Taking Vegas by Swarm
Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:00AM This weekend, I went to Vegas for the very first time. Yes, I should have gone when I was young and crazy, but instead I waited until I was old and crazy. About ten months ago or so, I had dinner with one Mrs. Emerald and one Mrs. Cupcake here in Chicago. We talked about how awesome a huge WeddingBee national meet-up would be, and how we had to make it happen. Vegas seemed like a natural choice!
We were excited to find that about thirty-ish Bees were on board! We marked our calendars for an early March weekend and counted down the days. I just returned from four days in the desert... and those Bees wore my pasty patootie out. As several Bees have mentioned, some Bees were exactly as I pictured them, some were totally different. I knew Mrs. Toucan would be A1 entertaining and awesome, which was accurate, but I had this picture of Mrs. Corn as being super-thoughtful at all times - also true, but even more true is the fact that she is ridiculously funny. Like fall over funny. WHO KNEW?
The Mirage served as our official Bee hotel, and I heartily recommend it... the rooms were SO nice, and we loved staying there. Here are a few pics from the weekend. I used a point & shoot, and I also did a horrible job taking photos (too busy having fun!) so I had to fill in a bit from Mrs. Cupcake. Somehow... I look drunk-o in all the photos, even though I really didn't drink much, Margarita Stroll excluded (just wait for it.)
I roomed with Mrs. Taffy, Mrs. Cupcake, and Mrs. Quiche...
See!? Faux drunkface. Ugh.We stayed in this loverly room...
...which we quickly turned into a big mess!
Mrs. Quiche finds posing in my candid photos to be a fun hobby.We started Friday morning off with Chicken n' Waffles.
Which turned into a margarita stroll down the Strip!
In case you can't guess, a margarita stroll involves taking margaritas to go and... strolling. So fun!
We passed the World of Coke, and somehow, I DIDN'T GO IN!!! I took this photo and yet forgot to actually go inside. I am still heartbroken and recovering from my anguish. I realized my mistake while in the cab back to the airport on my way home. Mrs. Quiche was so funny - she knew I was really sad and immediately said "We can go back - we have time!" At that point, I realized that I may have a problem that I foist on my friends. I continued onto the airport in spite of my weak Coke tendencies. I hope you are proud of me!
We had a margarita reader meet-up at Diablo's Cantina, also fun. The guacamole was yum! I recommend the mangoritas, but must dissuade you from the Frida Kahlo raspberry concotion. I am sure my pitcher-buddies Mrs. D'Orsay and Mrs. Beagle (not pictured) agree with me.
Mrs. Toucan and Mrs. Bunny
Friday night, we hit up Chippendales, which I was nervous about because I am terrified of strippers. Thankfully, Chippendales is to stripping as chick lit is to literature = not a big deal and no crazy nudity. Mrs. Cupcake and I held each other in fear, but then realized we could chill out and open our eyes. IT WAS SO FUN - also totally recommended. Not scary at all. The only time I was scared was when they came out into the audience, but I dove under Mrs. Quiche's chair, so I think they got the picture. :)
We were jam-packing our night, so we grabbed a quick cheeseburger before hitting up Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity. Om nom nom.
Zumanity was beautiful. The show is about human sexuality, so it was interesting to first see Chippendale's and then see Zumanity. Very different presentations and interpretations about the same thing. Zumanity - if you can believe it - was way more explicit than Chippendales. This was my first Cirque show, and I was in awe of their talent. Next time I'm in Vegas, I want to see Cirque's LOVE show - they are incredible.
Saturday night, we had our dress-up "Bee Bash" at the Bellagio... The drinks and food were 'spensive, but I had a great time chillin' with more Bees. It's also fun to dress up. :)
Friday night Mrs. Cupcake, Mrs. Taffy, Mrs. Quiche, and I did a fun champagne mini-shoot with Persimmon Images. Saturday, Mrs. Beagle, Mrs. Daffodil and I pulled in a marathon dress photo shoot with Jean Tsai at the Trump and at Red Rock (god, Red Rock was gorgeous and humbling.) Will share photos when they're ready!!
Sunday, we said goodbye to Vegas with a big buffet lunch at Cravings in The Mirage. The employees pretty much hated our guts. Why? I'm not sure. They were incredibly disorganized, so really, I think we were being pretty kind by not losing our minds. We had a fun time hanging out, but I think there are likely better buffets to hit up the next time you go to the desert. some of the ladies dined at The Wynn buffet the day before, and they had good things to say, so I'd go for that over Cravings.
Look at babyBee Mia!!!! Her mom writes pretty much the funniest mommy blog in any universe, so if you haven't heard of it, get to reading. You will be highly entertained and if you're a first-time mom, I bet you'll recognize a lot of yourself in her blog, too.
However, I will blame Mia's mom for the fact that every Bee that held this little angel will be preggo in T-minus 3 minutes. I am pretty sure that some of us got pregnant just from kissing her cutie-pie cheek.
With 45 minutes to kill before check-out, Mrs. Quiche and I learned what it meant to be high rollers.
Again, not drunk, no matter what crazy face I was making.
After checking out of our hotel, we hit it for the airport in a cab with a supernice cabbie (shocker!). Tired, tired pandas.
Me, Mrs. Hamster, and Mrs. Quiche
So pretty much we had a 4-day slumber party with a swarm o' Bees, most of whom I'd never met before Vegas! I am SO glad we jumped in and did this - my only regret is that there were so many Bees (over 30!) that I didn't get to spend quality time with everyone. A few I only got to hurriedly hug while on our way to the next event! Sounds like a Bee Meet-up 2011 might be in order...
Have you ever gone on vacation with internet friends? Did they turn out to be 50-year-old men? ;)
Reader Comments (13)
You all are adorable..looks like you had a blast!
Yay, fun recap! You guys had time for a burger between Chippendales & Zumanity?! Wow.
And I thought ALL the cabbies were pretty nice!
1. I am SO MAD that I didn't make a flat stanley of myself for you to carry around with you and hold up in pictures. Actually, scratch that. I wish I was there for reals!!!
2. You are hotty hot hot.
That is all.
What an awesome post! Thanks for the mad props, but really, you ladies are killer fun...I'm just weird and have a pink wig that I'm not afraid to use.
Damn it, that baby is up again. Guess I'll take the wig off now.
sigh.
Looks like you guys had so much fun. I'm mucho jealous. And how much do I love your Anthro top in the photo with Mia?
Thanks for the pictures and the great recap! It looks like you guys had a BLAST...I'm living vicariously through these pictures!
Ohhh...I am soooo a 50 year old man, I just hide it very well. ;o)
It was loads of fun. Love the recap; felt like I was reliving it all over again.
Yay! Best recap yet. You were the best :) come to seattle soon, kay?
Wow what a great trip! I'm so impressed that you guys actually did this rather than just talk about it!
such fun memories! what a great recap of a fun-filled weekend! can't wait until we meet again! :-)
This looks like a killer amount of fun! I'm so jealous...and 2011 Bee get together is completely necessary...
i need a vacation. I'm happy that this Bee trip was so much fun for all y'all! <3
This trip was too much fun, and I'm so glad you ladies had the brilliant idea of putting together. Thanks for the awesome props--you're too sweet! I wish we got to hang out more... I'm already looking forward to next year's trip! ;)