Congratulations! You’re engaged, and about to embark on one of the biggest adventures of your life including planning your wedding. The process can be extremely overwhelming. From deciding on a budget, choosing your wedding party, picking out a dress, not to mention interviewing dozens of wedding vendors and suppliers. Most couples take a year or even longer to plan their perfect wedding day. When the day arrives, and thousands of dollars have been spent, you then constantly worry about something going wrong, and if something does ruin the day, it’s hard to come back from. After helping to plan and coordinate over 250 weddings, I love the idea of simplifying, and having a destination wedding. Depending on where you go, they save time, money, and your sanity, but you can still have everything you’ve always dreamed of. 1. Wedding Packages for Every Budget Let’s start with what’s bringing you to Las Vegas in the first place. YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED! As someone who has helped plan and execute over 300 weddings, I have seen every type of wedding you can imagine. From elopements, to massive black tie affairs. No matter what type of wedding you’re dreaming of, they all take a lot of careful planning and execution to make sure you have the day you’ve always dreamed of, and also to ensure you get the services for the money you’re spending. Las Vegas has 120,000 weddings per year. Because of this, they are not only the most experienced wedding professionals in the country, but they’ve mastered the planning process, and can accommodate any request, no matter how big or small. Most couples take at least a year to plan their perfect event. You need to set a budget, tour ceremony and reception venues, interview vendors, determine your wedding colors and style, choose your bridal party, create a guest list, find the perfect caterer, and the list goes on and on…. What’s great about planning your wedding in Vegas, is you can still have the exact wedding you want, within your budget, and almost everything can be planned with one point of contact. You’re not meeting with several different vendors, and signing multiple contracts with thousands of dollars out of pocket for deposits to secure your date and services. The same venue you have your ceremony, has a master florist, an amazing pastry chef, a grand ballroom, or intimate five star restaurant, and of course can help arrange travel for you and your wedding party. Also check out “Getting Married in Las Vegas” for a lot more detailed information. 2. Las Vegas is Budget Friendly For Your Guests The city of Las Vegas has over 40 million visitors every year and because of this airlines offer great fares to this magnificent city to get their piece of the Vegas pie. Although you can usually find some great deals to Las Vegas on the major airlines if you’re travelling during the week, some other great carriers to use are: Southwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Air, Jet Blue, Virgin Atlantic and Allegiant Air. I personally just purchased two direct, round trip flights to Las Vegas from Charlotte, for only $168 from Frontier Airlines. This is crazy cheap, and sales like this are easy to find. Once you get to Las Vegas, your guests have 150,000 hotel rooms to choose from the Excalibur to the Wynn, your guests can spend as much, or as little as they’d like, and they can choose from a basic room, to one with a view, all the way up to a massive suite with their own personal butler. If you can dream it, Vegas has it! No matter where your group stays, they’re only a short cab ride, walk, tram, or bus ride away from the wedding festivities, and all everything Las Vegas has to offer. Whether you’ve been to Las Vegas 100 times, or if it’s your first time to Sin City, everyone loves the plethora of free entertainment and musings this city has to offer. From the Bellagio’s dancing fountains, the pirate show at TI, or the opulence of the Venetian, you can fill your days being entertained and awe struck without spending a penny. Make sure to check out our “Free Vegas Entertainment Guide” to see everything. It’s safe to say that your wedding guests could travel to Las Vegas for less than their monthly “eating out” bill, and not only attend your wedding, but have an experience they’ll never forget. 3. It's Not All About Elvis When people think of weddings in Las Vegas, the first image that comes to mind is a cheesy white chapel and Elvis in a bedazzled white jumpsuit officiating your vows. If you’re a big Elvis fan, this could be perfect for you, but what’s amazing about Las Vegas is that if you can imagine it, there is a venue in Las Vegas that can provide it. From opulent ballrooms, natural wonders, outdoor gardens, shark reefs, spectacular views, and so much more. You can have a traditional wedding ceremony and reception, an intimate affair with just close family and friends, an elopement, or go as wild and crazy as you’d like. Almost every large resort in Las Vegas has multiple wedding venue sites that you can reserve in additional to all the independent chapels. The number of options is literally endless. Check out our amazing “Las Vegas Venue Guide” to see all this city has to offer. 4. Entertainment Galore My favorite thing about Las Vegas is all of the attractions and experiences you can have without spending a penny. From the fountains and conservatory at the Bellagio, the pirate show at TI, touring Venice Italy, or Paris France, roaming through the rain forest at the Mirage, watching the animation show at Caesars Palace, or touring the opulent and themed hotels that run up and down the strip, there is literally an endless amount of things to see and do. Hit the theater and see amazing shows like The Blue Man Group, Jabbawockeez, Cirque Du Soleil, or even Magic Mike. There are over 100 different shows on the Las Vegas strip, not including the many tours and concerts that come to Vegas throughout the year. No matter what your budget, or interest, there is a show for everyone, and something that should be on every Vegas itinerary. Want more of an adrenaline rush? Zip line at “Fly Linq” sky jump off the Stratosphere, or punch your ticket on the “Big Apple Coaster”, “Insanity”, the “Big Shot”, or “X-Scream.” There isn’t a shortage of thrill rides, and the ones listed are just on the strip. Grab an Uber and head to the desert to race dune buggies, test your driving skills at the Nascar racing experience, or take a helicopter tour of the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. If you’re not into jumping off high buildings, or flying through the air, you can also check out some of Las Vegas’s amazing museums. View installations at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, or learn some of the fun history of Las Vegas at the Mob Museum. Hob knob with the stars at Madame Tussauds wax museum, or my favorite, tour the Neon Museum and see all the signs of Las Vegas’s past. For a complete list of everything entertainment Las Vegas has to offer, check out our Las Vegas Entertainment Guide for all your options. 5. Restaurant Capital of the World The restaurant scene in Las Vegas is one of the best in the world…. according to me. From simple hot dog stands, to decadent buffets, themed restaurants, and Michelin Star dining, there are more places you’ll want to eat than you’ll have time for. Although the celebrity chefs such as Gordan Ramsay, and Giada may be the most popular with the masses (and their restaurants are amazing) make sure you check out some of the other amazing chefs in Las Vegas as well. Although you may not know them on a first name basis, their food is equally amazing. You can also try every type of food imaginable and immerse yourself in other cultures. Treat yourself to one of Las Vegas’s famous buffets (try The Wicked Spoon, or Aria) and taste food from all around the world. Want a dining experience with a view? Make reservations at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, a lakeside dining experience at the Bellagio, or dine at the Top of the World Restaurant at the Stratosphere. If you’re just looking for drinks, jump on the Linq to experience spectacular views, and great beverages. As always, check out our Las Vegas Restaurant Guide to see all your dining options. You can sort by price, location, or cuisine. 6. Most Experienced Wedding Professionals In The Industry As was touched on earlier, the professionals who help you plan your wedding in Las Vegas are the most experienced in the industry. Not only do they execute 120,000 weddings per year, most large facilities will host several weddings per day, with multiple ceremony and reception spaces. One of my favorite sayings is “you don’t know what you don’t know.” I use that a lot wedding planning because for almost all couples, they’ve never planned a wedding before. There are so many great resources available, but almost all couples stick to the big topics, and forget to get into all the minutiae that comes with actually making sure the wedding is executed flawlessly. It’s easy to focus on the perfect dress, and playlist, as well as selecting the best menu, and you may forget to figure out who is executing your timeline, and dismissing tables for dinner, packing your wedding gifts into your car. But, for the professions, this is what they’re paid to do. Don’t underestimate the value of planner. These professionals are also experts in Las Vegas, and can let you know of the perfect restaurant or show for your group, help you book the perfect honeymoon suite, a helicopter tour of the strip, and your photographer knows all the perfect spaces with just the right lighting as they shoot in the same places every day. They have literally mastered this process. 7. Easy to Plan. Zero Stress There are entire books, websites, blogs, and podcasts devoted to wedding planning. Purchase a planner? It’s usually a huge binder divided into sections with checklists, forms, budgets, and color schemes. When planning your wedding, you reach hundreds of decision points from location, to style, vendor selection, colors, floral arrangements and menu options. Most of the time every single major decision also comes with a separate vendor, and another contract to sign, and deposit to pay. When planning your wedding in Vegas, most venues offer packages, and it’s more like online shopping where they put every decision point in front of you and everything is included. Want to upgrade? They can do that to. The wedding professionals in Las Vegas have everything covered from ceremony & reception sites, flowers, music, wedding cake, hotel rooms, catering, entertainment, and more. Breeze through you checklists and enjoy the process while focusing on the parts you enjoy the most, and letting the pros handle everything else. 8. Amazing Wedding Photos Las Vegas is magical. From the first trip I took, I was completely transfixed with its energy, versatility, and over the top details. From lush garden landscapes, sandy beaches, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, rain forest, shark reefs, conservatories, fancy cars, and much more, you can have the wedding photos of your dreams. When choosing your wedding package, it’s a great idea to purchase extra time with your photographer so you can make it to multiple locations for your photos. Check out these amazing wedding photos from Las Vegas 9. Party Before the Wedding, & Keep the Party Going After Depending on the size of your wedding entourage, you don’t necessarily need to book private spaces for your wedding activities. Not only does this give you a lot more options, it saves on the budget! From the hundreds of clubs and restaurants in Las Vegas to amazing pool parties and shows you can customize your wedding trip to exactly what you’re looking for. Look at different venues for the following celebrations. Bachelor Party Bachelorette Party Arrival Party Rehearsal Dinner Reception Dinner Reception Dancing/Party Pre Wedding Breakfast/Brunch Post Wedding Breakfast Brunch 10. It's About the Marriage. Not the Wedding This is the one that hits closest to home for me. Because it doesn’t matter if you get married in a courthouse, in a barn, on a cliff overlooking the ocean, a grand ballroom covered in flowers, with a hundred people in attendance, or just two. The MOST important things about your wedding day should be your marriage. You should be focusing on the person you’re locking arms with for the rest of eternity, your ride or die, your partner in crime, your promise to each other. Too much of getting engaged and married is focused on the party, and the dress, and the perfect food, and wanting “your day” to be beautiful and impressing those who are invited. I promise you that in the end, none of that matters. Instead focus on creating lasting memories that you can draw from in your future together. Vegas will always be your happy place. In essence, planning a wedding in Vegas can help you focus on what’s really important without spending endless hours on Pinterest, or thousands of dollars on flower arrangements that last only hours. Put your money into things that will last a lifetime.
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