Mr. & Mrs. Randy & Mary Luster - January 3, 2009

My dad and my stepmom got married last Saturday, January 3, 2009. They have been together for SEVEN years. I couldn't ask for a better stepmom. She is amazing and has been a real rock during some of our family's rougher times. She brings with her my stepsister, Aarika, and my stepbrother, Zack who are also awesome. Aarika has the amazing ability of getting anyone to do whatever she wants. She is my hero because of this. :)

We also got an amazing extended family because of this. Mary, my stepmom, has an amazing set of sisters and brothers in Wisconsin, who have come to visit on many occasions. Her mom is the best of all. I have NEVER seen her get mad, and upon arriving in Vegas, she hugged me and directed me to "call her grandma from now on." I couldn't be luckier.

So, last week, we all descended on Vegas for a celebration of the nuptuals of Mary and my dad. It was the most fun trip I have ever taken to Vegas. But it didn't start out that way. 

We spent our first day here: (in the lobby of Paris)

Why did we spend a whole day in the lobby? Well, to be helpful, Mary's sister arranged for all of our rooms to be on the same floor when she arrived. At 4pm, our rooms were still not ready, and after asking 4 times, we were not offered any solutions, and were treated with short sticatto pissy responses everytime we asked. DO NOT ever stay at Paris. Every interaction with their staff (with the exception of the girls in the lounge and the wedding staff) was frustrating to the point of ridiculousness. They are the model of BAD customer service. The shocking thing is that I have stayed there before, as has Mary, and this service was completely opposite of what we had received before.

On the other hand, the Planet Hollywood Casino was fabulous. It isn't too "themed" and just looks like a hip place to hang out. Next time I go to Vegas, I am staying there. 

Here is Bryan after winning $160 (we subsequently lost it in the same machine the next day - c'est Vegas).

The day of the wedding, we started with a breakfast buffet at Planet Hollywood (where Aarika was dared to eat about a whole scoop of soft-serve ice cream, and failed).

We then spent the afternoon gaming at Gameworks with Zack, and eating sushi.

And ended the day with the wedding (me & Bryan, the happy couple, me & my dad, and the couple heading out of Paris) Oh, if you like my awesome coral necklace, you can find more work from the designer Laura Marlowe (who I work with) here:

We then went to The Palm at Ceasar's Palace for dinner and it was so wonderful. I had a filet Oscar style (with asparagus, bernaise sauce and crab meat), Aarika and I demanded three cheese potatoes at our end of the table, and we had a delicious desert of white wedding cake with bavarian cream filling. The meal was perfect.

Congratulations to my dad and Mary!