our vehicles. We packed everything up, and found our way in the dark to our vehicles, the heat, and slowly made our way out of the nature preserve and back into civilization.

We all ended up at the Red Rock Casino and the wedding party and guests splintered off to drink, gamble, and stay warm. Arriving back at my hotel late that night, it was the end of a long day, not at all what I pictured for my first Vegas Wedding, but none-the-less an occasion I will remember always!

Thanksgiving

I am Thankful for…..
...the mess to clean up after a party
because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
...the taxes I pay
because it means that I'm employed.
...the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means I have enough to eat.
...my shadow who watches me work
because it means I am out in the sunshine.
...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
because it means I am capable of walking.
...all the complaining I hear about our government
because it means we have freedom of speech.
...the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and a garage that needs cleaning
because it means I have a home.
...my huge air conditioning bill
because it means that I am cool.
...weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
because it means that I have been productive.
...the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
because it means that I am alive.
Nancy Carmody

This Thanksgiving I feel grateful for the many things I take for granted each and every day. People who care about me, New friends to make me smile, still discovering new things all the time, and realizing that this time in my life has the potential to be the best part of my life so far.

May this day help you to see all that you have to be grateful for.

Get Me To The Church? On Time

Saturday morning....dawned clear and windy and COLD. There was talk of a group of people getting together for breakfast, but already plans were seeming to change on a moments notice. So we were all left to ourselves with the understanding that we would gather in the afternoon for the caravan to the desert.

To get some exercise, a couple of us walked from The Stratosphere down to the Wynn. Although cold, it was a nice day to walk, and even with all of the massive construction projects going on, walking was still not too bad an option. The Wynn was beautiful, walking through the hotel and shops was a stark comparison to the same walk I had just taken at the Stratosphere not an hour earlier...different crowds, with different things on their minds. We managed to get a table at the Terrace Point Café - a lovely restaurant overlooking the pool and cabanas of the Wynn. Although windy, it was very relaxing and a welcome moment of peace and quiet during the rush of this wedding weekend.

Enter the second of the unexpected and unplanned realities that wreaked havoc with the weekend. For whatever reason, while in certain places in the city you have absolutely no cell phone reception at all. Whether the casinos plan it that way or not, I am not sure, but for a wedding that was practically being made up as it went along, it turned out to be a disaster. Instead of making changes aware to all of the scattered guests throughout the city, only a select few actually got the messages, the others were left voice mails that never made it to their phones.

After looking around after lunch and casually walking back to the Stratosphere, we got a frantic call from one of the bridal party asking where we were....apparently one of the voice mails that did not go through was in regards to the timetable being pushed up and everyone was needing to be ready to leave in the caravan in 30 minutes. We were still a good 2 miles away, so we had to take a shuttle from the Wynn to the nearest monorail site to catch the monorail to the Sahara and then from there back to the Stratosphere. We nearly ran from the monorail station to the hotel, only to find out once we arrived that even the Bride was not ready after the latest time table change, she was still on the strip getting hair and makeup done. So we were granted a few extra minutes to dash in, shower, iron my shirt, change and make it downstairs before the caravan was to leave the hotel. Amazingly, shortly thereafter everyone was in a vehicle and waiting for the motor home containing the bride, groom, and wedding party, photographer and minister to lead the way out of town and into the wilderness.

Vegas Wedding Continued

Details were still sketchy.....Originally everyone was to meet at a specified hotel location on the afternoon of the wedding and a caravan of cars would make the trek out into the desert and then there would be a wedding. Reception? Originally a downtown Las Vegas Casino reception was the plan - which sounded fun to those of us who enjoyed the older "Downtown" experience.

Several months before there was talk of a central hotel to house all the wedding guests with a special number that you gave when you made your reservation indicating you were with the wedding party. But that never materialized, and at the two month mark there was still no set hotel or plan for a hotel. At the one month mark, everyone began to just make their own arrangements and the first of many unfortunate realities of this wedding weekend came to the surface.

Apparently there were at least two if not more conventions going on in the city during that weekend. Many hotels were completely booked for the whole weekend, others had only one day available and with rooms at a premium, rates were going through the roof. Hotels with normal rates of $50 and $60 dollars a night were now $140 to $150 a night during this weekend...we all tried to get rooms at the same place, but that did not work.....the wedding attendees were scattered all over the strip and surrounding areas. Logistically this was a nightmare and trying to make plans that everyone could agree upon and work with became increasingly frustrating.

The second unfortunate, and unanticipated aspect of the weekend became apparent by Friday evening. After arriving in the early afternoon, the weather was gorgeous, sunny, not too hot, a nice breeze - perfect Vegas weather. By Friday night there was a shift in the forecast and the light breezes turned to gusty winds and the temps dropped dramatically.

Sin City Wedding

When I first heard that there was going to be a wedding in Las Vegas my mind immediately started to conjure up the images of the Vegas Weddings that I had read about and heard of over the years....the Britney Spears train wrecks, the Elvis Impersonator’s, the drive thru Chapels, and never having been to one...I was sort of looking forward to finding out which kind of Vegas wedding this might turn out to be.

Plans were sketchy from the get go, and so no one that was attending had any real idea of what these nuptials might actually turn out to be....lots of speculation and talk as the months rolled by...this was a very free spirited couple so with them it could be anything goes...

So a few months before the wedding I got my invitation...hand made...very pretty..having us mark the date and time and location......but imagine my surprise when I noted the location of the wedding....no Little White Chapel, no Drive Thru Ceremony, the location of the wedding was the Red Rock Canyon outside the city. The first in many surprises that awaited during the wedding weekend. What does one wear to a canyon wedding? Part two to follow.

Musical Memories - Vegas Style

I was in Las Vegas recently for a wedding. One evening we were at the Stratosphere gambling and the nightclub there POLLY ESTHERS was playing some great music....I was remembering days gone by and then this song came on. To me it was a window back to a great time in my life surrounded by fun and great music....hearing the song just made me smile and of course just want to dance...funny how some songs can always have that effect on you. Hope you enjoy it..maybe it will strike a chord in you.