Angela & Taylor
A Glamourous Desert Elopement
10/02/2022
Theme: Las Vegas, Dessert Glam
Congratulations Angela! Your wedding looked truly magical with the desert sky and setting sun, thank you so much for sharing. Read on to experience this glamours desert elopement for yourself along with some much needed bridal advice.
The Veil
Angela wanted a custom made veil, that was unique and glamorous to fit the theme of her wedding. Her custom veil was a single tier, 144” length, standard cut veil. She wanted her veil to really sparkle so she doubled the amount of scattered rhinestones & pearls! The color tulle she chose was Moscato, which blended beautifully with the desert terrain. For the final touch she added a 3” gold comb to her veil, it was truly a desert glam veil.
Love Story
From the bride: Taylor and I met while working together in Las Vegas at the Palazzo. The moment I saw him, I knew I was in love! He had a beard and long dark hair past his shoulders. I wanted to start dating ASAP, but Taylor had just moved to Las Vegas from his small hometown, Blythe, CA. He had never lived in a big city and was a serial monogamous. We decided to be friends for about a year and then I got tired of saying we were “just friends” and just started calling him my boyfriend. He found out, and about a month later, he asked me to be his girlfriend on 2/2/2018. On our three year anniversary, he proposed!
Ceremony & Reception Theme
Taylor comes from a HUGE family and so we knew that was going to be tricky. After a couple of months of planning, we ultimately decided to do a micro wedding/elopement and we only invited our immediate family. We decided to get married in Las Vegas as that is where my family is and also where we met and lived together.
I knew I wanted to have the ceremony in the desert to incorporate the beautiful desert scenery. My photographer, Britany picked the place as I told her, “I want the best place for the best pictures!”
After our ceremony we wanted to have a family dinner somewhere downtown to really get the old Las Vegas vibe. Our very first date was at the El Cortez so we decided to pick Barry’s Downtown Steakhouse. Taylor and I + our families all stayed at the El Cortez for the wedding weekend.
The overall theme of the wedding was Desert Glam! I bleed sparkle and sequins so I wanted everything to be sparkly and over the top mixed with the warm tones of the desert! I also didn’t want anything to feel “too bridal” or generic. I wanted to feel like this was a cool party that just happened to be our wedding. I wanted to just pick things I liked!
Bridal Look
For my wedding dress, I knew I wanted a fitted gown with a deep v neckline and an open back. I ended up finding my gown at David’s Bridal three days before the wedding, it fit like a glove and didn’t need any alterations! It had beads and sparkles and ended up being the perfect dress for the Desert Glam vibe.
When it came time to the veil, I knew I wanted to make a statement, but I wasn’t finding anything that matched my style. I usually steer away from anything “traditional” or anything that looks like it has been done before. I went down a rabbit hole one afternoon trying to find a unique and glamorous veil and soon realized quickly I was going to have to custom make my veil and started googling “custom veil”. Luckily, I stumbled upon Class Veils and Krystal was able to help me make the coolest veil I have ever seen!
I ended up going with a cathedral length, Moscato colored veil, with extra rhinestones and pearls sprinkled throughout with a 3 inch comb.
I wore pointed toe champagne colored rhinestone boots for my wedding shoes; the ultimate sparkle shoe! My nails were painted a cognac brown with each nail sprinkled with rhinestones.
Gifts & Favors
I got my mom and sister and I all matching rings! A thin gold ring with 1 pearl, and 1 rhinestone. This ring is dainty and something we can all wear every day!
Wedding playlist
Taylor and I did not have any of the typical wedding dances, but my videographer played Shania Twain’s, “Man! I feel like a woman!” on a speaker after the ceremony when we all decided to have a celebratory drink! (Taylor and I LOVE Shania!) If we had to pick a wedding song, it would be Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good” – we are hoping to have that song on our wedding video!
Honeymoon
Taylor and I will be going to Jackson Hole, WY in March! We wanted to go after the craziness of our wedding and the holidays. We wanted to have a winter wonderland feel where we can ride a dog sled and go snow shoeing! Taylor LOVES being cold and it felt like a fun way to be cozy – our hotel is booked and has a fireplace!
Wedding Planning Tips & Tricks
Wedding planning can be so overwhelming especially when you both work! Some tips I would pass along is:
#1 Book your photographer and don’t be cheap about it! This was the best decision I made for the whole wedding and it was the best money I could have spent. Weddings can be stressful and there’s so much pressure for everything to be perfect. When I look at the pictures I’ve gotten back, I hardly remember what went wrong that day and only remember feeling excited to be married to Taylor. These pictures will hang in our home forever! You’ll probably throw away your flowers and you most likely won’t wear your wedding dress again, but the pictures will last forever.
#2 Get a wedding planner! You will want someone to help you make decisions! I’ve never been married before, I am NOT a wedding expert and weddings are not my specialty so it can be hard as the bride to have to make all these decisions. When you meet with ANYONE and have to make a decision – florals, cake, venue – you want someone who is an expert in weddings to guide you and be there with you! Also, if anything goes wrong, you want someone to take the reins and handle it because your wedding planner will know your vision and be able to fix anything. You want to be a BRIDE not the host of the event.
#3 PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING and SEND PICTURES you like for inspiration.
#4 It is ok to say, “I don’t like this” or “I need you to fix this” if something isn’t right.
List of Vendors
Photographer
The light and the love
@thelightandthelove
https://thelightandthelove.com/
Videographer
Hilton Creative Co
@hilton_creative_co
https://www.hiltoncreativeco.com/
Wedding Planner
Hello Darline
@hellodarlinglv
https://www.hellodarlinglv.com/
Hotel
El Cortez in Las Vegas, Nevada
https://elcortezhotelcasino.com
@elcortezlv
Restaurant
Barry’s Downtown Prime Steakhouse
https://www.barrysdowntownprime.com/
@barrysprime
Hair
Henderson-Vegas Hairstylist
@katiedaymartin.hair
Makeup
@haleynvasquez
https://www.styleseat.com/m/v/artistryxamanda
@artistryxamanda
Jessica Smith
@jessicasmithartistry
Dress
@davidsbridal
Veil
Classic Veils
@classic_veils
Suit
Express
@express
Florals
Lucid Juliet
@lucidjuliet
https://www.lucidjulietfloral.com/
Cake
@whiskfulthinkingcakeslv
Officiant
@jubilee_occasions_
