A Question - Vegas wedding this September

[SheikYerbouti]

Hey everybody, a genuine question about getting married in Las Vegas! Andrea and I are looking to get married in September, possibly right around Labor Day. We plan on staying at Fitzgeralds again as they have been very generous with their room offers (we've received a couple more since our trip in January) and staying downtown is so much fun. We were looking at doing the wedding and reception at Fitz but their guest minimum is 25 people and we will just have a few close friends and family members, probably no more than 12 people so we'll probably do it at a cheesy little wedding chapel. Most of the people will be staying at Fitz and I guess what I'm wondering is; who would we talk to about getting some kind of group rate on the rooms and/or some kind of reception meal? Seeing as how we will be brining them several potential customers they must be willing to cut us some kind of deal, right?
Excuse my ignorance, but it's my first wedding! :D

Thanks for any advice!

[vegasbound]

For our wedding, we had 80 guests fly in from Chicago, I tried everyway possible to find them the best hotel rates and airfare. Bottom line - the cheapest way was to have everyone book individually on the internet.

I called for room blocks (most places need a minimum of 10 rooms) and they would give discounts, but couldn't compare to rates found online.

I tried group rates with the airlines, as well. Had to book minimum of 10 people all on the same flight to qualify for discounts. I was quoted $100 above the fares offered on the airlines websites.

Most restaurants and a few buffets will be able to accommodate your party size. To make arrangements, locate the phone number and when calling ask for the manager to discuss available options. No discounts to be had with receptions either.

I'd suggest calling the Fitz, speak to someone in group sales. You may have better luck that I did getting cheaper rates, because I was pricing the strip hotels.

Good luck with your plans and Congrats! on your upcoming wedding.

[DonD]

Surprisingly, group rates are not that good in Las Vegas. I asked a pit boss one time and he told me that when groups come in they do not gamble as much because of sitting at the bar, having drinks in the room, etc. When people come alone, they gamble MUCH more.
The Plaza has a nice small chapel. We were married there about six years ago and no complaints.

[HoyaHeel]

I agree with all the posts so far and would add--try some of the nicer gourmet restaurants downtown for a reception. Maybe you could get a suite at the Fitz and do some informal stuff there--gathering before the wedding (or, get two suites--your own, and have the best man or parents get another suite and use THAT one as the hospitality suite--so that you always have your private escape ;) )

[SheikYerbouti]

Thanks very much for the suggestions everyone. That makes sense about people in groups gambling less, I never thought of it that way. I'll check with Fitz anyway but even so, staying downtown after Labor Day will be cheap regardless. I'll have to look at information on the Plaza wedding chapel. Having the ceremony downtown would make more sense than making everyone go down to the Strip.

I was thinking of The "World Famous" Chapel of the Bells on the Strip. (near the Strat and Sahara). It's got all that neon out front! And hey, if it was good enough for Ernest Borgnine to get married there then it's good enough for us! smile.gif

[ken2v]

Sheik ...

I've organized several Vegas getaways using the sales folks and a block of rooms. On the plus side of the ledger, your guests know what they'll get and for how much, and you can save some money. On the other side, hotels vary on what minimum room-count they want, you might have a guaranteee you need to meet, the pricing isn't always the best available and you are locked in. You're doing the right thing by calling and asking, then compare against what you can find using more typical routes.

The Plaza has the only in-casino chapel downtown. It looks like what you'd expect from the Plaza. I've not been over to see it first-hand yet, but downtown staple Wee Kirk o' the Heather is scheduled to be razed and replaced by a brand new Candlelight Wedding Chapel patterned after the now defunct Candlelight that was next to the Riv for eons. I'm going to check out the progress during my next trip in a few weeks.

There are a couple really crappy little chapels w/i walking distance of FSE. Uck.

Congrats.

[garyho222]

Don't know if you're interested in the strip at all but we just booked a private room for a 12 person reception at the Venetian. E-mail me if you 'd like what I learned about calling around to strip hotels.

[Sonya]

Sorry I almost missed this one! I looked around at a lot of things when I was talking about getting married in Vegas. I never had much luck getting a decent discount for group bookings of rooms. Maybe because I was already calling about wedding stuff they blew me off. Dunno. I just haven't gotten a lot of response in the past when I'm talking about less than 10-15 rooms at a time. No better deal than I could get by shopping around the broker services like those offered here.

I did have great luck talking to the restaurants. We were going to have about 20-25 people, maximum. I had hoped that it would be under 20 but we were looking for larger "just in case".

Almost all the hotels had a couple of restaurants that could accomodate a group for dinner. Some offered the regular menu for groups our size, but most offered a condensed menu available for the evening. I'd suggest picking a couple of your favorite restaurants, or ones I'm sure people will recommend here in the restaurants section. Call and ask them if they have a room that can accomodate your party and go from there.

Some that I dealt with that stood out in my mind:

China Grill - Mandalay Bay
House of Blues - Mandalay Bay
Mon Ami Gabi - Paris

I think that we were down to those three when we decided to marry alone here in Washington instead.

[rwhockeygirl]

I got married at the Rio in June and I let everyone get their own rooms. Everyone has thier own tastes and budgets so let them do what they want. It is stressful enough to have to worry about everyone else. We had 65 at ours and had dinner at the Voodoo Cafe on the 51st floor of the Rio. It was $100 per person which included 3 hours of drinks and dinner that was awesome. Was not really in our budget but I figured that everyone spent at least a grand to come to our wedding so I at least wanted a great dinner for everyone. We were going to do Mandalay Bay but did not get much for our money. If you want some good research and planning help check out the knot.com. Go under local guide under Las Vegas and go to the message boards. It saved me and I got alot of advice and info from it. Good luck and Congrats to you! I am going to Vegas in 3 weeks and cant wait!!!!

[Jer]

Man, on the off chance I ever get married again, it will be in Vegas...

But thats a slim to none chance...

[ken2v]

Well, Jer, if slim/none turns into highly likely ... ;)

[vegasbride2003]

we had a blast getting married in las vegas!

[WhereToNext?]

Originally posted by vegasbride2003:
we had a blast getting married in las vegas! We got married in Vegas six months ago and loved it! We're heading back this weekend to celebrate some more. graemlins/wiggle.gif

[ken2v]

Nearly 3.5 million couples can't be wrong. OK, Rodman, the bimbo and Mickey Rooney's seven intro marriages will skew the tally.