Ever thought of ending your honeymoon with a wedding? Today’s newlyweds did just that, marrying after an around-the-world trip together! Stuart and Debbie travelled through several countries in southeast Asia as well as China, Australia, Fiji and a large chunk of America in 2013 and 2014, making Las Vegas their final stop to get married before heading home, alongside 18 friends and family members who joined them.
The most amazing thing to me is that their wedding was planned almost completely from the road and decorated with little items collected from their journey! Brilliant Imagery joined up with the pair just following their ceremony at Flamingo and before their restaurant reception, photographing the dinner and ensuing celebration around Las Vegas in their massive party bus! Read on for Stuart and Debbie’s wedding day details…
The Ceremony – West Lawn at Flamingo Hotel and Casino
We chose to have our ceremony at Flamingo on the West Lawn because it was a beautiful outdoors setting with a lovely white wooden gazebo and lots of garden flowers. It reminded me of home amongst a crazy setting! The staff at the Flamingo were fantastic and very efficient and made our whole experience easy. Hannah, my best friend since I was 4-years-old, was my bridesmaid & our 4-year-old nephew William was our pageboy and he held a sign saying “Uncle Stuey here comes your bride” when he walked before me. I walked down the aisle (a brick path!) to “At Last” by Etta James, a little joke on Stu because we have been together for 12 years!
The parasol Debbie is holding was one of the souvenirs collected on their global trek — it was purchased at the Great Wall of China!
The heart flower-patterned fan? You guessed it, another souvenir, this time from Thailand.
The Reception – Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas
After our ceremony none of our guests, other than our best man, knew a thing about our reception, which kept it more exciting for us! Our reception dinner was at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris, we had a lovely small private room looking out towards the Bellagio fountains. We chose to have a cheese board served as soon as we arrived along with a French cocktail. Cheese is my favourite food and I am always too full at the end of a meal to eat it, so I decided to have this served first! Followed was a three course menu with plenty of wine for the girls & beer for the boys!
Before dessert was served we had our speeches, with words from my Mum and a lovely poem on marriage, a moving speech from Stuart and an amazing speech from our best man Darryl. He even performed a song he wrote on an acoustic guitar as a surprise! He had hid the guitar behind a curtain to keep it a secret from us.
DIY and handmade touches:
Our theme was 1930’s vintage, with blush pink & golds as our colours. I made all our place setting cards with pink tassels and I did all our flowers for the two reception tables. My Mum made me a book with messages from home and photos from family & friends that couldn’t make the wedding. My Nan sent me her pearl scarf pin as my something borrowed, which I pinned it to the back of my dress where the buttons ended, covering the hidden zip. My brother, sister-in-law and two nephews, George & Alfred sent me an antique blue brooch as my something blue that I pinned on my bouquet. My something new was my dress and my something old was a vintage clutch bag I had for the evening.
Our wedding invitations were designed by myself and my friend Anna who is a fantastic artist. Her style suited our wedding of modern vintage but with a twist of the craziness of Las Vegas. We decided on a postcard style to represent our travels before our wedding and a luggage tag as our RSVP.
Favorite wedding day memories:
The first time I saw Stuart standing there smiling waiting for me to walk down the aisle, when my nephew William & sister-in-law Jenny gave me a handmade rosette stating “Mrs Allerton”, and the excitement of our guests when they saw the limo!
Debbie continues:
After dinner we headed to the north entrance of Paris and waiting for us was a 26-seater mammoth limo, stocked to the brim with all our favourite alcohol! We partied for three hours and made stops to the Bellagio, the Vegas sign and Fremont Street and Rachel took amazing photos along the way. We were dropped off just before midnight at Paris, with our last surprise being a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Debbie and Stuart’s top tip for other couples marrying in Vegas:
Research! At first I felt deflated because I couldn’t find anything to suit our budget or needs! But A LOT of research paid off and I am so thrilled to have found the vendors we did!
Debbie and Stuart’s Las Vegas Wedding Guestlist and Budget:
Our guests numbered 18 plus Stu and I, so 20 in total. We didn’t have an exact budget but we were very aware to keep costs low after spending lots on our travels!
 VENDOR + VENUE DETAILS :
PHOTOGRAPHER . Brilliant Imagery
CEREMONY VENUE . West Lawn at Flamingo Las Vegas
RECEPTION VENUE . Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas
FLORAL . Flamingo / BRIDAL FASHION . dress – Clematis by MiaMia, shoes – Dune, earrings – Swarovski, headpiece – The Wedding Trousseau / HAIR + MAKEUP . Smooth Brides / BRIDESMAID . Coast / GROOMSWEAR . suit + shirt - Next and Laura Ashley, bow tie and suspenders: Chadds Menswear of Norwich, pageboy’s bow tie and suspenders – Etsy / TRANSPORTATION . Elite Transportation / STATIONERY + PAPER GOODS . just married sign – Rifle Paper Co., handdrawn invitation – Bullrush Art