Okay, you’ve done the pre-planning for your Vegas wedding as suggested in part one of our guide.
You’ve got a date, a budget, and a wedding guest list (now if they’d only send their RSVPs!) You’re deep in the thick of planning, and are eating, breathing and living Las Vegas weddings. So, what’s next?
Here are some of the things you may not have considered, or no one may have mentioned to you about planning the Vegas wedding of your dreams…
Make Your Guests Comfortable
Create or purchase wedding welcome bags or “Vegas wedding emergency kits” to orient and welcome your wedding guests to the city. Keep an updated wedding website or wedding app (Vegas-ified, naturally) with detailed information and maps to where they need to be and at what time.
Hold a meet and greet for all your guests to mingle, in a suite or at a bar. Consider providing transportation, especially if your wedding is a little off Strip, where most of the guests are likely to stay.
Get Help! Consider a Planner
Destination weddings are amazing but they can also involve way more work than you might imagine, even for a small wedding. Organizing vendor deliveries, times, wedding party members and helping people navigate a city that might be new to them is challenge, on top of the stress of the wedding itself. And everyone will turn to you for answers.
A wedding planner or co-ordinator will take the load off, and use their substantial knowledge on the Vegas wedding scene to help everything go off smoothly and as you had imagined.
Take Photography Seriously
Some people are perfectly happy with their chapel-assigned photographer. And although the vows are important, there are so many other events around the ceremony you might want to capture, like getting ready, the crazy reception and the details of the day. Las Vegas is packed to the rafters with amaze-balls, rockin’ wedding photographers (e.g.:Â check out the photographer directory!) so use them, if only to do a day after wedding shoot.
Related posts that might help:
- How To: Do a Wedding Photo Tour of The Strip
- Mega List of Memorable Spots for Unique Wedding Photos in Las Vegas
When Choosing Vendors…
Know that nearly every vendor in Las Vegas will deliver their product, or themselves, to you either as an included service or for a small fee. Hair and makeup artists. Cupcake and dessert delivery. Florals. Food. Alcohol. People. Documents. And if they don’t, someone else will. It’s a town of convenience!
What to Wear?
Sin City loves a woman in wedding attire. And even if your dress isn’t white, somehow people know that you just got hitched. Must be the glow. (Or the photographer trailing you!)
From funky vintage style to more traditional bridal looks, regardless of what you choose, you will get attention everywhere you go in your wedding attire, so choose something that makes you happy. If you can’t decide, get a dress for the after party or reception and change out of your ceremony gown. We keep a board on Pinterest updated with unconventional little white dresses perfect for this occasion!
Take things like the desert heat and travelling with your gown into consideration. Most airlines will allow you to carry on your gown, but check before you fly! And keep in mind you may need to walk through some huge casinos and will likely dance the night away, so keep those shoes comfy!
Personalize, Personalize, Personalize!
Yes, chapel wedding packages are easy and economical. But, they can also be cookie cutter and lack personality. Don’t be afraid to customize your wedding day.
Some chapels will allow you to request a specific wedding officiant, so don’t be afraid to personalize this part of your wedding day. A wedding officiant you choose is more likely to work with you to find vows that are personal and more meaningful, even for shorter ceremonies. It may just be 15 minutes out of a day packed full of fun, adventure and memories, but don’t shirk the importance and words in those short 15 minutes!
The same goes with other vendors – there may be small outside vendor fees, but it might really be worth it if you have your heart set on a particular florist, musician or photographer.
More About that Desert
Las Vegas is dry. Very dry. And hot. VERY HOT. This could impact your beauty routine and makeup and hair styles, so plan accordingly and stay hydrated before your trip. Makeup artist Amelia C shared some of her summer wedding makeup tips with us, and here are some general tips on keeping your cool at your Vegas wedding, especially if you are having a ceremony May through September.
Keeping It Legal
You can get the ball rolling on your marriage license up to 60 days before your wedding date with a pre-application, but both of you must apply in person with ID at a marriage license bureau when you arrive in Las Vegas. Pre-applying will simply allow you to go to the express window and get in and out faster.
Be sure to check with your home country to see what you need to bring back with you to prove your marriage in Las Vegas was legal. You may need one or all of the following, depending on where you are coming from: a certified copy of your marriage certificate, an authentication or an apostille.
Check with your officiant to guide you along the process of getting one. Apostilles are seals used on documents such as marriage licenses as proof of authentication by the government where the documents originated and are required by countries who abide the Hague Convention.
Over 90 countries require apostilles including the U.K., Germany, Spain, Russian Federation, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. See here for a more comprehensive list of participating countries.