Las Vegas Wedding: Damon & Jill

Well, June has just flown by! We were home from Niagara Falls for about a week, then we left town again to go to Damon's wedding in Las Vegas. This trip came together quickly, as Damon and Jill just got engaged while we were on our Disney trip. It was pretty impressive that they picked a date when all the immediate family and quite a few of their friends could make it!

Mark and I got there mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and Dad & Damon picked us up at the airport. On our way to check in at the hotel, Treasure Island, we bumped into Mom & Jill, and had a very quick introduction to our new sister-in-law to be. By dinner time, Heidi and family had arrived, and we went together to the food court across the street in the Venetian to have dinner. After that, some of us walked around the strip to explore a bit. We checked out Caesar's Palace, saw the Atlantis show (kind of cheesy and in poor repair, but with fun pyrotechnics), made our way down to the Bellagio to see their fountain show (really fun!), and caught the volcano show at the Mirage (lots of fire and drums) on our way back to Treasure Island. The Bellagio's show was by far my favorite of the three, and it was fun to catch up a bit with everyone.

view from the walkway from Treasure Island to the Venetian

inside the Venetian

in front of the indoor gondola ride in the Venetian

I had a sushi burrito for dinner

exploring the strip--this is a spiral escalator in Caesar's Palace

Fountain of the Gods

Atlantis Show

Atlantis show

at the Bellagio, waiting for the show

Bellagio fountains

Mirage volcano show

Thursday was the day for the bachelor and bachellorette activities and the rehearsal dinner. Before all that, we spent some time hanging out with family, including more time exploring the strip. This time, we walked up the opposite side, weaving in and out of the casinos/hotels, making our way up to lunch at Taco Bell. In the afternoon, the guys started their activities with a visit to a deluxe shooting range, where they could shoot automatic weapons, grenade launchers, etc. It sounded like they had a good time. Around 4pm, we all made our way to an address we'd been given for the rehearsal/dinner, which was meant to be a surprise. Turns out, we were headed to Denny's, where "Elvis" met us in their "wedding chapel" for an unofficial, pre-ceremony. Of course, he performed a bunch of Elvis songs, too. Apparently, Damon's always wanted to get married by Elvis in Vegas, so this came pretty close to fulfilling that dream. And "Elvis" did a great job! After, the happy couple treated us all to dinner, and they each gave a very sweet toast honoring their parents' marriages. Mark and I got to sit with our favorite niece and nephew. In the evening, the ladies met up again to go to the show Baz (named after the director of the 3 movies retold in the musical--Romeo and Juliet, Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge); the guys went to David Copperfield.

we got some treats here, at the Cake Boss's bakery

walking along the Venetian

at the shooting range with the guys

in the "wedding chapel" waiting for the others to arrive

Elvis!

the t-shirts came with the package:
"we go together like [bacon & eggs]"

at the show with the girls

On Friday, we spent most of our time getting ready for the big event, but first, we found a few minutes for Mark and Mom to try out the "penny" slots. :-) Later, we were off to the wedding at the Little Church of the West, a small chapel on the opposite side of the strip. The wedding package came with a limo, so some of us family got to ride along with the bride and groom. We waited for a bit outside the chapel, and got to say 'hi' to some of Damon's friends we'd met at other times. Before long, we got settled in the chapel and waited for the ceremony to start, taking a few selfies to pass the time. I didn't take any pics of the ceremony, but there's a video available here (not sure how long it'll be up, though). The officiating pastor wss from Damon and Jill's church in LA, so it was a very sweet, personal ceremony. After, we took some family/wedding party photos, then the guests showered the new couple with rose petals as they left the chapel. We took a few group pics, then the bride and groom had a few more of them alone together before we made our way over to the reception, at an Italian restaurant very close to our hotel (it was so easy to walk back after!). The food was absolutely delicious! Mark gave a great, funny toast, and we enjoyed more time with the family.

it doesn't take very long to lose $2...even at penny slots!

in the limo--Mark's first limo ride, my second

me, with the "man of honor" 

in front of the chapel

inside

loved the rose petals! 

Mr & Mrs
(this may be their first selfie as a married couple)

wedding cake

Mom & Dad

cutting the cake

Mark giving his toast

Jill & Damon during Mark's toast

We left around mid-day on Saturday, getting home pretty late our time, but not feeling too bad thanks to the time difference. It was a whirlwind trip, but I'm so glad we were able to be there and celebrate with Damon & Jill! I'm also looking forward to a chance to get to know Jill better sometime soon, hopefully at Christmas in Missouri.