2012 Las Vegas, NV - Wedding Shopping

I am not a "wedding" kind of girl.  I never sat around and dreamed about my "big day". I feel like it's a complete waste of time and money.  The only thing I ever pictured about my wedding was eloping in Las Vegas wearing a very short white dress.  Tim feels like we have to have a "wedding" so I said, "ok then, it has to be in Vegas!"  So for the 2nd time in a year (making up for lost time) we headed to Vegas for 3 nights over Halloween weekend...except that mother nature had other ideas!

The Details:

Dates:10/27/13 - 11/1/13

Accommodations: THE Hotel

Trip Advisor Review: Click here for my review

Airline:United Airlines

Photo Album: Click here for my album

Getting There:
8 AM flight out of Dulles on a Saturday and it's surprisingly busy here.  We have a smooth non-stop flight to Vegas...too bad the return trip wouldn't turn out the same way!  We grab our bag and a taxi and head off to our hotel.  A teensy bit of confusion over the hotel name by the way.  Don't just say "we're going to the hotel at mandalay."  You have to say "we're going to THE hotel next to Mandalay." Otherwise the cabbie thinks you're just going to Mandalay and they have separate entrances. Oops.

THE Hotel:
After our last trip I got on a list for discounted rates at MGM Properties so that how we picked The Hotel. Ok this place is AWESOME!  It's a super tall "boutique" hotel on Mandalay Bay's property.  So it's like staying there but away from the regular riff-raff. Ha! The rooms are all suite and FANTASTIC!  Kinda nice have a separated living room from the bathroom b/c Tim and I always go to bed at different times from each other.  

We had a 30th floor room facing the Strip and you could NOT beat that view! However, every rose has its thorn and in this case Mix lounge is only  a few floors up on the opposite wing.  Guess what...they are open air and BLAST the music until the wee hours of the morning.  The first night we were exhausted and fell asleep quickly but around midnight I was jolted awake by the mega bass coming out of Mix and reverberating between buildings.  I was PISSED and called the front desk who of course did jack shit to address this.  We addressed it the next morning when we asked for a new room and were relocated to a mountain side room.  No problem sleeping the rest of the trip. 


Things We Saw/Did:

Day 1: The last time we were here we ate at Mizuya, the sushi bar and that was our first stop this trip.  As usual the sushi did not disappoint!  After lunch we took a stroll around Mandalay and tried to do a little pre-check of all the wedding facilities.  We walked outside and discovered a bull rider's paradise.  PBR was in town with some sort of bull riding competition at MGM and they set up a giant bull rider's park in the parking lot. We walked around just to see what there was to see and there were plenty of tight jeans and cowboy hats to be seen!


After lunch I got to do something I'd been waiting to do...watch NCAA Football in a Vegas sportsbook!  With my Penn State hat in hand we headed to the sports book at Mandalay and luckily found a seat.  Too bad the PSU game was on the teeniest, tiniest TV in the joint.  *sigh* Oh well, better than nothing!

After a tough loss we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.  We had a reservation at Wolfgang Puck's Lupo italian restaurant but before heading there we decided to check out Mix up on the top floor.  Wow, what a view!  Tim and I split an appetizer and had some drinks and just took in the view.

Off to Lupo for some Italian food.  As usual Wolfgang doesn't disappoint!

Tim's comicly long breadstick

I wish I had the stamina to go clubbing as it was Saturday night but after that early wake up call and 3 hour time difference it was just time for bed!  

Day 2:

After my shitty night's sleep we had to do the first of our wedding tours.  We walked over to MGM a little early b/c Tim LOVED the huevos rancheros he had at the Studio Cafe the last time we were in town so we had to go there again.  Again it does not disappoint!  We meet with the wedding office and tour around a bit. They had a very pretty ceremony location although the reception would be in a ballroom which didn't thrill Tim.  Unlike other ballrooms though one side of the room was wall to wall windows which was nice.  After our tour we walked the strip up to City Center and walked around Crystals a bit.  I almost bought some Jimmy Choos and then lost my nerve.  Oops.  We also hit up CVS for some snacks and drinks to keep in the room, yeah I know hotels hate that but so what!

Back at the hotel it's time to finally see the world famous Mandalay Bay pool.  Ahhhh relaxing!  We caught some late October sun despite forgetting the sunscreen. No worries!  

Dinner tonight is at Tao at the Venetian. Time to put the classy clothes on! Dinner is quite good and then we take a stroll through the Venetian and the Palazzo.  I promptly end up at a Tory Burch store and come THIS close to buying some shoes but sadly they didn't fit!

Day 3:

Wedding tour day and we had a full plate!  First up was a our Mandalay Tour where we saw the wedding chapel and ballroom.  We couldn't see the Valley of the Falls as there was currently a wedding going but I liked the indoor chapel itself.  We did NOT like the whole ballroom set up, nor did I really care for the staff at the wedding chapel. 

Next up was Cili restaurant at the Bali Hai golf club which is more or less next to Mandalay Bay.  We strolled over there and WOW.  What a beautiful place. We were in love!  Definitely my #1 choice at the moment.

We had a while until our appointment at the Mirage so we decided to go find the Valley of the Falls back at Mandalay.  Buuutttt on the way back over I get an email that our flight has been cancelled.  Greeeeat.  See, we had the misfortune of flying the same weekend as the arrival of Superstorm Sandy and even though it was still a day away from hitting the east coast, all the airlines freaked out and cancelled everything.  So now I'm having a mild panic attack b/c I have no idea when we're going to go home.  I guess there are worse places to get stuck? We decide to go back to the room and try to get on the phone with United to sort things out.  But first we see the Valley of the Falls and ummmm...THIS is a wedding spot? It's literally a little alcove off the entry gates on Las Vegas Blvd.  People will be walking through during our wedding, not to mention the ROAR of the waterfall will drown out EVERYTHING.  No go on that.  

Back in the room, my nerves are frayed as I sit on hold with United.  After about 15 minutes I get an operator and after a few "are you kidding? that won't work" options I get us a flight out on Thursday to Baltimore.  We'll figure out how to get back from BWI later. I just want a flight that gets us close to DC at this point.  So that means 2 extra nights in the hotel and possibly a night in baltimore b/c our flight gets in at like 1 am.  Ughhhhh.  Next we head downstairs and ask for the room for another 2 nights.  Luckily it's no problem and our rate even drops! Score!

Time to grab a cab up to the Mirage to tour their facilities.  They have great packages and a really cool poolside venue but literally it's outside at the pool or nothing. Hmmm, not sure about this one.

After our tour we tour the strip a little more as Tim has never been to TI or the Wynn.  We take the tram over to TI and see the craziest motorcycle ever on display in the lobby:

Off to the Wynn where we walk around a bit and then grab a bite to eat at ZooZoo Crackers.

We eventually make our way back to Mandalay and after the wedding tours and chaos with the flight being cancelled we are SPENT! We decide to just spend the night in b/c we have 2 extra nights here to amuse ourselves now.

Day 4:

At this point the east coast is being battered by Sandy but DC seems to be OK.  I'm still kinda worried about our house and how we're getting home from BWI but I try to enjoy myself as much as I can.  We try out the House of Blues for breakfast and note that it could make for an interesting wedding venue.  We find the manager and ask about their wedding availability and he tells us about the various rooms they have.  After breakfast we stroll around a bit in the shops and Tim stumbles upon the Peter Lik Gallery in the Shoppes at Mandalay.  He gets an education from the owner about the photos and then I stroll in and they tell me all about them too.  These things are pretty spectacular!  They look like paintings by the are photos on special paper.  They are also spectacularly expensive and even though I would love to have one, I am not spending a paycheck on one!

After that we decide today is another pool day although it's too chilly to actually get into the water! It's a beautiful day out though.

Over the last few days I notice all the happy hour specials being advertised so I get the brilliant idea that we need to do a happy hour bar crawl down the strip!  HH specials are a good deal for those unexpectedly paying for an extra few nights they didn't plan on!  First stop is Rice and Company in the Luxor.  Yep, sushi again.  We can't get enough!  Unfortunately our first stop takes nearly an hour thus greatly cutting into HH!  We hop on the tram to NY NY, walk through there and don't find any place we want to stop.  Hmm. Back outside and we walk thru Monte Carlo to the tram to City Center except we bypass City Center and head straight for the Bellagio.  We're not sure where we are going but as we walk through someone hands us 2 coupons for Hyde so we decide to check it out.  Wow. This place is awesome as it's an open air bar over looking the fountains.  We are seated on some white couches and then order some food and drinks.  The place is pretty empty but that's Ok with me!  The fountains start shooting off and I was in the prime spot for the best pics ever of the fountains.

At some point I notice that something is not quite right with the fountains. There's no music playing for one thing and then the finale seems to happen multiple times.  I chalk it up to it being a week night and maybe things are different?  At any rate the bar starts filling in.  There is some sort of car convention in town and their guys must be having some sort of gathering here.  I'm glad we got here when we did and have this couch spot b/c now it's standing room only.  I then here the fountain finale again and spot some motion out of the corner of my eye.  Someone is parachuting over the fountain onto Las Vegas Blvd!! WHAT?? I watch and watch for the inevitable police sirens and for that guy to be tossed in jail but they never come, so I go back to my wine.  Then this whole thing repeats and I see THREE parachutes! Ok what is going on here?!?!?  I quickly snap a picture.  I overhear a conversation at the next table and get wind of the fact that the Hangover 3 is filming in town and this is all for the movie! 

Check out the parachutes in the mist

So we decide it's getting too crowded not to mention to expensive to keep sitting here so we decide to move on.  No trip to Vegas is now complete without going to the Cosmopolitan.  I love the Chandelier bar in the casino so we stop and have a few drinks. Then the big pay off...oh yes, grabbing a slice at Secret Pizza up on the 3rd floor.  My trip is now complete!  We head back and decide we want to check out the Foundation Room.  It's on the top floor of Mandalay and you literally have to walk through velvet ropes to get to the dedicated elevator up there.  Apparently you have to be a member or be invited by one or some BS like that to get in there but we tell the bouncer we want to check it out as a possibility for our wedding and they let us up.  It's cool and had a great view but is also a maze of hidden rooms off of completely pitch black hallways, which I totally don't get!  We decide to skip drinks and just go back to the room to go to bed.

Day 5:

Yeah I'm getting a little tire of being here but what are you gonna do? Lather, rinse, repeat.  Some food, some pool, some walking around. I also finally check out the giant bathtub with the LCD tv!  I also manage to figure out a way home by way of the Super Shuttle service.  Gonna cost us as much as another night in a hotel room but I would rather endure the 70 minute drive at 1 am over getting a hotel room and having my poor dad drive all the way to BWI to get us.  

We really feel like we are running out of stuff to do even though it's Vegas.  I guess we didn't totally make the most of our extra time here.  Usually we come and can't fit everything in and here was our chance and we don't feel like spending extra money though to do activities b/c of the extra money we're already spending.

Dinner tonight is at Red Square and it was really tasty! I really liked the ambiance in there as well.  We call the night early and head to bed with dreams of finally getting home!

Day 6: 

YAY we are going home!  It's going to be a very long day but the end is in sight.  We grab breakfast at the buffet (ugh) and then head towards check out.  We have a little time on our hands and take some pics of the awesome aquarium in the lobby.

Well we are off!  We head to the airport which is practically across the street and promptly hit a traffic jam. Um what?  Apparently President Obama has made a campaign stop here and his motorcade is tying up traffic.  I come all the way from DC where I get stuck in these regularly to get stuck in one in Vegas?  The stop is brief...10 minutes but of course the meter is running and of course I'm wary of any delays b/c getting another flight back any time soon would probably take an act of god.  We get in and checked in and thru security with time to spare, only to see our flight is delayed by about 20 minutes.  DELAYED?!?! We have a connection to make in Denver. ARRRRGH.  The plane finally arrives with enough time to spare but then the gate people come on the PA to announce that we need to board quickly b/c if Obama comes back while we're trying to board we will be delayed b/c the entire airport has to stop what it's doing to get his flight out.  OMG.  Ok so we get on the plane and it starts rolling in the nick of time.  PHEW!  We get to Denver and walk what seems like FOREVER to our gate and Tim announces he wants dinner. I point out that even though our flight leaves in 45 minutes they are going to board like now.  He doesn't believe me but stays put for a minute or two and then...a ha! Boarding! So we really did make it to our connection in the nick of time.  Unfortunately it means we have to buy airplane food to eat.  Oh well.  I don't care at this point!  We finally get to BWI, get our luggage, check in for our shuttle and finally get on the damn thing.  It's late now, very, very late. It's even LATER when we finally arrive at our door.  Maybe close to 3 am??  Time for bed and time to put this trip behind us!!

So we didn't end up going with any of the Vegas options which really breaks my heart.  Everything was either affordable but not that nice or just as expensive as DC.  We want to keep looking around.