Reviews
I am not going to bother with grades. All of my vendors were A+'s. There were a few hiccups along the way but nothing that was a big deal. I feel blessed to have had these great folks around me. I cannot thank them enough. The best I can do is recommend them to you so that you may decide to use them for your own events or weddings.
Golden Nugget-Ceremony and Reception Venue, Hotel Rooms, RD, After Party, Day After Cabanas
I cannot say enough about the Golden Nugget. We got so much more bang for our buck. Many of our guests are still talking about the great rooms (even those that claimed to be staying in "steerage." Our suite was so awesome and a steal at $309/night. It was two stories of windows and awesomeness. Bar, spiral staircase, jacuzzi tub, steam shower, 2 and a half baths, 2 story windows, a secret entrance on the top floor. Awesome.
Our Coordinator/banquet manager was Silke Hunt. I have heard some brides complain of lack of communication from their coordinators. Not with Silke. She was on it. She answered all my questions and was there the day of to make sure that everything went as planned. She is beyond great. I would definitely use her again for planning any event at the GN. In fact, there are rumors of my 40th b-day being there in March. I wouldn't be disappointed! There were so many people that were helpful to us. Tina Adkins in group sales made sure everything went according to plan with my room blocks and helped me upgrade my parents to a suite and pay in advance. Note-anyone who books a suite can check in via VIP check in.
The cabanas, Rush Lounge, Gold Diggers, Vic & Anthony's were also all fantastic. No complaints. The wedding food and cake were all delicious.
Our Coordinator/banquet manager was Silke Hunt. I have heard some brides complain of lack of communication from their coordinators. Not with Silke. She was on it. She answered all my questions and was there the day of to make sure that everything went as planned. She is beyond great. I would definitely use her again for planning any event at the GN. In fact, there are rumors of my 40th b-day being there in March. I wouldn't be disappointed! There were so many people that were helpful to us. Tina Adkins in group sales made sure everything went according to plan with my room blocks and helped me upgrade my parents to a suite and pay in advance. Note-anyone who books a suite can check in via VIP check in.
The cabanas, Rush Lounge, Gold Diggers, Vic & Anthony's were also all fantastic. No complaints. The wedding food and cake were all delicious.
Classic Entertainment-RD Grooms Cake and Piano Player
I used Classic Entertainment for my piano man and for my grooms cake. I am not local to Vegas and needed a local to do some legwork for me to find a baker who would do an armadillo cake for less than $200 and Cynthia did just that.
She found a bakery at Albertsons of all places that did an awesome armadillo cake for SIXTY FIVE DOLLARS. Incredible. The cake was SO good and I even loved the frosting. It tasted like marshmallows. I ate one of his ears. Cynthia also helped me arrange for Mike Shane who was our piano player. He did a fantastic song and did all of our favorite songs just as requested. Thankfully, the sing along table was closest to him so they were able to get their sing on. It was great. Cynthia is fantastic and I cannot recommend her enough so give her a shout if you need some help with live music. She has her ear to the ground and knows all kinds of people. Apparently, she knows cake makers too. I would have never found my armadillo without her.
She found a bakery at Albertsons of all places that did an awesome armadillo cake for SIXTY FIVE DOLLARS. Incredible. The cake was SO good and I even loved the frosting. It tasted like marshmallows. I ate one of his ears. Cynthia also helped me arrange for Mike Shane who was our piano player. He did a fantastic song and did all of our favorite songs just as requested. Thankfully, the sing along table was closest to him so they were able to get their sing on. It was great. Cynthia is fantastic and I cannot recommend her enough so give her a shout if you need some help with live music. She has her ear to the ground and knows all kinds of people. Apparently, she knows cake makers too. I would have never found my armadillo without her.
Travis Allen-RD Elvis
What can I say about Travis that hasn't already been said? He looks like Elvis; he sounds like Elvis; he moves like Elvis. Our guests loved him! We snuck him in through the second floor entrance and then introduced him so he could make a grand entrance down the stairs. It was awesome. He did a great job. If you have the budget, I insist you add Travis. I think we will try to figure out a way to work him into every Las Vegas party we have from here on out. I have heard that some people had issues getting in touch with him. I had no such issues. I sent GK my song requests and Travis buzzed me the morning of to go through the night. Easy peezy. He's just phenomenal.
Masterpiece Cuisine-RD Food
As always, there was way too much food but it was so good. We had tons of leftovers, which we packaged up and gave to some homeless folks we found. See my menu to see what all we had. They were on time and set up well in advance. Clean up was a breeze and they had no trouble getting set up. She had gone to the wrong tower originally but she eventually found us. No big deal. The food stayed hot and the Bunsen burners were alive for a good 3-4 hours. Everything worked out perfectly. MC is totally the way to go for an in-suite event. I would recommend buying or packing large green trash bags though. So convenient for clean up. I bundled it up, called housekeeping and was on my way to a quiet jacuzzi tub for the ending of my last night as a single lady.
DJays Entertainment-Ceremony and Reception Music
It was super easy to deal with the DJ team at DJays. We worked with the owner, Jeremy. He had been sick the week leading up to the wedding but still showed up on time. He worked with Mike Shane on breaks and the grand entrance and coordinated with Silke for the ceremony. He didn't have our first dance song but I emailed an mp4 and he confirmed it right there on the phone.
The only "complaint" I have is that he played the wrong song for our cake cutting. We had requested "Pure Imagination" from the original Willy Wonka soundtrack. He played some other song, but we recognized that it was Willy Wonka so we headed to the cake. And I am sure the only people that would have recognized the other song were the same ones who shouted, "Snozberry? What's a snozberry?" He did a great job of playing the songs that we had requested and balancing those with the songs that were requested by our people.
And, yes, I did attempt the worm but found that as I moved forward, my dress did not. Breakdancing fail.
The only "complaint" I have is that he played the wrong song for our cake cutting. We had requested "Pure Imagination" from the original Willy Wonka soundtrack. He played some other song, but we recognized that it was Willy Wonka so we headed to the cake. And I am sure the only people that would have recognized the other song were the same ones who shouted, "Snozberry? What's a snozberry?" He did a great job of playing the songs that we had requested and balancing those with the songs that were requested by our people.
And, yes, I did attempt the worm but found that as I moved forward, my dress did not. Breakdancing fail.
Deacon Tyler-Photographer
Ahh, Deacon, I am withholding your review until you release my pictures. We had a great time shooting with DT and can't wait for our trash the dress with him in December. He's open to shooting just about anywhere...except the tables. They definitely have an aversion to shooting at the table games without the pit boss' permission. It was a moot point because all the craps tables were packed so we couldn't squeeze in anyway. We shot just about everywhere else around the casino, on the street and in one dirty alley. I am tres excited for the alley pics.
Reverend Peter Billitteri-Officiant
When Silke makes a recommendation, you take it and we are so glad that we did. Reverend Peter was fantastic. His ceremony was perfect. He can do anything from civil to religious to Catholic. We wanted civil and he did that for us. There was a reading but it wasn't presented as a Christian Bible verse and was lovely. His fee was $125 so he is completely affordable. He will dress exactly how you want to, with vestments and collar, mixed or without. Looking for an officiant? Consider Reverend Peter. He'll make you and your people cry. Fantastic.
We Luv Flowers-Florist
Faith over at We Luv Flowers is great. They are the flower vendor for the Golden Nugget so we had to use her for ceremony flowers but we opted to use her for our reception as well. We think that they did a great job. She is totally off the beaten path but if you are pricing vendors, We Luv Flowers should definitely be one of your three. I think that we got some beautiful arrangements. The gigantic side arrangements in the black vases were my favorites. She was easy to work with and fun to meet with when we went there in person. I don't think you can go wrong with We Luv Flowers.
Francesca Lombardo-Hair and Makeup
Francesca is just as amazing as everyone says. She did a phenomenal job on my hair and makeup as well as that of four bridesmaids and two last minute ladies. She is very much a perfectionist. Her assistant had done my sister's hair and it is extremely thick but she used only hair pins to hold it up. Twenty minutes later it was falling down so Francesca personally redid it. And it was gorgeous. Everyone was breathtaking. I especially loved my hair.
The girls all loved their hair and makeup. I can't thank Francesca enough.
The girls all loved their hair and makeup. I can't thank Francesca enough.
