Destination: Las Vegas

Congratulations ~ You have successfully and stylishly announced your engagement!  Family and friends swoon as you proudly show off your sparkler, recounting every touching moment of your beautiful proposal.  They naturally ask about wedding plans, and you excitedly tell them that you will be getting married in Las Vegas.  Friends and family are (mostly) thrilled, but you still get the occasional "Vegas?  Really?"

Las Vegas had long been synonymous with quick and easy weddings, devoid of the glamour and artistry associated with other major metropolitan cities.  This thinking dates back to a time in the early 1940's and 50's when we had only a handful of chapels, playing host to a mere 20,000 weddings a year.  

Today Las Vegas proudly serves as the backdrop for over 115,000 nuptials annually.  What the city offers is virtually limitless and unmatched anywhere in the world!

• Over 140,000 beautiful hotel rooms, 4 & 5 Star Resorts
• 9.8 million square feet of resort function space
• James Beard Award Winning Chefs
• World-Class Catering Departments 
• Award Winning Wedding Planners, event designers, photographers, florists, DJs, and other professionals
• Entertainment in the form of gambling, shows, nightclubs, etc.
• Over 60 Gold Courses throughout the valley
• Convenient travel for friends and family spread far & wide

Today, a Las Vegas Bride walks down an aisle lushly covered with rose petals, to the sounds of a live harpist, and recites her vows surrounded by friends and family under amber lighting.  “Rubber chicken” wedding meals have given way to meticulously planned tasting menus and wine pairings. Master mixologist create cocktails unique to the couple, served in fine crystal.  Florals and linens are imported, lighting is set, and musical options include everything from celebrity performers, DJs, live bands, and jazz trios.  

So, as you plan your Las Vegas destination wedding, close your eyes and envision a candlelit aisle, rich woods, and lush floral displays.  Design a menu featuring your favorite comfort food served alongside avant-garde chef specialties.  Can't decide whether you should have a big-band entertainer or a DJs take the stage? Book both, and delight in knowing that they will work together to give your guests the biggest party they have ever seen as your custom designed monogram swirls across the dance floor...

With each and every detail looked after and cultivated by some of the most talented individuals in the world.

Too much?  Perhaps you're choosing Vegas to escape the pomp and circumstance of a traditional wedding, and your idea of romance is just the two of you (and an Elvis impersonator) outside of the courthouse.  Well, if that's the case - Don't worry.  We still do that, too.  

And we do it better than anyone anywhere else in the world.

Always...A

An Announcement

As soon as I finished writing the The Art of Engagement I thought, “Well, that’s only half of the story...”  

After the Art of Engagement comes The Announcement.  

After all questions have been asked and answered comes the excitement of telling those closest to you the good news.  Even if, unbeknownst to you, they have been in on it all along, the telling of your story is a chance to share the infectious excitement with those around you.

Years ago, engagements were announced formally, complete with engraved stationary and a feature in the local paper.  I, personally, still love the formality of a papered announcement, but with today’s technology (and sometimes complicated social structures) it is more likely that your friends and family will find out through a mass text, Facebook posting, or TwitPic!  

Your parents and siblings should be the first to be told (in person if possible).  Once you have announced it to them, you can ask that they spread the word to extended members, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins.  

To share your news quickly (and appropriately), consider the following:

*Upload a video and email to your friends and family.  You may choose to do this via text, as well, if you aren’t near a computer and just can’t wait!

*Send an e-Card with a short note.

*Create a wedding website.  No need to get elaborate - Just select a layout, upload a picture, and sent to friends and family with a note saying that there is more news to come.

*If you can stand to keep the secret a for a day or so, call friends over for an impromptu party and announce the news during cocktails.

*When making your announcement to at work, similar etiquette applies.  Tell your boss privately first and ask their suggestion on the most appropriate time to announce.  Everyone will want to see your ring and hear all of the details, so you want to make your announcement at a time that will interfere least with work.

One of my favorite engagement announcements took place as a part of an elaborate proposal!  It involved an enterprising groom who proposed privately in a hotel suite, and then lead his fiance to dinner, where a handful of family and friends were waiting as a sweet surprise!  

And, of course, you may wish to simply not say anything, and let the sparkler speak for itself!  But I warn you, it will be a hard secret to keep!

Enjoy!

Always...A