Today marks my 5 year wedding anniversary. Five years. Where has the time gone? It still feels like yesterday we were celebrating our wedding in Las Vegas with our closest friends and family. Two years ago for my three year anniversary, I wrote this post dedicated to David and I's wedding. In honor our our anniversary, I thought today would be a great day to re-share our wedding post as it is still how I feel, and I want to share the memories of our day with all of you, and shed some advice to those who may be planning weddings yourselves!
David and I decided on Vegas, because why not? We wanted our wedding to be a fun party in one of the biggest party cities in the US, so we went for it. And it was. We picked Caesars Palace as the venue for its extreme opulence and beauty. I still get goosebumps when I think of how magical our wedding was and laugh at some of the craziness that ensued- like hitting up bottle service post-reception with our wedding party and guests at Pure Nightclub (now Omnia) in my wedding dress and David in a tux, and dancing like crazy to the wee hours of the morning, which was a lively blur for most of us.
Today I want to dedicate my 3 year wedding anniversary by sharing some wedding highlight pictures, and also share some thoughts on what I’d do differently and what I’d do again, five years later.
What I'd do differently:
1. I'd look more at untraditional wedding themes
While some people may argue with me due to the Vegas location, I feel I still did things very traditional. Now, I'd be more inclined to do something different. I would play with the idea of having a pale pink or sequin gown, or at least look at the option. I think because I felt like my location was so different, I needed to fill the rest of the wedding with everything else traditional. Now, I'd have the mentality that "Hey I'm getting married in Vegas," and bring on all the untraditional things that come with it. I.e. I would've had Elvis or Lady Gaga be our officiant or been really dramatic and release doves at the ceremony- because this all is an over the top option in Vegas. I would likely also have hired a Kanye impersonator to perform at our reception. I'm not even joking. I also wish we had done a trash the dress session at one of the Garden of the Gods pools in Caesars at the end of the night.
2. I would've splurged more on the photography
When we got married, I was lucky enough to be in a job that afforded me the ability to pay for our wedding in full up front, however, I still had a budget, and photography was one of the more expensive parts of our wedding. I forwent 2 additional hours of photography and videography and I now wish I had bit the bullet and added those two hours. While I LOVE our wedding photos (we used Imagine Studios), I feel like I missed some opportunities for high quality pictures at the end of the evening as the reception ended. So, bottom line- splurge on the photos. It only happens once and its 100% worth it in the end.
3. Bridesmaids dresses
You have no idea how badly I wanted my bridesmaids to wear black sequin dresses. At the time, the sequin dresses I was looking at were over $200 and I couldn't justify having my girls spend that much on a dress when they had to incur travel expenses as well. I decided on David's Bridal as an easy and uniform option. I love the classic black dresses they wore, but I still think about how much better the pictures would've been if they were in sequin dresses. Now, I would've spent more time looking at sequin dress options that were affordable.
4. Invite List
You have no idea how badly I wish I could do a re-do of our wedding and invite all of the people we know now, in addition to all of the friends and family we were fortunate to have in attendance. I have met so many amazing new friends since our wedding and I wish I could've celebrated one of the best days of my life with them there.
5. Makeup
For my wedding I decided to do my own makeup so I'd look like myself. While I'm still happy with how I looked for the wedding, I'd now have gone with a red lip instead of the pale pink I wore. I decided on a smoky eye with false lashes and a pale pink lip because I didn’t want to overdo it for the pics. However, if I’ve learned one thing while blogging, its that more makeup is sometimes more and looks better in photos. So, I would’ve topped my look off with a bright red lip.
6. If I could, I would've done anything for my mom to be there
Of course, I wish my mom had been there with me, but I know she was with me in spirit. I missed her presence at my wedding more than I can verbally express.
What I'd do again:
1. Destination wedding
I recommend ANYONE to consider a destination wedding. Literally all we had to do was show up, everything- I mean EVERYTHING- was completely taken care of. It put me at ease that we didn't have to do much when we got there and could enjoy more time with our family and friends who made the trip there. There was no added stress to setting up the venue or making sure things/vendors arrived when they needed to- it was all handled by my wedding planners at Caesars and it was great- they did an excellent job!
2. Vegas
I loved everything about the fact that we got married in Vegas at Caesars Palace. It fits David and I's personalities so well and I wouldn't change this location for the world. I also went for a vintage Vegas vibe through certain aspects, which I still adore.
3. Wedding size
Our final wedding number was 61, including David and I. This number was the perfect amount and I felt like we were able to greet and spend time with everyone who attended and that meant a lot to me. It also made for a more intimate setting which we both loved.
4. Wait for a Honeymoon
Since we did a destination wedding, which is like a vacation in itself, we decided to wait to take a honeymoon. We also didn’t really have the budget to do Europe, which is where we wanted to go. We took our time to plan and finally went on it almost 2 years later, but we did it the right way. We planned it out, saved our money, and went for 2 weeks so we could fully enjoy the trip and go to all the places we wanted to- Paris, the Swiss Alps, and Positano. It was great to have something to look forward to after the wedding and so worth it.
5. Everything else
While I’m writing this post, I’m hoping it doesn’t come off as I had regrets about the day. Believe me when I say my wedding was one of the best days of my life and I loved every single minute of it. Sure, it went by too fast, but don’t all the best things in life? I spent the day amongst loved ones while I married my best friend and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime- partnership. Because finding your lifelong soulmate is definitely an amazing adventure.
Other Fun Wedding Facts:
Our wedding took place at Caesars Palace with the ceremony in the Garden of the Gods Venus Garden and our reception in the Caesar’s Palace Emperor’s Ballroom.
My something old was a beaded purse that belonged to my great-grandmother.
My something new and blue was a blue sapphire ring David bought me, that looks like Princess Diana’s wedding ring. I wore it on my right ring finger.
My something borrowed was a fur stole which belongs to my grandmother.
My dress was by Spanish wedding designer, La Sposa. It’s the Fanal gown and I had the neckline altered to a sweetheart shape. When I first started looking for dresses, I didn’t even want to consider a sweetheart neckline, lol.
To surprise my husband, I bought wooden cake toppers after Hans Solo and Princess Leia (blonde, of course), and kept it a surprise for him until the reception.
I also bought David Millennium Falcon shirt cuffs as a fun added touch.
I named the tables after current and old Vegas hotels and used prints of vintage postcards of the hotels for the table markers.
Our first dance was to Elton John’s “Something About the Way You Look Tonight"
XOXO
Blonde in the District