Viva Las Vegas

[gwenshack]

Hi ladies!

Well, today's the day. I'm off to meet mom in Vegas to get this wedding planning stuff underway. I'm going to miss you guys while I'm gone! I'm super excited about my extended weekend away though -
A) I'm super stressed about an array of things
B) I just wanna know that some of the details and stuff have been taken care of and wheels have been set in motion
C) I haven't seen my mom since March and I can't honestly tell you the last time we were alone just the two of us
D) I just straight up love Vegas :)

In other news, we did hire a DJ already - we picked one off the internet, talked to them, BAM BAM! Done. So that's one thing I can check off.

Anyway, just wanted to check in and wish everyone a great rest of the week and weekend and I'll give you all a trip report when I get home.
Thanks to you all for your help and support and friendship!
:) Gwen

[caligal85]

Yeah! I love trips and since I've gotten older, I've really enjoyed traveling with my mom just the two of us. I hope you have so much fun and get so much accomplished!

[neebelung]

YAYYYYY!! Have a blast!!!!!!

[Qtpie]

Good luck with all the plans to be made and have fun in vegas. We will miss you.

[mitch]

Have a great time and Travel safe.

Read You when You get back. :D

[Nekochanpurr]

Have fun!! Make sure to take some pictures. :D

[KMS]

You're in Vegas right now...and I'm jealous! :D

Have a great time!

[snowflakebride]

Hope you're having fun here! Good luck with the vendors and everything.

[gwenshack]

Hi kids!

Thanks for all the happy messages. Just got back from Vegas last night and I'm just beat. I spent all day today running all around town trying to get some non-wedding related stuff done - stuff that's been wearing me down that I just need to take action on or I'll never feel any sort of relief - hoorah for anxiety - and made some progress. But I'm just worn out. Lots of work left to be done though.

As for Vegas and wedding stuff...

We had a blast! My mom took this opportunity to wear a pink tiara about town (since she's not allowed to at home) and I took her to see people do karaoke at the Imperial Palace. She loves watching people make fools of themselves. And they did not disappoint. Also took her to see Big Elvis perform - the best free show in Vegas. We also just wandered up and down the strip and saw everything and did everything and watched the drunk people stumble about. Not everyone can hold their liquor like the champ I am. Hahaha. :)
Also, I've never seen anybody have slot luck like my mom. She puts in like four one dollar bills and it would give her back like 56 dollars. So she'd cash it out, put in a few more dollar bills and then get like 30 dollars back. And so on and so on. We played the Monopoly slots like they were going out of style. And Mr. Monopoly just kept paying her. It was crazy!
As for wedding stuff, we got it nailed down - contract signed. Cermony at 5:30, cocktail hour from 6-7 and reception from 7-10. We're doing stations of food and I'm going to try to cut and paste the menus in here at the bottom of this post. Hopefully it'll work! Cake - we went with the carrot. We threw caution to the wind. Thanks to everyone for their feedback on that and I'm sorry to all the carrot haters! We decided to do 2 hours of package liquor and 2 hours hosted bar, in the hope that people will slow down the last 2 hours so we can save a little money. But knowing the people I know...We'll see.
I think all the details will fall into place. I feel like the wheels are in motion now for sure. Especially since we picked food!

There are going to be four stations during the dinner and a veggie tray and a cheese platter during the cocktail hour.

Mediterranean Tapas station (This was my pick) - it's basically a salad and cheese sort of station
Assorted Marinated Olives
Mushroom salad with garlic and bacon
Sherry Mustard Asparagus Salad
Marinated Cheese with Tarragon and Olive Oil and Manchego Cheese
Stuffed Tomato, Basil and Olive Mediterranean Bread
Bell Pepper, Garlic and Tomato Cold Spanish Omlette
Roasted Pepper and Basil Bruschetta
Served with Selection of Artisan Breads and Rolls

Baked Potato Station
Foil Wrapped Bake Potatoes
Bacon, Shredded Cheddar, Sour Cream, Fresh Chives, Whipped Butter, Broccoli Florets

Asian Fusion Station (This was for Ron since he desperately wanted Sushi - outside of Asian-Style Vegetables I think I'll avoid this area)
California Rolls, Tuna, Salmon, Crab, Yellowtail Sashimi, Wasabi Mustard, Pickled Ginger, Soy Cause
Wakame Salad
Savory Pork Ribs, Chinese Snake Beans, Stir Fried with Thai Ginger, Lemon Grass, Shrimp Paste and Red Thai Chili
Fried Vietnamese White Clams with Thai Chili and Yellow Bean Sauce
Red-Cooked Tofu with Chinese Mushrooms
Roasted Szechwan Pepper and Five-Spice Sauce over Rice Stick Noodles
Served with Asian-Style Vegetables and Steamed Rice

Attended Carving Station
Boneless Prime Rib or Beef served with Horseradish Cream and Whole-Grain Mustard
Oven Roasted Tom Turkey Breast served with Orange and Cranberry Chutney

Hungry yet? :)

[dylansmom011908]

STARVING!!! What times dinner?? lol

Glad to hear you and your mom had a good time! :D

Sounds like all is coming together!!

[snowflakebride]

Glad you guys had a good time.

Now I'm hungry. Thanks. :bbcry:

[Brian's Bride]

Sounds like you had a fun time and got lots of stuff done! Yay!!

[Qtpie]

wow, sounds like you had a productive las vegas trip. Congrats

[caligal85]

Hmm is your mom available to go play the slots with me? There are three casinos within an hour of me.

Your trip sounds like so much fun! And you got so much done. I hope you are able to take things easy now.