Las Vegas - Post Wedding Cocktail Party- Advice needed

My boyfriend just popped the question and we'd like to get married in Vegas Oct 9th weekend. I had an idea to do a cocktail reception maybe outside poolside at a strip hotel..maybe Treasure Island or another similar. We may have 50+ guests. Am I crazy to even consider doing something like this?

I want a SUPER low key getting-hitched-and-come-if-you-can kind of thing, but Mom believes we should have a place to gather after to provide food and booze. If we end up getting married at a cheesy hotel chapel that would be fine as long as the gathering place is semi-decent.

Please advise. I need to get moving since I am flying to Bali next week for a long vacation and people are clamoring for a date to make bookings.

Thanks in advance!

You have around 1,000+ options.

There are wedding details from casual to lavish on almost all the major strip hotel websites.

TI wouldn't be my first choice, but that's purely subjective.

Maybe start HERE (http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/#Weddings/).

You certainly can plan such an outdoor party and the weather should be good for it. I would agree that the TI would not be my first choice: I'd look at the Wynn, Encore, Venentian, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio or Mirage first. I'd also consider a non-hotel choice: there is a golf club, the Bali Hai, on the south end of the strip (near Mandalay Bay) which has a very pretty clubhouse which does these type of events regularly. It's convenient and has a nice mix of indoor and outdoor space, and usually quite good food. We considered it for our own wedding reception and have hosted other events there.

Congratulations sugaree1 ^. As baccarat_king said there are many options in Vegas for what you would like to do. For an intimate wedding I suggest the Four Seasons (http://www.fourseasons.com/lasvegas/weddings/wedding_planning.html) and they should be able to accommodate a poolside reception.

This site has a great name but really not much in terms of information. However, it does list all the major properties in Vegas along with contact numbers so it is handy to have around as you conduct your search.

http://www.lasvegasreceptionsites.com/index.html

Thanks for your replies! Anything you can advise us on would be fantastic!

OK, so I have friends with money whose son got married recently here in Las Vegas. They are all from Illinois and invited anybody who wanted to come (not so surprisingly, about 30 people flew in from Illinois for the wedding).

They had their wedding at the Little Chapel (sort of across the street from Mandalay Bay) and, at my suggestion, following the ceremony (at 11:00 AM) they were looking for someplace to go. I suggested the lunch buffet at Mandalay Bay...it is pretty decent, not all that expensive (about $20+} and they were able to reserve an entire section in advance.

It was great - everyone was able to pick and choose food, the dad picked up the tab for the buffet and all alcohol drinks and people sat where they wanted to sit and ate as much or little as they wished. Nice view of the pool area. People mingled and came over to talk with bride and groom at leisure and, as my friend told me later, "It was a hell of a lot cheaper than if we had had the event catered at home, and the food was better too!" The bride and groom liked it as it was very low-key, everyone was happy, no big drama with seating, and plenty of time to talk with everyone.

Just a thought...depending on the time you get married, and day of the week, a good buffet at a nice hotel might not be a bad alternative.

(Plugging my website, I do list the buffets that are good, in case this sounds like something you might be interested in doing.)

OK, so I have friends with money whose son got married recently here in Las Vegas. They are all from Illinois and invited anybody who wanted to come (not so surprisingly, about 30 people flew in from Illinois for the wedding).

They had their wedding at the Little Chapel (sort of across the street from Mandalay Bay) and, at my suggestion, following the ceremony (at 11:00 AM) they were looking for someplace to go. I suggested the lunch buffet at Mandalay Bay...it is pretty decent, not all that expensive (about $20+} and they were able to reserve an entire section in advance.

So, shall we assume that the "friends with money" picked up the airfare and accommodations for the 30 guests who came into Vegas for the wedding? (so, they basically paid $$$ towards transportation and a vacation for the guests instead of cocktail parties etc.)

Otherwise, I'd be pretty upset if I paid to fly off to a destination wedding (and arrange my accommodations) just to be treated to a quick ceremony and a buffet lunch. ;)

IMHO, if you are having a destination wedding, in which guests need to spend $$$ to get to the wedding; it's probably a good idea to plan a 'bit more' than just a casino buffet for your guests. ;)

I would say at minimum, some sort of hospitality suite arrangement for a night (or two), a dinner or lunch, and possibly a brunch for your guests. Asking people who are NOT local to travel to a wedding is quite an expense; and the least one can do for the out of town guests is to provide a high level of hospitality. Of course, just my opinion.:D

Otherwise, I'd be pretty upset if I paid to fly off to a destination wedding (and arrange my accommodations) just to be treated to a quick ceremony and a buffet lunch. ;)


That's why they are "with money." @:-) :D :p :D

Otherwise, I'd be pretty upset if I paid to fly off to a destination wedding (and arrange my accommodations) just to be treated to a quick ceremony and a buffet lunch. ;)

IMHO, if you are having a destination wedding, in which guests need to spend $$$ to get to the wedding; it's probably a good idea to plan a 'bit more' than just a casino buffet for your guests. ;)



All good points, but the bride and groom planned the wedding and basically were just looking for a combo wedding/honeymoon location where they could also hang out with their friends and party. They pretty much invited everybody they hung out with at home. I believe bride's family paid for some of the airfares for relatives and family, but the rest came because - well - it was a party and it was Las Vegas. My friend (groom's dad) offered a nice wedding package and dinner at Four Seasons or Bellagio - but the kids thought that was "too stuffy".

All good points, but the bride and groom planned the wedding and basically were just looking for a combo wedding/honeymoon location where they could also hang out with their friends and party. They pretty much invited everybody they hung out with at home. I believe bride's family paid for some of the airfares for relatives and family, but the rest came because - well - it was a party and it was Las Vegas. My friend (groom's dad) offered a nice wedding package and dinner at Four Seasons or Bellagio - but the kids thought that was "too stuffy".

That's totally cool. ^ As long as they (bride/groom/parent's of the bride and/or groom) are picking up the majority of the tab for the 'partying' that's great. IMHO, it's not whether it's fancy, casual etc. --- if you INVITE guests to join you in celebrating an occasion @ a destination, you should expect to pick up a majority of the food and beverage expenses. Otherwise, it just seems a bit cheap to me. I've done these types of things before, and I bend over backwards, to make sure my 'guests' are very well taken care of. (and, of course, I make sure we never run out of Champagne in the hospitality suite!)

We decided to book at Cili at the Bali Hai per lvnvflyer's suggestion. The menu does indeed look nice and we are happy to have it sorted. Thanks to all! Now I must plan a Sunday brunch/lunch! Most guests are staying at or near the Venetian, so Wynn or Bellagio could work, but any other novel suggestions are most welcome. Thanks again.

You might consider a Tapas brunch at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. Randy Petersen hosted a lunch event for twenty that I attended, and they did a nice job. Location-wise, its close enough to the hotels you mentioned. It case easily handle the size of group you are considering, and isn't very busy before late afternoon.

http://www.cafebabareeba.com/vegas/

Congratulations sugaree1 and soon to be Mr. sugaree1!

IMHO, it's not whether it's fancy, casual etc. --- if you INVITE guests to join you in celebrating an occasion @ a destination, you should expect to pick up a majority of the food and beverage expenses. Otherwise, it just seems a bit cheap to me. I've done these types of things before, and I bend over backwards, to make sure my 'guests' are very well taken care of. (and, of course, I make sure we never run out of Champagne in the hospitality suite!)It's great that you bend over backwards to make it a great event. But I don't think that's required.

When people get married "locally", there are always some folks that are flying in from out of town. You don't set up stuff for those folks to do while they are visiting you.

As long as you're clear with the guests up front what you're going to be doing, I think it's perfectly acceptable. It's even better that it's Vegas, because then after the wedding you have tons of options on other places to go or things to do. I know I've spent way more time travelling to/from weddings than I have at the actual weddings/receptions themselves.

I know I wouldn't feel that the "host" is being cheap here. I think it's perfect for people that don't want it to be a big deal. People can choose to come or not. No pressure.

I guess what it boils down to here is that some folks feel like a host, some feel like an event planner :)