Nice to meet you, Willie

Just in case you don't recognize him, this is Willie from the TV show Duck Dynasty.

As Adam and I were walking into Walmart, there was a sign that said Willie would be signing autographs from 12:30 - 3:30.  I thought I remembered that the boys really liked that show so we decided to buy 3  Duck Dynasty hats and wait in line to get them autographed for the boys.  1 1/2 hours later we finally made it to the front of the line!

I don't know why my arms look so red in this pic, but maybe it was because I was hot.  I hope that those cute nephews of ours are excited!

Friday

By Friday, we were both starting to get a little homesick and were missing the girls (Betis, Big Bear, Shelby and the chickens).

Since our flight left that afternoon, we had a little time to kill before we headed to the airport.  We had breakfast at Bouchon on the patio next to the Venetian pool.  It's a French Bistro and had yummy food.  They had homemade cherry preserves that were amazing!

Then, I got to me some famous people!  Here I am playing the keyboard with Stevie Wonder...

And chillin' with Snoop....

Then I was interviewed by Oprah!

Okay, okay...so maybe they were wax, but it was still fun.  I had never been to a wax museum before and have always wanted to go.  It was so cool and a little creepy.  Some of the people looked so real, that it kind of freaked you out to get close.  I don't think Adam was as impressed as I was :)

After lunch at Emeril Lagasses sports bar, we headed to the airport and back to the Ranch.  We had a great time and a great wedding, but we were glad to be home!

Thursday

Thursday was a pretty relaxed day for us.  We got up and had breakfast at Grand Lux Cafe again then headed to our appointment to look at our wedding pics.  After trying to be upsold to a $2,000 package for about 30 minutes, we made our selection and headed out for some more exploring.

Since we didn't have anything planned until later that evening, we headed down to the MGM Grand so that I could see the Lions (one of my favorite exhibits).  If you aren't familiar with the strip, the MGM is on the opposite end of the strip from the Venetian.  We hoofed it for a few casinos, but it was so hot that we decided to take the tram the rest of the way.  We get to the MGM and after wandering around for a while, I find the exhibit.  It's gone!!!  It has be closed off.  I was so bummed!! :(  Not only was it one of my favorite things, but we'd gone all the way there just to see it.  We settled on some shopping at Planet Hollywood - not too shabby :)

After a late lunch at Planet Hollywood, we made the trek back to our hotel to freshen up for our evening at the Phantom of the Opera.

We grabbed a couple of appetizers at Tao before the show and were there when the doors opened.  The theater is incredible and so was the show!  Neither of us had seen it before so it was even more special.  The chandelier that you can see in the picture below actually falls onto the crowd in the middle of the show - super scary but cool.

The show has been at The Venetian for 6 years, but is leaving on September 2nd.  We were glad that we got to see it before it was gone.

Wednesday - Wedding Day Part 2

After a little rest, we started getting ready for the big event.  Our wedding started at 4:00 and we had to meet them near the gondola at 3:45 p.m.

Adam got ready quickly, then headed down to check out menus and pick out a restaurant for dinner so that I could get ready by myself.  Our suite had a perfect bathroom for getting ready, which included a seated vanity and makeup mirror so I could take my time getting ready.  I put on some Etta James on Pandora and got to work.

Here's a pic of my hair and hairpiece..

Here's the full view of my dress right after I finished getting ready.  It's not great quality, because I was taking it of myself.  

Adam took this pic before we left the room to head down to our wedding!!

We spoke our vows as the gondola was steered down the canal.  We were a little nervous about all the people watching because it was really crowded, but we barely noticed.  I'm sure we probably made it into a few people's blogs because several people were snapping pictures.  

When we first got on the gondola...

Saying our vows...

I now pronounce you husband and wife..you may kiss your bride :)

Apparently it's good luck for you to make a wish and kiss under each bridge...

Here's a few of our wedding pics.  I was pretty impressed with how they turned out since we met the photographer for the first time 5 minutes before the ceremony started.  He took us all over the property and picked some good locations. 

I love these pics from Tao restaurant.  The entrance is really cool with these huge bathtubs filled with rose petals and candles

My handsome husband :)

I loved my shoes and baby blue toenails!  

I also loved my bouquet.  It was all pink roses with an ivory ribbon and was super girly.

After the ceremony and pictures we headed to grab a drink before dinner.  Adam got the bartender to make me a "mocktail" because it wasn't very fun to just drink water.  It was lime and blueberry flavored - yum!

We headed to dinner at Valentino (an Italian restaurant) and loaded up on pasta.  It was very good, but I didn't get a single picture!  I guess we were all pictured out..  We got dessert to go and headed up to our room so I could rest my feet. 

Even though we missed our family and friends, it was a great wedding day.  Very romantic and relaxing - exactly what we wanted!

Wednesday - Wedding Day Part 1

We started the day with a poolside breakfast at Emeril Lagasse's restaurant.  Then we headed back to the room to wait for the "Steamer of the Bride" to arrive at our suite.

She has such a brilliant business plan! She travels to all the hotels and will steam your wedding dress, suits, etc in the room so you don't have to mess with taking it offsite somewhere.  She did a fabulous job and I was glad to have one less thing to worry about. 

While we were waiting,  we noticed that our wedding was on the TV event list, so I couldn't help but snap a pic.

With the dress nice and steamed, we decided to do some exploring before we had to come back and get ready for the wedding.  We headed to Caesar's Palace and did a little more shopping at H&M then grabbed lunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill.  Then it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding!

Tuesday

We woke up bright and early on Tuesday morning and started our day with some yummy corned beef hash and pancakes from the Grand Lux Cafe in our hotel.  We quickly discovered that we get up too early for Las Vegas because everything was still closed!

We decided to head to the marriage license bureau while we were waiting for everything to open.  We had heard horror stories about the wait for marriage licenses, but luckily we beat the crowd and it took less than 5 min! The bureau is open from 8-midnight every day- wild!!

The funniest thing is that as you walk up, people start asking you if you have a chapel already and trying to hand you brochures.

We headed back to the hotel and did some exploring.  After checking out all the shops in the hotel and booking me a spa appt for later that afternoon,  we headed to the Fashion Show Mall (after a pit stop at the Wynn) for some serious shopping. It's a good thing they shipped!   I could not have fit everything in my suitcase. 

Lunch was at I <3 Burgers and was not very good.  Service was horrible and the food was just ok, but it gave our feet some much needed rest.

After lunch it was spa time! I had my first Vegas spa experience last year when Adam treated me, Priti, and Louise to a spa day during our girls weekend.  It was incredible and this experience was no different!  Its so much more than just getting a massage like you get around here.  You have access to all these other services. 

I arrived about 1 1/2 hours early and got into my comfy spa robe.  Since I couldn't use the hot tub or sauna, I focused on the cool therapies.  Aromatherapy showers, igloo room and the most comfortable chair I have ever sat in.  It was fit exactly to your body and was slightly heated so it was very relaxing. 

The massage felt great and really helped my aching feet and back.  They had great products,  so I showered and got ready there before heading back to the room.

To finish off the day, we had a wonderful dinner at Carnevino (a Mario Batalli) restaurant. We started off with a caprese salad with the best heirloom tomatoes I have ever had.  Dinner consistented of a huge T-bone that was carved table side and spicy creamed corn. 

The T-bone was perfect since it is half filet (my favorite)  and half strip (Adam's favorite). We're a perfect pair :). For dessert we took the server's recommendation and ordered Date cake...so yummy! Luckily Adam doesn't have a very big sweet tooth so I got to eat most of it myself :). It was a great end to the day!

Monday

I'm going to apologize in advance for the next few blog posts- they might be a little boring but I want to document our wedding trip/week.

We headed out Monday night from XNA.  Our flight didn't leave until about 9:30 pm, so we grabbed a quick burger at Red Robin then headed to the airport.

We had plenty of time to kill, so I got my walk in by walking around the new airport terminal.  By the time we headed out, I was starving since it had been a while since we ate dinner.  Luckily they had snacks on the plane and they hit the spot.  I slept off and on the rest of the flight while Adam read since it was way past my bedtime!

By the time we arrived at the Las Vegas airport it was 10:30 their time (12:30 am) our time.  We were so ready to get to the hotel and crash. 

We finally got to our hotel (The Palazzo), and got settled in our room around 11:30.  We crashed and rested up for our first day in Vegas.

Only in Vegas...

Do you get solicited by wedding chapels :). We walked out of the marriage license bureau and people started asking us if we had a chapel.  Too funny!

The Wedding Countdown Begins...

It is so crazy trying to get everything ready to go out of town.  We spent the weekend packing, preparing the chickens and dogs, and finishing up work stuff so that we can fully enjoy our wedding week.  Thankfully Melissa came to pick up Coco and took Vixen back to stay at the Pitts house for the week.  Thanks Pitts!

I dropped off Shelby and Killa at the vet on the way to work this morning.  As I was driving I kept noticing a funny smell, but I didn't realize until I opened up the back gate that Shelby had gotten car sick - ALL OVER the back of my car.  Poor girl..I guess she's just not used to riding in the car.  It was all over the leash, Killa, Shelby's favorite toy, and my carpet.

I had to carry Shelby inside because she doesn't like to walk on a leash (we will be working to correct that as soon as I get back!), then I came back to clean up Killa and get her settled.  Luckily the vet gave me some paper towels and I did my best to clean up the car.  What a great way to start the day!

Our flight doesn't leave until 9:15 tonight, so after work we are headed to eat dinner before the airport.  Can't wait to get to Vegas and for our wedding on Wednesday!