I distinctly remember the first time I heard from Andy about his wedding.  I was at Fashion Show Mall with a group of friends having dinner.  I was expecting a call from a business associate in Atlanta, so when an ATL area code popped up, I quickly excused myself from dinner and went outside to answer the call.  Instead of the person I was expecting, it Andy was  on the other end of the phone!  He asked about services so I did an impromptu phone consultation while sitting outside California Pizza Kitchen with busy shoppers hustling around and kids screaming in the background.  Not my idea of a great first impression!  After a few more calls and emails, Andy & Patricia were signed with Scheme and ready to come to town for the venue search.  We hit up a few of their requests of venues to see and a few other recommendations I had.  They left with somewhat of an idea of what they liked, but nothing set in stone.  Fast forward a few weeks and they decided none of the options were quite the right fit.  I had just finished a wedding at Mandarin Oriental and thought maybe it was a space for them to consider.  They agreed and booked the venue…sight unseen!  Talk about trust!  We settled on a July 5 wedding date and used the patriotic colors to influence our color palette of ivory, scarlet and navy.
A few months later Andy & Patricia were able to come for their tasting and vendor appointments and got to soak in what Mandarin has to offer.  The food was fantastic and the ballrooms coordinated perfectly with our color scheme.  The remainder of the planning was spent putting personal touches into their overall wedding theme.  They wanted to incorporate the glitz and glam of a Las Vegas wedding tastefully into their patriotic decor so we used a dark red sequin linen with glitter gold chargers and glittered menus (DIY’ed by Patricia’s maid of honor!).  Patricia is a veterinarian so we incorporated gold gilded animals as escort cards.
On the day of the wedding, Andy & Patricia did their First Look photo session in the Mandarin Oriental ballroom foyer and then moved to the famous 23rd floor gold wall for family and wedding party portraits.  The wall perfectly accented the look and decor of the wedding!  We held the ceremony in on a round riser in a space that appeared to be made just for the fit and size of their wedding.  Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed patriotic “A Marry Can” martinis then moved to the ballroom for dinner and dancing.  Andy’s groomsmen surprised the newlyweds by a visit from Elvis!  Patricia’s father passed away so to honor him, she had her all peony bouquet (hello, favorite!) wrapped with his bolero.  Such a sweet touch and sentimental memory.  Throughout the process, Andy & Patricia had an on-again, off-again relationship with the idea of having sparklers at the wedding.  Ultimately it was nixed due to logistics.  We surprised them the night of the wedding with a star studded sparkler scene for just the two of them.  You can’t have a patriotic bash and leave out the sparkler pictures!!
Andy & Patricia were a couple who seemed to never let the wedding chaos, stress or emotions get to them.  They were calm, cool and collected every.step.of.the.way.  They were a dream to work with!  Andy & Patricia, I wish you all the best in your marriage.  You’ve already supported each other through so much and after spending the day interacting with your family and friends, I can see you attract the best people to have around you!  I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for the two of you, but I hope it brings you to Vegas at least a few more times to relive your wedding memories. xoxo, rissa



Patricia and Andy Wedding Movie from Light Source Films on Vimeo.
 
Las Vegas Wedding Planner: Scheme Events • Venue: Las Vegas Mandarin Oriental • Photography: Adam Frazier • Videography: Light Source Films • Floral: Naakiti Floral • Entertainment: T Music Entertainment Group • Hair & Makeup: Makeup in the 702 • Officiant: Angie Kelly with Peachy Keen Unions • Lighting: LED Unplugged • Linens: La Tavola • String Musicians: Las Vegas Wedding Music • Invitations: Paper & Home • Photo Booth: Shutterbooth