Jodi and Steve’s Real Life Las Vegas Wedding

When was your wedding?

28th September 2007

How and when did you meet?

We met at work almost 10 years ago, but did not get together until 2004

How old are you both?

I’m 26 & Steve is 32.

Where, when and how did he (or you!) propose?

Steve proposed on our first anniversary ‐ he cooked me a beautiful meal & hid the ring inside an anniversary card which I did not see straight away. He was going to propose the previous month whilst we were on holiday on a Greek island but got too nervous as he hadnt spoken to my dad to ask permission at that point!

Did you have hen and stag celebrations? If so, what did you do?

I went to London with 10 of my friends and we saw the Dirty Dancing theatre show, then went to Covent Garden for dinner & lots of drinks. Steve went out the night before the wedding (I must be mad!) in Las Vegas with all of the male guests.

How did your groom help with the wedding planning?

Steve was involved in the majority of decision making about what we wanted, but it was left to me to actually put those decisions into action.

Did you use confetti to plan your wedding? If so, how did the website help you?

Yes ‐ the forum was invaluable, particuarly when I was stressed & wanted to speak to other Brides to be who would understand where I was coming from. I used the Wedding Abroad section quite a lot as well.

Did you buy any confetti products for your wedding? If so, did you visit a store, buy online or by mail order?

I ordered some gifts for attendants, favour boxes, books on getting married abroad & ‘your daughters wedding’ & a ‘It’s MY big day’ t‐shirt from the Confetti shop online ‐ all of it was fab!

Tell us about your outfit, and where you bought it

My outfit was a gorgeous full length A‐line gown by Essence of Australia and purchased from Blessings Bridal shop in Brighton. I had to be very careful about the dress I chose due to travelling a long way, but I definitley found ‘the one’ and loved every second of wearing it. My shoes were by Paradox & were also from Blessings.

Did you have bridesmaids? If so, who did you choose and what did they wear?

I had 2 bridesmaids ‐ my sister and my niece who was my flowegirl. My sister wore a full length A‐line black dress from Debut at Debenhams accessorised with a pink ribbon & vintage effect brooch from Ollie & Nic. Her pink sandals were from Dune. My flowergirl wore a pink floor length dress with chiffon overlay & pink corsage from Babbleboom at Debenhams with sandals from Next.

Who did your groom choose for his best man and ushers, and what did they wear?

Steve chose one of his oldest friends, Gary, as his best man and my brother‐in‐law as a witness (we did not have ushers). They both wore black linen trousers with short sleeved pink linen shirts. Steve wore a black linen suit from Next with a long sleeved pink linen shirt from M&S.

Did you have a civil or religious ceremony?

It was a mixture of both.

Where did you hold your ceremony?

The ceremony was held at the Monte Carlo Hotel, Las Vegas USA

Where did you hold your reception?

In Las Vegas, we held the reception at a lovely chinese restuarant within the hotel, and then gambled the night away! Back home in Brighton, we held a reception for approx. 100 of our friends & family at East Brighton Golf Club.

Did you have any special wedding transport?

We hired a Limo for a tour of Vegas including photos ‐ it was very kitcsh & Vegasy but great fun.

How many guests did you invite to your wedding, and did you have a separate evening guest list?

In Las Vegas, we had 10 guests. At our reception party in Brighton there were approx. 100 people.

Did your reception have a particular theme in terms of colour or style?

We kept to the pink theme, and also incorporated some American wedding traditions to reflect the ceremony in Las Vegas.

How did you incorporate this in to your table settings?

We had pink & white candles on top of glass mirrors & the tables were scattered with pink rose petals. There was also a ‘Candy buffet’ which was basically a table filled with lots & lots of glass jars of American & English sweets which guests could help themselves too. This table also had pink candles & rose petals scattered.

Did you give your guests favours?

The Las Vegas guests each received a casino chip to gamble after the wedding breakfast in a black organza bag tied with pink ribbon, and a box filled with pink, cream & black M&M’s again tied with pink ribbon. The reception guests had the candy buffet.

Describe your flowers (bouquets and table decorations). Who was your florist?

The flowers were arranged through the hotel. I had a boquet of just bright pink Gerbera flowers with diamantes in the middle of each head. Steve had a bright pink gerbera button hole. My Bridesmaid had a baby pink gerberea wrist corsage and all other guests had baby pink button holes.

What did you choose to have on your menu? Did you have an outside caterer or did your venue handle the catering?

The wedding breakfast was a chinese feast at a restuarant within the hotel.

What did you choose for your wedding cake, and who made it?

For the Vegas cake, we choose an Oreo Cookie Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory based within another hotel. For the reception party in Brighton, my mums friend made us a 3‐tier more traditional cake which was made of Carrot Cake, Sponge Cake & Chocolate cake. It was decorated in white icing with pink & black iced bows.

Did you have any entertainment during the day or evening?

In Las Vegas, the entertainment was the casino. Back home at our reception party, we had a DJ who was brilliant and the floor was filled all night!

Did you have a gift list? If so, who did you have your list with?

We had a gift list with Next.

Where did you spend your first night and honeymoon? Who did you book your honeymoon with?

We spent our time in Las Vegas (2 weeks) in a suite at the Paris hotel ‐ it overlooked the Bellagio fountains which was amazing. We then flew to New York for a further 6 nights before coming home. Our flights & hotel in New York was booked through Virgin and we booked direct with the hotel in Las Vegas.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?

I have 2 ‐ walking into the chapel & seeing Steve for the first time ‐ I didnt know whether to laugh or cry and ended up in a fit of giggles the whole way through the ceremony. My 2nd is the photo tour in the limi ‐ it was brilliant to have almost 2 hours alone together straight after the wedding where we got to see Vegas in a completely different way. I thought I would be embarrassed with people looking at us in our wedding outfits but we were so happy it just made it even more funny & we definitley got the Vegas factor.

Did you experience any ‘nightmare’ moments in the run up to your wedding or on the day?

We were originally booked to stay at the hotel where our wedding was held, but we found out just before travelling that the rooms & pool area were undergoing major renovation which would have affected our stay, so we had to change our accomodation ‐ it was very stressful & a lot of extra expense but it was well worth it, as the new hotel was amazing. The cake we had for our reception back home collapsed on the way of us driving it from the baker to the venue. She had 12 hours to make a whole new cake before the new party ‐ luckily she managed it but I was getting a bit panicky towards the end!

Is there anything you would do differently, or any advice you would give to other brides?

Get married abroad ‐ from the moment we landed in Las Vegas all of my nerves disappeared & I got into ‘holiday mode’. Use the internet to plan your wedding ‐ I found websites such as Confetti a really useful tool when it came to getting ideas & advice. It’s invaluable for planning a wedding abroad ‐ I planned my entire ceremony over email, sending photos through of my ideas etc, and it worked perfectly. And lastly ‐ dont loose sight of why you are getting married ‐ I found it very easy to get caught up in all the stresses that come with planning a wedding but on the day I couldnt have cared where I was or what I was wearing as long as I married Steve. I dont think I would do anything differently again ‐ it really was a perfect day & the happiest of my life.