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.