MARRIED!!!

Our wedding was perfect! The honeymoon was amazing (7 days on the beach in Maui). I have so many people to thank, stories to tell, and pictures to share. I will have more in the upcoming days but I wanted to post some of the pictures from our wedding day.

Let's Do It...

Here we go!!!! All of our family is town, my tuxedo has been picked up, Laura is getting her dress today, everything that needs to be dropped off at Wynn is done. I am ready to go! I will talk to you on the other side - marriage here I come!

PS: I will be posting plenty of videos and pictures of the wedding once I get back from the honeymoon.

Tipping...

Everyone I have talked to has given me different answers when it comes to tipping on the big day. The list of people I want to tip is endless. I don't want to disappoint anyone including the photgrapher(s), videographers, DJ, limo drivers, wait staff, the entire wedding team at Wynn, house cleaning staff, hairstylist, and makeup artist. I am turning to Christine, Catering Manager at Wynn Las Vegas, for the answers. She has been honest and up front with me since day one. So Christine what is the proper etiquette?

As always you have asked an excellent and quite frankly important question! The subject of appreciation and gratuity is one that is seriously overlooked in today’s society. Culturally we have lost our way when it comes to manners and saying thanks appropriately. Here in Las Vegas we are the quintessential example of, “I did my job so you should automatically tip me.” In my book, wrong answer. Your wedding is one of the most personal moments you will ever have and it’s so important to approach gratefulness with a plan like you did putting the big day together. So here are my rules of thumb….

First say thank you to everyone. Next, tip those who are doing a personnel service for you: the photographer/videographer who will capture your memories, the DJ who worked with you on creating the mood and the hairstylist/makeup artist who will give you your wedding day look. The tip doesn’t have to be enormous just a respectable amount to say thanks. Never hand these folks cash. Place the monetary gift in an envelope with a short note and give them that personally or ask your best man to do it. For the wait staff, a gratuity is built into your price point and it is sufficient. If there is a particular waiter that really stood out and went above and beyond, you can certainly give them an extra $20 and a handshake. Housekeepers are an often forgotten lot and quite frankly they are saints! It’s always nice to leave a little note on the hotel stationary sharing your appreciation. Of course if there was a $20 attached to that as well, it would make their day. When service staff/front line employees have done an above and beyond job it’s even better to write a note to “the boss” and share your thoughts.

As for the Wedding Salon and Catering Team, we love what we do. I have never come to expect anything above and beyond what I get paid. We’re the folks that have spent the most time with you. We’ve nurtured your event, kept you on track, listened to your frustrations, at times been a shoulder to cry on, always a “therapist” and in general the new family members you inherit through the process. I have had the pleasure of many amazing monetary gifts over the years. I’ve never said no because that’s insulting to the couple. It is perfectly acceptable to show financial gratitude toward the “primary” players. However, my favorite thank you’s have been those from the heart that truly meant something to the bride and groom or their parents. I have a container that has traveled with me all over the world that’s filled with the beautiful notes of appreciation from the newlyweds. Those I can always look back at and reflect on the event and have as a constant reminder that I had the fortunate privilege of taking care of people’s most tender moments. A non-money gift is always delightful too as long as there is a note attached. Never give a paperweight, pen or something for the office. That’s not very creative and says, “I felt compelled to buy you ‘something’ and it’s what I found at the 99 cents store.”

The last and most important thing…WRITE THANK YOU NOTES!!!!!! It is your wedding and if someone took the time to come to your wedding or purchase you a gift, you sit down in a chair with a proper pen and note cards and actually hand write a note. EMAILS OR PRE-TYPED CARDS ARE NOT AN ACCEPTABLE WAY TO SEND YOUR APPREICATION WHEN IT COMES TO THESE THINGS!!!!!!!!!! Okay Doll, I think that covers it. I appreciate your time, business and questions…

Marriage License...

Yesterday Laura and I got our marriage license and it was a pretty interesting experience. We parked at the corner of Third and Clark and as soon as we got out of our car a couple of guys came up to us and asked us if we were getting our marriage license. I thought these guys were greeters for the Marriage Bureau so I eagerly announced “Yes we are.” Well, before I even finished the word yes they were handing us materials on chapels to get married in. We must have been solicited at least 5 times by guys trying to sell us on drive thru chapels. It was like the guys who hand out the adult material on the strip, funny, but also bazaar.

Once inside, we waited in line for about 30 minutes and it literally took 5 minutes to get the license completed. While in line we were surround by couples who were dressed in the tuxes and wedding gowns - ready to grab their license and get married in the next 30 minutes. The entire line had this feeling of excitement that we were waiting to make it official with our significant others.

One week to go!!!!!!!

Wedding Favors....

In the past I have always waited till the last minute to RSVP to a wedding, I even cancelled days prior to a wedding (sorry Todd and Erin). Knowing what goes into planning a wedding I will always be the first to RSVP and never cancel at the last minute (at least not within the last 72 hours). Seating charts, food count, booze count, flowers, and gifts…so much goes into planning a wedding. When a friend would tell me that they are busy planning their wedding or stressed about wedding issues I never understood why. "Dude, it's just a wedding how hard could it be?" I have learned so much about weddings and the one thing I was not aware of when it came to planning a wedding was the wedding favor. I have been to weddings in the past and never really paid that much attention to the favors that we received. Laura and I went back and forth on this and Laura actually came up with a great idea - Cupcakes. At the end of the night all of our guests will receive a cupcake that they can take home and enjoy. Or, if after the four hour open bar they can throw them at each other in a drunken rage. Either way it will be an enjoyable gift.

I checked in with Christine, Catering Manager at Wynn Las Vegas, to get her thoughts on wedding favors.

Favors…This has become one of the most innovative segments of our industry. The days of candy coated almonds and bubbles are so over! You can buy everything from custom label wines to miniature wedding cakes and anything in between. The idea behind favors is two fold: to give a little something to remember the occasion and to say thanks for being part of our lives and special day. I love it when favors are a personal statement from the bride and groom. I had a couple on the 4th of July who didn’t have a huge budget but some creativity. They took regular chocolate bars and attached a series of 10 different photos they had printed on their home printers. The snaps were of the bride and groom either in their youth or as a couple. One type of each photo was placed at each setting. Everyone swapped to get a look and compare stories. It was very sweet. The idea of cupcakes are fun as they are a way to take a little of the celebration home with you. I had a client in Texas who made a donation in their guests name to a local charity. A common thing here in Vegas is to give a $5 poker chip from the casino where the ceremony/reception is held. Guests can either gamble with them or keep them as a souvenir. No matter what the gift, make it fun, personal and acceptable for a guest to carry back home in their luggage.

Laura and I are getting our cupcakes from The Cupcakery located here in Las Vegas. I checked in with Pamela, from The Cupcakery, to see why cupcakes make a good wedding favor.

People are really into the individually wrapped cupcakes as favors. They can be personalized with messages and names, which is a great perk for the couple. The boxes can even have messages or names printed on the label, which is pretty cool too. I think they are better than a traditional favor, because the guest will actually remember something like an individually wrapped cupcake. They have a little something to go home and snack on when the booze munchies finally kick in after the wedding.

Check out the list of celebs that are into giving cupcakes as gifts - George Maloof, Shaquille Oneal, Vince Neil, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass. Woo hoo. For more info click HERE.

Working On My Checklist...

I got a few of the smaller things done yesterday.

Got my ring.

Groomsmen gifts are done. Just need to pick them up.

Met with the DJ, all the music is done.

My checklist is getting shorter, and shorter.

Wedding Day Hair...

One thing that is pretty simple for me is hair. Not much thought will go into the hair planning process for me on my wedding day. I have been doing my hair this way for the past ten years so I am not too worried. Laura on the other hand is a different story. For the past year she has been cutting out hairstyle pictures and sending them to her stylist, Amber, at Evolve Salon. I will have to blog on what happened the day Laura thought I tossed out her wedding hair folder - yikes, that was a long night.

Well, I figured I would check in with Amber and get her thoughts on wedding hairstyles, and some basic wedding hair do's and dont's.

Do you see any new trends coming up in wedding hair fashions?

The new trends in wedding hair fashions are from the 1930's - 1940's era. Very elegant and classy with beautiful soft waves or curls. Many new brides are wearing their hair down and curly. By doing this, some choose to wear a small jeweled headband or tiara instead of the traditional veil.

Do you recommend that a bride try something new for her wedding? Or should she stick to what style she is use to?

I wouldn't recommend that a bride try something new as far as hair color goes. It will be a huge shock. I do recommend that the bride sticks with what she is used to. You can do that by having a simple classic style, even if it is an up do.

How far in advance should a bride do a "test run" of her wedding day hair?

I would recommend a test run 3 to 4 weeks before the wedding. This gives you the opportunity to make the hair absolutely perfect. If you don't like something you have time to work with your stylist on something new.

Laura told me she is getting hair extensions to add fullness…is it a hard process?

Adding hair extensions is not a hard process at all. It is very fast and easy. The greatest part about it is that the extensions are non damaging to your hair. If you chooses to wear your hair down, the added fullness from the extensions is amazing. You can add extensions for fullness or length. I have several pictures on my website for people to check out if they are interested.

As far as guys hair, do you recommend they get it cut the day before or give it a few days to grow in?

Guys should get their hair cut one week before the wedding. That way it will look perfect for the big day. The night before the wedding have your bride clean up your neck with a quick shave.

Below is a picture from a wedding that Amber worked on last weekend. GREAT HAIR!

You can contact Amber direct by CLICKING HERE.