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| - I think our guests would be very surprised to know that our wedding ceremony cost less than $1200. When my husband and I first went to see it, it was after we had already made the reservation and put down the deposit. I was bothered by the fact that it was right next to an ugly empty lot . Obviously there's nothing that Mon Bel Ami can do about that; it isn't their fault. My concern was that it would detract from the wedding and make things seem less classy since it was the first thing I noticed.
Communication with Mon Bel Ami was always so responsive, from when we first submitted a request for a reservation up until the wedding itself. Carrie was our wedding coordinator and she was on top of it. There was really nothing to do except make the reservation, pay and wait for the wedding to come.
A few important notes:
-You cannot have your own photographer. It's their photographer or nothing. Your guests are NOT allowed to take any photographs if you do not purchase a photography package. If you do use their photographer, then photographs from guests are to wait until after the photographer himself is done due to concerns that outside photography (AKA guests' cameras) might interfere with the photographer's shots.
-If you need flowers, you have to go through them. They provide a complimentary bouquet and boutonnière in red, white or pink. If you choose your own florist, there is a fee.
-Guest parking is a back lot, behind the front entrance, so you have to drive around to the other side of the block. How my guests all knew that, I don't know, because I wasn't aware of it, so I didn't tell them anything. They just figured it out.
-They offer special wedding collections, included with whatever wedding package you choose http://www.monbelami.com/Misc/our-wedding-collections.html
Thi was not available when I first booked my wedding, so by the time I requested it, it was too late for them to put in the order. :(
To my relief, no one seemed to noticed the dirt lot next to the chapel. The establishment itself was nice- the chapel as well as the pavilion. I did not get to see the gazebo. One guest commented that she loved it so much that she too wanted a Vegas wedding, "It's so much more fun than regular weddings! I want it here too!" A lot of my guests thought the whole thing was beautiful.
The minister kept mispronouncing my name. You could see it in the video where my bestie is giggling with her fiancé and my sisters are laughing every time he says my name. He kept saying my husband's name a little strange but I think it was more of an accent thing than a mispronunciation. My husband's last name, though- totally butchered that one. We could get upset or we could laugh because it made the whole thing funnier with everyone and more memorable.
I'm not sure I was that happy with my photographs. Dave was a really nice guy, made you feel comfortable in front of the camera but I didn't like most of the photos. However, it's hard to say whether it was him or the situation. Both of our toddlers refused to nap earlier so by the time the ceremony came, they were very difficult. By the time it was time for the posed pictures, they were nearly uncooperative. It was just us standing where the ceremony took place with our four kids. We got a few pictures like that but that was it. He wanted to get the photos with them as soon as we could just so we could get them into the car to their naps. Then a few more with our parents and two not-so-clear shots of our entire wedding party. I was probably most unhappy with those- it was so far away and almost blurry. They just didn't look good and it felt rushed. Instead of standing so far away because he had everyone stand in one long line all the way across, he could've taken the photo closer by creating two shorter rows with people in the front sitting or kneeling.
No one told our guests anything. After the ceremony, all our guests were just standing around when my husband and I had to take our posed wedding photos in the garden area. So immediately after we were done, I ran back to the pavilion in my giant wedding dress to tell everyone that it was all finished so that they could leave and that we would meet them later at the reception.
I didn't tell my guests not to take photos because it was daytime. It was a bright sunny day and no one was using flash, so it didn't disrupt Dave's photos. Would I recommend that people not tell their guests if they were doing a chapel or nighttime ceremony? No, in that case, please tell your guests not to take photos. But I was grateful for my guests' photos because they got things that the photographer didn't.
We opted out of the free bouquet and boutonnière because we made our own. I spoke to Jennifer (front desk) about that in advance so the fee was waived- we're saving them the money on unneeded floral accessories; I would hope we wouldn't get punished for it. Everything was good. I'm happy we chose Mon Bel Ami.
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