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WEDDING GUIDE I WeddingGuideChicago.com288

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Unofficial Hot SpotThe unofficial hot spot for bachelor and bachelorette parties—Vegas! Baby—is ready and waiting. Bachelor and bachelorette parties in Las Vegas range from profoundly relaxing to your own personal circus! Whatever your preference, consider a new twist and plan your night out WITH your significant other.

Think of it as an exciting refresh on the traditional final fling and create a scheme for a gender-blender event. This joint festivity enables a couple to bid farewell to single life together. Wedding Guide Chicago had the opportunity to experience Vegas like bachelor and bachelorettes should: up close and personal. So if you’re a first timer or a regular visitor, we’ve got the best of all worlds.

If you are worried about planning out-of-state, many hotels, spas and entertainment sites have party planners that can help you design your perfect weekend. Most have special packages that may include limo transportation, VIP admission, reserved tables and waived cover fees. They also include entertainment options for everything from a shoestring budget to Kardashian indulgence.

First, decide where you plan to convalesce amid the commotion. Head to one of the busiest intersections of the strip—The Cromwell. As the city’s first standalone boutique hotel, The Cromwell offers a luxury Las Vegas experience in an intimate boutique setting. Early bird or night owl, guests can sip barista-style coffee and munch on morning pastries or stay up all night partying at Drai’s Beach Club Nightclub and Drai’s After Hours. The décor boasts elements of vintage Parisian f lair mixed with modern details, yet you never lose the vibrant Vegas experience.

No matter what—go big or go home.Experience the Strip at a whole new level and reserve a chauffeur in a town car, party bus or stretch limo thru Presidential Limousine. You’ll thank us when you see women shifting on high-heeled shoes in an endless taxi queue. And in Vegas, even if you’re just going “next door” to Caesar’s from the Bellagio… it’s a half-mile walk.

With more to offer than one person can count, the entertainment capital of the world offers unlimited shows for every bride and groom. Bachelors and bachelorettes will enjoy Britney Spears working it on stage at Planet Hollywood. Britney: Piece of Me is the most cutting edge pop concert ever produced in Vegas. With elaborate and unforgettable costumes, nothing brings friends together like the nostalgia of youth.

Illuminate Your Last Single...

Britney: Piece of Me

WeddingGuideChicago.com I WEDDING GUIDE 289

If you prefer to be on stage yourself, visit the club that celebrates pure rebellion, LiFE at SLS Las Vegas. LiFE combines sight, sound, and scene, unlike any other Vegas hotspot. With aerialists on theatrical rigging, ziplines and catwalks under 60-foot ceilings, it breaks the nightclub formula and redefines the music experience.

Let’s talk cuisine. Las Vegas is home to many award-winning restaurants like Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro at The Palazzo and Mandarin Oriental’s Pool Café.

At Morels, cheese lovers unite. The menu showcases a cheese and charcuterie bar featuring more than 60 farmhouse and artisan cheeses and salamis from around the world. Breakfast and brunch also include a tableside Bloody Mary Cart where cocktails are made to guests’ specifications.

At Mandarin Oriental, relax on the pool deck or in a cabana munching on fresh cuisine, delicious desserts and thirst-quenching drinks while overlooking the glistening Vegas skyscrapers. It is an uber cool and sleek surrounding, but still heavenly and picturesque.

Dubbed “the sexiest steakhouse on the Strip,” STK at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas offers a flirty take on the classic American steakhouse. Perfect for those who want to see and be seen, mingling and meeting new friends is what the STK at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas experience is all about. Order a glass of champagne and toast with your friends because the night is just getting started.

For a change of tasteMonte Carlo has unleashed a new foodie destination. Slurp noodles and munch on steamy pork buns and skewers sizzled over a fiery grill at Yusho. Yusho is all about the flavors of authentic street food and the gin and tonic with ten ingredients is a drink we’d be happy to indulge in again. If you are a little further down the strip near Hard Rock

Illuminate Your Last Single... MOMENTS IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS

Culinary Dropout

Yusho at Monte Carlo

LiFE at SLS Las Vegas

Hotel & Casino, hang out with future music superstars who don’t mind being paid in food and drinks at Culinary Dropout; serving ultra-tasty pretzel fondue. While you’re there, try the bacon bloody mary with bacon-infused Smirnoff vodka, Worcestershire, cracked pepper and spiced tomato.

If you’re jet-lagged, Vegas is home to renowned (fabulous!) spas. Spa at Encore, emphasizes the “treat” in treatments; the ultimate in personal comfort. By mixing sunlight, flowing water and limestone, guests feel connected to total wellness in a luxurious environment. For two floors of serenity reflecting Shanghai, visit The Spa at Mandarin Oriental; a Forbes Five-Star Spa, offering a seductive retreat for mind, body and soul.

Next, step into the sleek salons of Claude Baruk at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas to gussy up. The runway meets the strip at the salon of Wynn’s hairdresser to the stars. Known in St. Tropez for his easy to maintain signature “5-Step” cut, Baruk’s coiffure will lift and make you feel fabulous, and he is often at his Vegas salon so guests can see him personally. Wedding parties can book together too.

Next, it’s time to indulge in a sugar explosion. Devouring cupcakes, sundaes or shakes from Sprinkles is an exception to “don’t spoil your appetite.” Serving sinfully sweet treats handcrafted from the finest ingredients in more than 50 flavors, Sprinkles is monumentally delicious. Best of all, Sprinkles has a Cupcake automat that pops

out fresh cupcakes round-the-clock to satisfy those cloying cravings.

Can’t go to Vegas without shopping! Peruse some of the most luxurious brand name boutiques at The Shops at Crystals; the Rodeo Drive of Las Vegas. As you visit shops and browse beautiful displays, stop by Sisley for a full makeup exper ience in the iconic beauty brand’s f irst freestanding U.S. des igned bout ique to provide an indulgent and highly sensory shopping experience. Walk out of the salon and right onto the runway.

If Walking Down theAisle Isn’t Brave Enough… Adventure seekers will reach new heights on the world’s most unique zipline—Fremont Street Experience’s SlotZilla. This venue features a low-lying Zipline where flyers sit in a traditional seated-harness position, and an upper Zoomline at 114 feet. You’ll be launched superman-style, with sweaty palms or a mad giggle while dangling in a harness high above Fremont Street.

If you’re getting queasy just reading this, try out The High Roller Observation Wheel at The LINQ. Steps away from The Cromwell, you’ll find a stable, open-air retail dining

and entertainment district anchored by the world’s tallest observation wheel. At 550 feet, the best views of the strip are ready and waiting. Each High Roller cabin is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass and can accommodate 40 people—plenty of room for everyone in the wedding party.

Call of Duty fanatics and action movie junkies come together in one place at Machine Guns Vegas where a plush, high-energy ultra lounge meets the thrill of a high-tech firearms experience. Guests can test their skills in a safe atmosphere with some of the industry’s best machine guns. You’ll leave with a second wind from the rush and, depending on your simulation, some bragging rights for hitting a bulls eye or saving the world from the zombie apocalypse.

So, whether you stay up to redefine the city, or relax and take in the fanfare, cuisine or cocktails, Vegas is all about experiencing a new world in a new environment. The sky is the limit in this hottie habitat and you’ll have memories that will leave your friends talking (and thanking you) for years to come.

Encore at Wynn Las Vegas