We started off by looking at a map and writing down names of the hotels/casinos. Then we went on the internet and started crossing off places that were too expensive, far away or just really crappy looking. After all that we still had a list of about 10 or so places that we had an interest in but weren't too sure about. With this list, I had the fiancee e-mail the places before we headed off to check it out during Thanksgiving week just in case they required us to set up a meeting time; almost everyone said to just call the day before.
The first day we took it easy after a 20+hr drive down from Washington and just walked around aimlessly to get a feel for the place. At first glance all that looks so close, but it's very deceiving; the Eiffel tower is about a 20 min walk away in this picture. Thank goodness for the escalators up to the overpasses or else we would have been extremely exhausted just walking from Excalibur to the Bellagio and back.
Eventually, we got down to business and started looking over the places once more and making more drastic cuts based on what we knew we could spend and what we wanted to get out of the places. This was the hardest part because I just wanted to check out all of them since I had never been to Vegas. Finally, after many hours of going back and forth with the fiancee, we called the Monte Carlo and set up an appointment to meet with their catering coordinator, Traci Shea, mostly because she was the only one who took the time to write us a personalized e-mail.
I was very nervous since this was our first place we checked out and didn't feel like I had all my ducks in a row. Luckily for us, the staff at the Monte Carlo Wedding Chapel have done this song and dance dozens upon dozens of times and had the whole thing down to a science. We walked around, checking out the ceremony site and the reception areas right around the corner asking many questions and posing many hypothetical situations along the way. Both the chapel personnel and Traci were very patient with us and seemed willing to entertain some of our "crazier" ideas as well as joke around with us.
Afterwords we decided to take some time to mull the whole thing over and decide on if this was the right place for us as well as the package and amenities we would want if we decided on this place. I was a little hesitant because this was the first and only place we had seen and felt like we were settling and hadn't explored our options thoroughly enough. My fiancee on the other hand had decided after seeing some of the reception rooms that this was the place and had passionately tried to convince me until I thought so as well. He wanted to go back as soon as he had won me over, but I wanted to take my time looking around and leave it until the next day so we could iron out all the details when the staff wasn't trying to leave for the day.
The next morning/afternoon we practically ran over there to sign all the paperwork and get everything started. Heather, the chapel coordinator, was extremely helpful and patient while we filled out every form and read every line of all the papers she put in front of us. Traci was also very helpful but unfortunately wasn't able to provide us with a cake testing session since the Monte Carlo exclusively provides all the larger food and drink items (smaller, individually wrapped items for gift boxes are alright) but told us that the buffet carries the same type of cake that would be available for our wedding cake and went down there later to try some with lunch.
With the last of our 't's crossed and 'i's dotted for the ceremony and reception site we felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. We took those good feelings and energy and decided to walk the rest of the interesting part of the strip until our feet were numb from walking. We called our parents soon after getting back to the hotel and had the best night's sleep since we had been down there.
Since we still had the rest of Thanksgiving break down in Vegas we decided to go to the Rio for the Thanksgiving buffet, go to downtown to get our marriage certificate and gamble a little. We found our preferred games in our hotel and after a while I had gambled away all I had planned to lose but since the fiancee was still working on making his pile of money disappear at a Pai Gow table I decided to go up to the room and work on the small bottle of rum that we purchased from a nearby liquor store. When he was done and came up to the room I was in a nicely buzzed state and wanted to go out and do something. Eventually we made our way to a bar nearby the Mandalay Bay casino area called Minus 5 that the both of heard about through a coworker and some other staff at the nearby hotels and casinos. Yes, it was cold in there but everything (except for the floor) was covered in thick ice. They even serve your drinks in glasses made of ice! The night was made even nicer by the bartendresses and camera gal who seemed happy to have us there being socially drunk. Overall the night was nice, the company was nice and the drinks were cold as ice; definitely a place to go back to.
With all that, we made it home safely on Saturday after surviving and leaving on black Friday and driving 19+hrs straight through to home to collapse on the sumo. Well, that's not entirely true, we did loose the muffler in Salt Lake and Hell's Canyon was a bit tricky with all the frost on the road and the snow on the side but thank goodness for studless snow tires. Next time this will be a bit easier because it will be summer time and we'll be able to take the drive at a more leisurely pace.
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