Tying the knot usually takes far more work than just saying yes. Usually, it involves a lot of family and friends, faces familiar and less so, and a logistical behemoth which takes months to put together. If you plan to get married in Vegas and dread the thought of a large ceremony, spending a fortune, and moonlighting through your special day, you might want to elope in Vegas as an alternate consideration.
People routinely underestimate the beauty of simplicity and tie themselves with all kinds of social expectations. If you are familiar with what I’m saying, and understand the burlesque of an expensive ceremony all too intimately, this article might come handy rather soon.
And regardless of whether or not you’ve made up your mind about eloping in Vegas, some things you do have to be reminded of. We’ve seen far too many people going over the same mistakes time and again, so our goal is to pave the road even more and give you valuable advice to elope to Vegas. Here is where you should pay attention.
One: Not leaving enough time for hair and makeup
Having a Vegas wedding doesn’t mean you get to forget about stress altogether. Planning the logistics of location, the transportation, and the coordination, all follow a strict schedule. The groom might allow himself a laid back attitude before the wedding, but a bride should know better. No matter how simple you prefer your wedding, hair and makeup will always require extra time.
For suggested Vegas hair and makeup resources, visit this link to see our recommended vendors.
Do remember, therefore, to schedule your glam team at least two hours prior to the ceremony. That way you can relax, drink a mimosa, and actually enjoy the preparation while savoring the moment.
Two: Not capturing your memories in photos
There are so many options for the Vegas Wedding experience and some ideas include photos and others don’t. But when you look back on your wedding day you might regret it if you don’t capture your wedding day memories. Hiring a Vegas wedding photographer can go a long way, since you’ll have amazing pictures to show, and even a video of the ceremony to stream online.
Extremely popular, nowadays, is the Las Vegas wedding photo tour as an option to elope in Vegas and also capture memories for a lifetime. Why not add on more limousine time and include a scenic wedding photo tour? This can be planned for you affordably and include an unforgettable scenic trip to places you don’t normally get to see when you are typical tourist in Las Vegas. This can all be easily planned and coordinated for you by a professional Las Vegas wedding planner.
Three: Not considering the first look
The ceremony itself can offer a degree of distraction, which though easy to handle is enough to prevent a creative and memorable photo session. A first look, therefore, which is a reunion between the bride and groom hours before the ceremony, is ideal for capturing those memories.
You can arrange a creative Las Vegas wedding photo tour, and savor the moment without having to rush and panic.
Four: Not being prepared for the formalities
A Vegas wedding by law requires you to obtain a wedding license. These are issued hustle free, even to non-residents of the US, but you’ll still have to provide a proof of identification. Birth certificates are not mandatory, and any type of official government photo ID will suffice. But there are also specific details you want to know about that are different in Las Vegas. Be prepared by looking ahead and making the necessary arrangements.
Click here to find out what you need to know about marriage licensing to help you prepare for getting married in Vegas.
Remember, also, that holidays are a peak season, when it’s harder to find, schedule and orchestrate a Vegas wedding with all of the details included –especially if you are doing it by yourself.
Five: Scheduling the celebration dinner too soon
Though not exactly busy like New York or Los Angeles, it still takes longer than expected to travel from location to location in Vegas. Getting from the wedding location to the wedding reception can easily become super stressful if you forget to schedule the celebration at least one hour later.
During a wedding, almost anything can happen and often does. You might want to take more pictures, there might be a delay with the limo or the Las Vegas wedding venue you are using … or God knows what else. Leave enough room, therefore, to get to your celebration on time. It is well worth your time and money to reduce the stress of the occasion to hire a simple wedding coordinator to plan your wedding in Vegas ahead of time.
Six: Not using the complimentary hotel concierge services
A helping hand can easily turn what seems to be Herculean effort into a solution only one phone call away. Note that prices can vary greatly depending on which hotel you are staying, but even small services can be a life saver. Think in the lines of planning assistance, dress and tux assistance, referral for cake and flowers…
Also, do not rely on yourself when setting up reminders. It’s harder to remain calm and coordinated with your special day getting closer. You can always ask the concierge service to help you with reminders and notify you about important deliveries. We at Custom Las Vegas Weddings also offer an all in one day of planning service to our couples. So whether you go with the concierge at your hotel or decide to avail yourselves of an all in one solution like ours, it is a service you might not want to overlook.
Seven: Not having enough limousine time
With traffic being such a frustration, you’ll need more time to travel from one point to another. More than likely since you don’t know the city well you would be smart to leave it to a professional planning company to make a day of timeline. A professional will be able to estimate more accurately how much time you will need for the limousine. This is invaluable service and will help avoid the pitfalls of being late to the wedding, restaurant reservations or shows. But that’s one side of the coin. The other is more about having fun, enjoying Vegas for what it is, and allowing the experience of the ceremony to sink in before continuing with your special evening.
Be careful not to over-drink though. It is easy to forget about limits altogether when you are driving through Vegas, at night, experiencing the hidden rhythm with all of those lights shining.
If you do happen to drink too much, however, here is a great Vegas resource for recovering from your Vegas hangover. This company is mobile and will come to your location in Vegas.
Eight: Elope in Vegas Jitters – avoid partying too much and lack of sleep, dehydration
A wedding day, complex or less so, would still require lots of energy. And the magic of Vegas and the partying or gambling it offers is more alluring than any other when it comes to keeping you awake. Nothing can zap your energy more than these top three things:
- Drinking too much: Save the drinking for the night of or the night after the wedding.
- Not getting enough sleep: Get the needed amount of sleep the night before the wedding and be clear the day of.
- Not drinking enough water: Whenever you travel, you need to keep hydrated. Any travel and climate change will require more water intake.
If you want a memorable and enjoyable wedding day, take this advice – you must pay heed to these cautions. No matter what! There is always time for late night partying after the wedding.
Nine: Not having a planner help you coordinate your wedding day
If you are in Vegas for the first time, try to make the calculations up front, and see whether or not you’ll fare better with a Vegas wedding planner. They can handle the wedding day coordination down to detail, and even pass you discounts for coordinating vendors, saving you money in the long run.
Check out our Cost of eloping in Vegas budget calculator here to get an idea what you want to set for your budget.
Vendors have an easier time collaborating with wedding planners, arranging dozens of discounts for transportation, flowers, or a garden variety of small perks and time savers. This will take the burden off your shoulder and help you relax and save money in the long run.
A Vegas wedding planner can help you plan to elope in Vegas or plan whatever you have in mind within a reasonable budget. They will take your wedding event and provide it with the extended treatment it deserves and it won’t cost a fortune to use their services if you choose the right company.
Be specific about what you want and don’t want with your wedding planning assistant. Share your preferences with your planner. They know how to plan a simple Vegas wedding.
We at Custom Las Vegas weddings love to provide our couples with scenic Vegas wedding packages, Vegas strip elopement photo tour wedding packages or just simple Vegas elopement package at your resort.
Click here to view some simple Vegas elopement wedding ideas.
The wedding planner you choose should let you share your vision, and offer lots of different places to elope in Vegas, as well as exciting Las Vegas elopement packages for two, including transportation, photo shoots and logistical solutions to every step of the way.
Contact Julie here to help you plan your Las Vegas wedding.
Hi, I came across your website article and found it very helpful with useful information. After reading it, I have a question. My fiance and I are coming in to Vegas the day before our wedding and won’t have much time to get the license. Is it possible to leave it this late to try to get a license before we get married the next day? Thank you in advance for your response.
Hi Joni, I’m very pleased you found the article helpful. I often receive that question from clients who are eloping to Las Vegas at the last minute. The answer is yes, you may even acquire the marriage license the day of the wedding. The marriage bureau is open from 8 am to midnight 7 days a week, all year round. It is even more helpful if you fill out the pre-application for obtaining the wedding license before going to the marriage bureau to pick it up. You do both have to be together and have ID. There is a link to more information in this article to my licensing page that informs you of everything you need to know about getting your marriage license. If you have any more questions please reach out to me. Thank you for commenting.
Hi, We are planning to elope in Vegas next March 2020. I came across your post and after reading it I thought of a couple questions. I am hoping you can help guide me regarding a couple points you made. My first question is, how much time do we need for a limousine if we plan to do a wedding ceremony and photo tour with three stops on the Vegas strip for photos? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with regard to planning my wedding and need some guidance with it. My second question is, how much time would we need to have the photographer to cover the three stops. Where does the wedding take place with tours typically?
Hello Valerie, Thank you for reading and commenting on my post. Congratulations on your engagement for March 2020. For your first question about timing on the limousine, the answer is, it really depends on some elements of your wedding plans. You could have the ceremony in your hotel suite and then you wouldn’t need the limousine quite as long. This is because the limousine would pick you up at your hotel after the ceremony takes place. The photos in your suite would count as one location. That does make the package you have me create cheaper. If you choose to have the ceremony at the Las Vegas Sign, for instance, you would need either 3 or 3.5 hours for the limousine. It also depends on the places you choose to visit. I guide you to create a package and give guidance with the chosen stops as well. Some locations are more camera friendly than others. I hope that has initially answered most of your questions and please do visit my Vegas elopement wedding packages page to see some basic options for services. These may be customized to meet your needs and budget. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
I appreciate your tips in this article. We plan to elope in Vegas next spring. You made some really excellent points about elopement I had not thought about and didn’t even know to ask like about the first look photos. It makes sense that the bride would not want to be seen until she walks down the aisle and I never thought it would be important for elopement but my bride likes the idea because she wants to incorporate some tradition and still elope. We will be reaching out to you to ask you for your availability to help us plan our wedding next year. Thank you.
Hi Victor, Thank you for taking the time to read my article and comment on it. It is true that many brides do still want to incorporate traditional elements in to their wedding even if they are doing something like a simple elopement for two. When we do photo tour elopement experiences we often get the request for first look photos. We would love to make your experience a very special and customized one. When you are ready please contact me and click this link to go to my elopement package page. You will find a contact form there and may choose a base package to start the planning process.
My fiance and I plan to Elope in Vegas over the summer. You gave excellent tips in this article that I didn’t even think of. Thank you. I will heed the advice.
Thank you for commenting on my blog post Holly. I am very happy to hear the advice I am giving in this article helped you. I wish you two all the best in your Las Vegas elopement.
We are in the planning stages of our Las Vegas elopement. This is just for us and we want to keep it private.
We found an officiant, have filed for license and arranged for photos.
Thank you for the suggestion to use concierge services. We will do that for our flowers.
The hardest part so far has been keeping this a secret from our friends and family!
Hi Vivienne, Thanks for sharing your experience with your Las Vegas elopement planning. It can definitely be a challenge to keep it a secret from family members. Where do you plan to have your elopement ceremony?
I’m doing the same thing as well and not trying to spend a lot of money.
Hi Kristina, We have a lot of packages that can be used if you plan to elope in Vegas and not spend a lot of money. What is your budget for a wedding and what are you looking for. Reach out to me via my contact page or take a look over my Vegas Strip package page and see if anything appeals to you there. We specialize in customizing services.
The point you make in this article has caught my attention. Often times the idea of eloping is one of a rush wedding that has little to no ties to a normal wedding ceremony. I really like the idea to feel it’s a special event and think it is so very important to capture the memories. Capturing the moment is what my fiance and I want. We want to have the photos to cherish and treat it as much like a normal wedding as possible! We would love to have you contact us to help us plan our wedding. Thanks so much for writing this article.
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my article. I am pleased you are attracted to the idea of eloping and especially the Las Vegas wedding photo tour. This is an excellent option because it does make it a very natural wedding experience but still, makes it unique for you. I will be in touch with you to help you plan.