Venetian wedding, Vegas style
To say that I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and in kind of a bad mood is the same kind of understatement that would be involved in saying that Mount Everest is a gently rolling hill.
But seeing as that’s not really your problem and that you probably came to the blog to be entertained, we are going to shelve my various specific and miasmic complaints and see some photos of Vegas! Right on!
Here’s something unusual:
Yeah, desert ducks. Shown here swimming in one of the arroyos that carries the runoff from Lake Mead.
It ain’t easy to be a duck in Vegas:
Facing not only heat and the unsuitably arid climate, but also the consistent prejudice Duck Americans routinely confront in area casinos, these particular ducks are furthermore being stalked by a cat (see right). A cat! Nature, red in tooth and claw!
Tell you the truth, I wish I had just stayed in Vegas. Make a note of it, because you’ll probably never again hear me say that I wish I could have spent more time in Vegas. This is a “special time” (as we’ve been told ad nauseam by the bridal industry and well-meaning observers who have forgotten their own pre-wedding experience) and leading up to our “special day” there are a lot of things to do. Most of them are neither very interesting nor very rewarding. But yet here we are! Busy, busy, busy!
Meanwhile, back in Vegas, there’s the Bellagio Fountain:
In what may be one of the most ironic moments I have ever experienced in my life, this fountain display was done to the musical accompaniment of the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts.” You know the one: “Tis a gift to be simple/tis a gift to be free/tis a gift to come down/where you ought to be./And when you find yourself/in the place just right/it will be in the valley of love and delight…” and so forth.
I like to hum that little ditty while I’m playing blackjack and enjoying a free cocktail, don’t you?
The Bellagio’s so big (I understand it cost $1.6 billion to build and I simply cannot think of a better use for that money, can you?) that you could drive a car in there:
Somebody was getting his kicks.
I also visited the Palace of the Mighty Caesar and captured the beauty of this “sculpture” on film. This one sits just outside the entrace to the shopping mall at the Palace of the Mighty Caesar, the Forum Shops:
All hail the great Shopimus Maximus!
La Tour Eiffel still stands in the desert:
Shameless Replicas ‘R Us!
And speaking of shameless replicas, I finally made it to the Venetian, which cost $1.2 billion to construct. Fine place like this don’t come cheap, people!:
Phoney baloney frescoes on the ceiling of the second-floor shopping area. Ask not “Is it art?” for the answer should be obvious.
They also have a replica of the Grand Canal, complete with gondoliers…
…and more gondoliers:
As you might expect, there is a special wedding gondola:
Two lucky people whose wedding is over. How I envy them!
In my current predicament, I can’t help but feel that those two were the smartest people in the room. Why Alex and I didn’t realize that the Vegas wedding was the royal road to happiness right from the beginning, I’ll never know.
In spite of all we’re juggling, Lord willing, I’ll be back with some knitting later in the week.
In the meantime, if you have any thoughts about why the modest family wedding with a traditional ceremony in a place that isn’t a casino is actually really worth it, please leave a comment. For the moment, I’ve forgotten entirely why it seemed like a good idea.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Um . . . ’cause your mom will kill you if you elope? At least, that was my main motivation. Oh, and we couldn’t decide between Shaft and Elvis, anyway.
Just remember: even if the wedding is crazy, and seems to be more about everyone (and everything) other than you, the marriage is all about you. The best part of getting married is that then, you *are* married, and the wedding craziness goes away.
At least until you try to pick the photos to go in the wedding album. 🙂
June 6th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Ummmmm…is this a trick question? 😉
June 6th, 2007 at 2:28 am
The frescoes remind me of an 80s-era Doonesbury, in which Donald Trump is commissioning a replica of the Sistine Chapel, and exhorts the artist to “put some hooters on those nymphs!”
Having never been married, I can’t tell you why the wedding will be worth it, except to say that overall you seem much more engaged (no pun intended) and interested in doing this wedding up right than you ever seemed about the beginning of your starter marriage.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Well, having been married, though not in a very long time, I have to say that all the problems of the marriage aside, the wedding still stands out in my mind as a highlight.
The wedding itself was not without its problems (the bride, for instance, was ten minutes late). I kid you not (insert heavy sigh here). There was all sorts of attendant craziness, right up to the last minute. Times when I wanted to “go screaming down the road” (and maybe should have, given all that followed).
But I also know that I felt so *loved* that day, and by everyone there. There was a quite palpable feeling of good will and good wishes, and I enjoyed it immensely. It is truly a family celebration, and I will hope for you that it all seems worth it afterwards.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Any celebration or festival is hectic. The planning thereof is above and beyond one’s normal life which is usually hectic enough already. Why do we do it? Because it IS a celebration or a festival. The work beforehand is to make the event stand out as different, as special. Your wedding day is NOT just another day. You make VOWS to each other on that day. That’s something you don’t do again, ever. The work beforehand to make it stand out will be worth it. Mine was. Oh, BTW, I’m here because of your S4 pattern that someone just linked to on the Big Girl Knits list serve. Awesome pattern! (I’m a SM–tee hee.) So I’m glad I came over to your blog and I’m glad I came today. I loved my wedding–small, family, traditional. I wouldn’t trade it, the memories, the pictures, the special sharing of it between just the two of us in the years after–of which there have been 12–, for anything.
June 6th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Um, I can’t say as to the traditional wedding, since mine wasn’t at all traditional… And I’ve *gotta* make that post about mine this week, just for you. 😉 There will be a few things that may make you rethink re the craziness. [eg]
The photos – ohh, man. What *is* that ‘sculpture’ supposed to be?! No, don’t answer; I’m already seeing it as something out of a Conan movie, my imagination is horrible enough, LOL. (I swear, I see ribs. Or snake skeletons. Something. Someone must’ve been channeling Howard, H.P. Lovecraft or both.)
But welcome back – missed you! – and courage! Try not to murder any bridal industry enthusiasts, ok? A honeymoon on the lam just doesn’t sound quite the thing.
June 7th, 2007 at 4:52 am
A ceremony that is “you” is absolutely worth it – so much better than a cookie cutter ceremony on the spur of the moment.
One of the best things to look back on is being surrounded by all your favourite people, as another commenter said – all wishing the best for you. It’s a feeling you will never have in your lifetime again.
June 7th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I have been a lurker on your site and I have been following your wedding planning stories. Congratulations!!!! My husband and I have been married for over ten years and I just want to let you know that whatever you have planned to do on your wedding day or think you will mess up on certain things, nobody will know. You and your fiance planned this special day and it is yours. No one is going to know what is on your agenda for that day. Just enjoy it and remember every details. I have talked to friends who told me that everything was a blur for them because they were so stressed out. Congratulations once again and I can’t wait to see pictures of the actual day and your sister’s shawl!!!
June 19th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Hi! Love your site…especially since you posted a photo of the recreation of one of my favorite fountains in the whole world. Fifth photo down, caption reads, “All hail the great Shopimus Maximus!”….this is the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy (known as “La Fontana di Trevi” in Italian). I have been there uncountable times over the past 3 years and each time I fall more in love with it. The legend says if you toss 2 coins into the fountain, one day you will return to Rome…I wonder if the same applies to the replica in Vegas? Hope your marriage is still as beautiful as the first day! 🙂