My 3-Day Las Vegas Bachelorette Trip | Part 3 of Our Wedding Planning Journey
How Me, My Bridesmaids, and Our Men
Spent 3 Amazing Days in Las Vegas, NV
I think there is something about preparing for your next vacation that makes you reflect on the last trip you took! In two weeks and two days time, Scott and I will be heading out to Florida for our honeymoon (finally!!) and all this excitement has me thinking back on my Bachelorette Trip to Las Vegas, NV last July (how has it already been 7 months since we were here?!).
After a year of wedding planning, I am a firm believer that every bride deserves a fun, relaxing trip with her girls to help them unwind! As a recent bride-to-be myself last year, I went back and forth on either a trip to the city or a trip to the beach, but in the end who can say no to Vegas?!!
What can I say? I’m a Michigan-girl through and through who LOVES the lake (heck, that’s why we got married there!), but exploring The Strip and all that Las Vegas had to offer was such a special treat. The best part, by far, was having three and a half days of uninterrupted time to be with my favorite girls and their guys! We had a chance to be adventurous, laugh, and be a little bit silly together when we don’t often have the chance to most of the time thanks to our busy and successful adult lives. For this fact alone, I’d take a day in ANY place, but you only have your Bachelorette Party once, right?!
I have loved sharing a glimpse into our wedding planning journey, and I also just love documenting our travels! I’ve also decided to share with you an outline of our itinerary, full of fun activities, funny moments, and gifts, so if you’re ever headed West for a Bachelorette Weekend Getaway in Las Vegas, consider me your guide! . . .
Love,
Courtney
I hope you enjoy some of my favorite moments from our trip and I will link everything at the very bottom!
Planning For Our Trip
Planning Stage: My amazing bridesmaids and I worked out the details of our trip in early Spring of 2018 to ensure we put together a trip filled with lots of celebration, but that didn’t break the bank - because it is really easy to spend money in Vegas and fast!! We also decided early on that it would not only be a girls trip, but that all of our significant others would be welcome to come too - including Scott, the groom-to-be!
Now, some people might find this odd for a Bachelorette Weekend, but for us, I had a small bridal party (3 bridesmaids total; my BFFs Alicia & Nicole, and my older sister Katie), and the trip was going to be an investment on top of all the other wedding expenses these girls were taking on. . . In my mind, why wouldn’t I want to these ladies to have their men along for such a big adventure? Plus, I love Matt and Phil and so does Scott so the important thing to remember when it comes to planning wedding-related events is there are no rules! Celebrate with whomever you want to!!
Theme: Our overall vibe as a group is laid-back (we are all perfectly happy exploring in jeans and t-shirts and aren’t really Instagram fashionistas), but we love to get dressed up and do it up right every once in a while! So our whole trip was the same; a mix of mostly chill with a little bit of glam thrown in!
Where We Stayed: We decided that we didn’t need to stay right on The Strip and would sacrifice a bit of convenience, for a bit more affordable accommodations (but that still had killer amenities!) that were only a 5-10 minute drive away from everything. This meant we had to rent an SUV for all 7 of us and find parking, but the rental cars were very reasonably priced and we found parking at hotels like The Venetian! Our rental house came with 4 separate bedrooms (1 for each couple or person and all of which had a King-sized bed!), 3 bathrooms, a full kitchen, 2 living rooms, and our own pool!
Thursday: Arrival & Welcome
Arriving in Las Vegas: We flew out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Thursday afternoon on a non-stop, 4-hour flight via Spirit Airlines. This was another option we chose to make our trip more affordable, and allowed us to spend money in the most important place; Vegas! Even though we weren’t able to choose our seats and carry-on and checked bags incur extra fees, we all sat within a row of each other and each couple only checked one bag for the whole 3-day trip. When we landed we were able to pick-up our rental car (which for 7 people meant an SUV), head to the rental house, and drop off our bags. We arrived an hour or two before the official check-in time, but the owners were happy to let us in to show us around the property before we headed out to the grocery store to stock up on snacks, foods, and drinks for the weekend!
Bridesmaids Gifts: As a thank you to my bridesmaids, for not only their work in planning this trip for Scott and I, but for everything they were doing to help us prepare for the wedding, I put together some surprise gift bags for each of them!! As a wedding photographer, I have seen a lot of really cute ideas when it comes to gift bags, and I wanted to be sure to include things that I knew the girls would love, but that would still be unique to us and our trip!
Each canvas tote was adorned with a custom map of the Las Vegas Strip and was filled with goodies, including themed shirts that read “Blackjack, Booze, & Besties,” a hangover kit with all the essentials and contained within a canvas First-Aid bag, a Motel Key Tag that read “Classy as Fuck” (sorry Mom!), and Moscow Mule flavored Gummy Bears! My bridesmaids, in-turn, gifted me with a “Bride-to-Be” sash (which had been Nicole’s when she got married!), a “Future Mrs.” button (which I wore all day Friday!), and a few other fun surprises!
Talk about the perfect start to our Vegas Weekend!!
Friday: Exploring The Strip
Morning Coffee & Adventure: We work up bright and early on Friday morning ready to hit the ground running and explore everything we could on The Strip. But first, coffee! We made breakfast at home, slipped into our walking shoes, and then made our way to the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Nevada” sign. We had to get our first photo-op here (along with about 100 other people who also had the same idea and who are just out of the frame)!
Shopping Inside the Grand Canal Shoppes
Morning Exploring: We decided to park the car at The Venetian Resort and wander around inside the Grand Canal Shoppes! Cobblestone walkways wind their way past luxury and boutique shops and there is an illuminated painted ceiling of clouds and a blue sky. A grand canal also runs through the center of the buildings, with actual gondolas, and it feels as if you are strolling along the piazza in Venice - well, almost! Scott has actually been to the real Venice, and he said this was a good interpretation of the city, but not quite the same . . . I told him we’ll just have to go to Venice together one of these days so I can report my comparison! :)
Gelato Snack: When in Venice, we do as the Venetians do and that means gelato! There is a more central courtyard area that has lots of restaurants, and since it was still a little early in the day for lunch we decided to get a scoop of gelato and listen to the live performances going on! They had classically trained singers, actors, and musicians performing all around the town square that we could watch, although it was all Italian to me!
Lunch at Mon Ami Gabi
French Food for Lunch: There are SO many incredible restaurants in Las Vegas and, in the months leading up to our trip, I made a list of ones I wanted to try while we were in town. Mon Ami Gabi French Restaurant inside the Paris Las Vegas Hotel was number one on my list!! They serve authentic French cuisine and wine and it is located right across the street from the Bellagio Fountains - so while we ate we could see the fountains go off every 30 minutes! We took a very long lunch, but we all throughly enjoyed sharing appetizers (or hors d'oeuvres), sipping on endless mimosas, and enjoying the amazing views!
This place made all my Parisian bistro dreams come true and even though it is more expensive, lunch was reasonable and we made this our one splurge meal for the day! For my main dish, I ordered the Maine Lobster Roll served on a brioche bun with gaufrette chips and salad, and Scott ordered the Warm Chicken & Brie with caramelized onions and green apple. Sooooo. Good.
The Bellagio Fountains & Cocktails
Afternoon Exploration: Even though from our lunch restaurant we could see the fountains at the Bellagio go off every 30 minutes, we couldn’t hear the music that accompanied the show! If you’ve ever seen the movie Ocean’s Eleven, these fountains are featured prominently in the very end scene, and in real life it is a show where the water is choreographed to the beat of whatever song is playing. We headed over to one of the viewing areas after lunch to watch a full performance before heading over to Ceasar’s Palace.
Cocktails & Casino Games: We enjoyed wine and craft cocktails at one of the upscale lounges within the Ceasar’s Palace Casino and we also spent a couple hours trying our had at the slots and blackjack tables!
Spending the Evening In
Dinner & Poolside Relaxation: We decided to have a low-key evening back at our rental house and grill dinner by the pool. We spent the early evening hours enjoying beverages by the pool and hours of laughter and relaxation into the evening!
Saturday: Pool Day & Night Out
Morning Mimosas & Relaxation: After all the walking we did on Friday, we took Saturday morning a bit easy. We slept in a bit later and enjoyed breakfast mimosas by the pool. The funny thing about our time in Las Vegas was that our internal clocks were all still set to Michigan time, which is 3 hours ahead of Vegas time. So even though we only slept in until about 8 AM, it felt like 11 AM to us!
Las Vegas Brunch
Brunch at Aria: We all felt really refreshed by noon and headed out to brunch at the buffet at Aria. Buffet dining is a thing in Las Vegas so we figured we should give one of them a try! Along with tons of food choices (fish market, asian, Italian, mediterranean, tandoori, latin, diner, and sweets), we also had the option to upgrade our drinks to unlimited mimosas, bloody marys, or champagne. . . when in Vegas!
Our Night Out on the Town
Evening Burlesque Show & Casino Games: After brunch we purchased our tickets to the X Burlesque show at the Flamingo because we all love Dita Von Teese and the movie Moulin Rouge - plus Bachelorettes are supposed to have some playful fun together and we liked this idea better than doing some type of lingerie shower for me! We headed home after we bought the tickets to relax and then get all dolled up for our night out on the town.
The ladies at X Burlesque snapped this photo of us as we were about to head into the 75-minute show and afterwards we enjoyed playing some of the casino games within the Flamingo before ordering pizza! Also, one perk of parking in a parking garage is being able to go all the way up to the top level and take in the amazing nighttime view!
Sunday: Leaving Las Vegas
Early Farewell: To finish off the perfect Las Vegas Bachelorette Party, coffee was brewed first thing in the morning and then we were out the door with our bags by 5:30 AM and watched the sun rise over the buildings as we drove to the airport. It took us a bit longer to get through security this time, but we made it to our gate with about 30 minutes to spare! We flew out of McCarran International Airport at 8:15 AM on a non-stop, 4-hour flight via Spirit Airlines.
Until next time, Las Vegas!
It’s amazing what spending time with your best friends can do for your soul.
All the Cool Stuff & Places Mentioned:
Rental House: HomeAway.com
Bridesmaids Gift Bags -
“Black Jack, Booze, and Besties” Shirt: Rose Gold Rebel
Las Vegas Tote Bag: Gooseberry Designs
First-Aid Drawstring Bag for Hangover Kits: Graceful Greeting Co
“Classy As Fuck” Motel Keytag: He Said She Said Etsy
Moscow Mule Flavored Gummy Bears: Project 7
Dining & Cocktails -
Indoor Shopping & Gelato: Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian
Mon Ami Gabi French Restaurant inside the Paris Las Vegas Hotel
Ceasar’s Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
The Buffet at ARIA Las Vegas
My Outfit Details -
Stripped Swimsuit: CupShe
Black Velvet Wiggle Dress: Unique Vintage
Heart-Shaped “Lady Luck” Purse: Unique Vintage
Grey, Sleeveless Sweatshirt Dress: Fabletics
Additional Sights -
X Burlesque & Revue Show at the Flamingo Las Vegas
Wanna catch up on our wedding planning journey?!
I’ve got all the details right here!
Part 1: Our Wedding Inspiration & Mood Board
Part 2: Our Wedding Photographer & Our Engagement Photos
Part 3: My 3-Day Las Vegas Bachelorette Trip
Part 4: Our Wedding Day at the Bay Pointe Inn
Part 5: Our Honeymoon at Walt Disney World (1/2)
Last Segment Coming Soon! . . . Part 5: Our Honeymoon at Universal Studios & Wizarding World of Harry Potter (2/2)
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