Weddingbee Blog

After the ceremony—after we were married—Mr. Mole and I made a quick stop back at the hotel suite with my mom and my sister to bustle my dress. My dress had a double underbustle, which was created by tying together a series of color-coded ribbons. It ended up being harder than it looked! The first attempt merely left the back of the dress looking lumpy and misshapen. We had to start all over again. Argh.

Suddenly, I had an idea. Mr. Mole and I went into the bedroom and closed the door. I completely took off the dress, and together we tied up the ribbons as it was spread out on the bed. This technique, while admittedly unconventional, was quick and easy. The bustle ended up looking great. I stepped back into the dress, and Mr. Mole helped me zip it up. Although this might not have been the ideal scenario, I am happy that we got to spend a few minutes alone between the ceremony and reception. It was time just for us, away from the photographer, away from our guests, away from the noise. I highly recommend scheduling a few minutes like this into your day.

While we were in the room, I also decided to change shoes. My peep-toe heels were killing me, even though I made sure to break them in before the wedding. However, what I didn’t anticipate was that our hands and feet would swell in Vegas. (We even had a little trouble getting our rings on during the ceremony!) The roomier Kate Spade flats felt so much better as soon as I stepped into them. My feet felt reinvigorated.

It’s a good thing, too: we still had a lot of celebrating to do! We first met back up with our family in the Tower Suite Bar. Everyone was hanging out and enjoying themselves—well, everyone except Baby Nephew, who was banned from the lounge area for being under 21. Instead, he was happily playing with his Sophie the Giraffe in the hotel lobby.

From there, we moved to a hallway near the wedding salons to take some family portraits. We had the whole area to ourselves, so we took our time to get a variety of configurations.

After the family portraits were done, we made our way to Bouchon Bistro. Bouchon is in the Venetian hotel, which is two hotels away from the Wynn on the Strip. Most of our family members decided to drive. However, Mr. Mole and I decided to walk there with our photographer in tow. It was a beautiful night.

People whooped and cheered and congratulated us as we walked by. The Midwestern tourists we met along the way were especially kind. Only one drunk man yelled something like “Don’t do it, man!” to which Mr. Mole cheerfully replied, “Too late!” The drunk man’s significant other not-too-playfully punched him in the arm after this exchange.

It was a surreal experience being on the Strip, with its flashing lights and bright colors, in a white wedding dress. Or, I guess I should say, a formerly white wedding dress: the lace and organza were getting pretty dirty as we walked along the Vegas sidewalk. The hem even picked up a couple of those “girls girls girls” cards as it swept the ground. It was all worth it, though, to get photographs like these:

The replica of the Rialto Bridge behind us indicates that we had made our way to the Venetian hotel. We wove our way through the casino, trying to follow the signs to Bouchon. Bouchon is located in the Venezia Tower.

We hopped in the elevator, and we took advantage of the quiet moment together. Soon, we would be reunited with all of our guests for cocktail hour!

All photography in Las Vegas by Brian Saculles, unless otherwise noted.

Did you miss a Mole recap?

• We had a recap before the recaps
• We welcomed our families to Las Vegas
• We rode in limos and danced with lions
• We rehearsed at Stripburger
• I got ready, emotionally and physically
• I took some glamour shots
• Mr. Mole had his moment in the spotlight
• We took some pre-ceremony photos together
• We walked down the aisle and started our ceremony
• We got married!