How To Plan An Elvis Wedding Weekend In Las Vegas, NV — Sensible Wino

5 years ago, on March 27, 2010 my husband and I hosted an entertaining wedding celebration with 40 of our closest friends and family in Las Vegas, NV. This was the second marriage for both of us, and after nearly 4 years of being engaged, we decided that we were going to just have fun with our wedding and make it a big party. Our big day was fulfilled exactly as planned without any unforeseen incidents, and I would like to share my experience with others who might be considering the same option.

Attire: I opted for a simple black dress with hot pink accessories and pearl jewelry. Nothing else about our wedding was traditional so why should the dress violate our theme? The guys went simple too, with black suits and hot pink accents. Many of our guests chose to wear pink ties to match.

Photographer: We were lucky enough to have a great friend, Edward Regan, who is a photographer, offer to take our photos as a wedding gift. If you do not have this option, I would recommend hiring someone to capture the memories.

With Kids: I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a babysitter at a moment’s notice. My mother and 15 year-old daughter joined us for the wedding and post-wedding dinner, but after returned to the hotel.

Thursday - Marriage License

Julie and Bill Beach Las Vegas Elvis Wedding: Marriage License Bureau

I would suggest arriving on the Thursday prior to your wedding to get your marriage license, see instructions. Then host a group dinner someplace fun or go see a show, but make sure it is not too strenuous. You’re in for a big wedding day and you don’t want to ruin the rest of your time with a hangover. Ladies, consider getting a spray tan so you look great for your bachelorette party and wedding.

Friday - Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties

I would suggest hanging by the pool and taking it easy during the day. Then in the evening, break off for the bachelor/bachelorette parties. My group rented a limo, went out to dinner, and then danced the night away at a few clubs. My husband and his friends also went out to a few bars (I didn’t ask too many questions)

Julie and Bill Beach Las Vegas Elvis Wedding

Saturday - Wedding Day

My husband and I met early to have breakfast together, and then all of the ladies went to the spa. We did not spare an expense and went for hair, nails, manicure, and makeup. This was the first time I ever had my makeup airbrushed and I was glad I did, it was flawless all night.

The guys had planned to play golf but opted to rest by the pool instead after their big night before.

I rented a limo-style party bus (I cannot remember the services I used, but there are many to choose from) and the group met at our hotel at 3:30pm for departure at 4:00pm. At this time we handed out Elvis sunglasses for everyone to wear as well as a keepsake mints box. A few of the guys did go to the liquor store prior to purchase beer and champagne for the party bus.

We also gave our best man a pair of dice cufflinks and the others in our wedding party (including the photographer and my mother) received a crystal dice wine stopper.

We then headed over to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign for some photos, and they turned out amazing.

Then we headed to the Graceland Wedding Chapel. We opted for the “Can't Help Falling In Love” package which was about $600 after all of the fees; and included a DVD and photos (they would not allow our photographer to take pictures inside, you have to use theirs and pay the fee). Our package included the following:

Use of chapel
Elvis escort down the aisle
Elvis sang 3 songs (Love me Tender, Can’t Help Falling In Love, and Viva Las Vegas)
6 rose bouquet and rose boutonniere
Professional photography, including a small number of printed photos
DVD of Ceremony
Additional: We also ordered an extra boutonniere for the best man and small bouquets for the bridesmaids

Beach Wedding Video From the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, NV

After the ceremony, we all got back on the bus and headed to dinner at Battista's Hole In the Wall, Italian restaurant. This was a great option because it was easy to get to and to park, had one set price for each meal, there were several food options, and included wine and dessert. We had a private dining room and a fun and engaging accordion player who played a few songs for our group. Excellent food, value and service!

We then got on the bus and went to TAO Nightclub. We rented two cabanas at TAO Beach, around the rooftop pool, which provided amazing views of the Las Vegas Strip. We opted for bottle service and I preset our order and rate before we arrived (do this, otherwise you will lose track of what you are ordering and at $300-$500 a bottle, it can get very expensive quickly). They would not allow professional photography either (bummer) but we managed to get a few photos on our cell phones.

Many of the guests were excited because Jay-Z was hosting at the club that night. We all still joke that Jay-Z attended our wedding reception.

Sunday - Recovery

Sunday morning the girls managed to rally and we went out to see a few sights; it was my daughter's first time in Las Vegas so we wanted to do something kid-friendly. My husband, however, did not make it out of bed until 4:00pm, just in time to meet us for dinner. I recommend flying out on Monday so you have plenty of time to rest and recover.

Video of the girls having fun: Wild Thing Las Vegas

Estimated total cost was around $12,000, but the memories were priceless!