Going to Vegas for a wedding at Mandalay Bay

[iamzip]

So, I've had maybe about a year to think this over, and I still haven't figured it out yet. I'm going to Las Vegas for my brother in law's wedding at the end of March / beginning of April. The wedding is going to be in the Chapel at Mandalay bay. I have been trying to figure out what cameras to bring for a long time now. I was thinking maybe my digital Rebel XT, because it does about everything competently if not exceptionally, and also my Fuji GA645 because to me it's just begging to be used at a wedding. I have 18-55 and 28-90 lenses for the Rebel (equivalent to approx 28-145 altogether). I might also buy a 50mm f/1.8. I also have a dedicated Vivitar flash. I was thinking about using Portra 400 in the GA645, or maybe Fujicolor portrait 400. I'm really planning on only using the GA645 for the wedding and maybe reception.

On the other hand, I'd also like to bring my Holga, because to me Vegas just screams "toy camera." Also, apparently my future sister in law is planning to wear a red wedding dress and trash it after the ceremony, and it just seems like a Holga would be an appropriate camera for capturing this.

And then I thought it might be nice to bring a little 35mm P&S loaded with Ektar 100 for walking around - although I'd heard of this film I never really checked it out before and now that I have I'd like to try it, in Vegas. I just got a nice Rollei 35, my first with a Tessar instead of a Triotar, and I thought I'd like to bring that. But now I just won a Rollei AFM 35, and that seems like it would be a really good camera to try the Ektar 100 in.

So that's four - count 'em four cameras I'd like to bring. I realize I don't need all of them - in fact I could probably just bring the dSLR and be fine. But I'd like to try all these things - the GA645 for the wedding, the Holga and AFM 35 for general shooting, and the dSLR for everything. Oh, I might bring a camcorder too for the ceremony - as I'm going to be a guest I don't anticipate getting any good shots during, although I might be wrong. Who knows, I might be in the front row.

This is my first "big" trip since getting back into photography, and succumbing entirely to GAS, so I'm having a hard time culling the herd.

Also, any practical tips, places to check out, etc. would be appreciated. The Chapel seems fairly well lit, you can see some pics here:
http://www.mandalaybay.com/thingstodo/weddings.aspx

Thanks to all who took the time to read this long winded poorly written post!

 

[mcgrattan]

The Rollei AFM35 is a good camera. The lens is really stellar. In fact, apart from the fact that the viewfinder window doesn't display the shutter speed it has selected [in aperture priority mode] I can't think of much I'd change about it.

The AFM35 pretty much does everything that you could want from a pocketable 35mm camera.

Far be it for me to tell you what to do, but in your circumstances I certainly wouldn't take that many cameras. I also assume that there's a pro photographer shooting the wedding? In which case I wouldn't even bother trying to duplicate what they do.

 

[dmr]

I also assume that there's a pro photographer shooting the wedding? In which case I wouldn't even bother trying to duplicate what they do.

The last LV wedding I attended, they had a big sign "no personal photographs during ceremony" posted as you entered the chapel. There was a "pro" house photographer using some kind of nondescript DSLR with a strobe on a stick.

I asked the couple about all of this and they said that photos were part of the package and they didn't discuss the no photo thing with the staff at all.

You might want to check in advance as to what this particular chapel allows.

 

[iamzip]

The last LV wedding I attended, they had a big sign "no personal photographs during ceremony" posted as you entered the chapel. There was a "pro" house photographer using some kind of nondescript DSLR with a strobe on a stick.

I asked the couple about all of this and they said that photos were part of the package and they didn't discuss the no photo thing with the staff at all.

You might want to check in advance as to what this particular chapel allows.

Thanks for the heads up - I definitely will. I know that if you want the wedding photographed, you have to hire an in house photog, but I assumed that family members could take personal snaps.

I know 4 cameras is too much, but I keep telling myself that all these cameras are different enough to justify. I guess I could safely leave the P&S at home, since I don't know how much walking around we'll actually do. Still, the dSLR is a catch all, the GA645 is , well, MF, and the Holga is, well, a Holga.

I should also mention that, while I wasn't going to replicate / replace the pro photographer, I thought it would be a nice anniversary gift to have a book made at mpix / blurb / apple or whatever online service. At least I am willing to bet there will not be a pro photog after the wedding, so maybe I can get some nice shots there.

 

[dmr]

I should also mention that, while I wasn't going to replicate / replace the pro photographer, I thought it would be a nice anniversary gift to have a book made at mpix / blurb / apple or whatever online service. At least I am willing to bet there will not be a pro photog after the wedding, so maybe I can get some nice shots there.

What I might suggest is to do some shots of the wedding party against some Vegas-y type scenes, such as the Welcome sign which is in the vicinity of the MB. They are supposedly constructing a safe parking area for this, but I don't know if it's ready or not. People are always crossing traffic to pose by the sign.

Another might be by the arch (no, I can't properly spell it from memory) at Paris, the fountains at Caesars, the lake at Bellagio, etc. They used to have a nice staircase at Bellagio, but they ripped it for some reason. 🙁

A great place for a shot might be by the natural arch at Valley Of Fire, but that's about a 45 minute drive each way.

One kinda kitschy shot which might go well with the trashing of the dress would be various poses of the B&G with one of the pornslappers on the Strip (those "girls to your room" guys), or maybe with one of the timeshare hustler dweebs in the casinos.

Just a few suggestions here. 🙂