Last week I introduced you to Keith Buck and Jen Hudson, a couple from Virginia who will be getting married in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks.

Fans of the city, Keith even proposed to Jen in front of the Fountains of Bellagio, so a wedding in Vegas seemed like a no-brainer.

But how do you go about planning a wedding from thousands of miles away, and how do you deal with the unexpected -- such as a hotel closure? Find out as the story continues:

Keith had been doing some advance work, checking out the chapels and services offered via various Web sites, and the couple used the time remaining on their vacation after the proposal to scope some out in person. They eventually settled on the chapel at Mandalay Bay.

"We sat down with the wedding chapel manager and she spent an hour and a half with us," Jen explains. "We looked at the chapel and pictures of ceremonies, and they really took the time to explain everything and make us feel comfortable. It was the customer service that sold me."

Even after their vacation they continued to do research, checking out various wedding Web sites and reading the forum postings by other brides and grooms to make sure that their choice was a solid one.

Once they had made their final location decision, then came the work of actually planning the wedding. With a hotel chapel like the one at Mandalay Bay, couples can choose from a variety of packages with mix-and-match options that will allow them to customize the experience based upon their needs, tastes and budget.

Keith and Jen's package includes the ceremony with seating for up to 50 guests, bouquets, photos and an album, a DVD recording, the minister's fee, music before and during the ceremony and more. There are even some perks beyond the walls of the chapel, such as fruit and champagne in the honeymoon suite, breakfast in bed and a facial for Jen.

When asked if there were any cost benefits to a doing a package in Las Vegas versus doing it all on their own in their town, Keith said it probably all evens out in the end. While there are associated travel fees that you don't have with a wedding at home, some of the other expenses go away with the all-inclusive packages.

"Flowers, for example, can get expensive and you either donate them or they die," Keith said. "At a Vegas chapel, that is all included in the ceremony fee."

The ability to customize the packages with various options allows for maximum flexibility to make it more affordable if needed.

Even with that flexibility, it isn't cheap to do a formal wedding in Vegas (or anywhere else for that matter).

"There was some talk about having a quickie Vegas wedding when we saw the bill," Keith joked.

The next step was setting up a guest list. The couple said the location helped them keep the invitees to a level that they may not have stuck with if it was a local event, reducing costs further. Most people didn't balk at the thought of traveling for the big day, and no one questioned the concept of a Vegas wedding. Well, maybe one person.

"My mom was really concerned at first," said Keith, "But then she went to the (Mandalay Bay chapel) Web site and her tune changed. She thought it was really nice."

In the intervening months between making their decision to go with Mandalay Bay and the actual wedding, the pair has worked out the various little details that go into planning such an event -- all of which was made easier by the folks at the wedding chapel who went out of their way to make sure everything was done properly.

"The staff has been fabulous," Jen said. "All of my questions have been answered and I've always able to get someone when I called. I don't have to talk to a certain person, so I can always get someone who is able to look at the records and see who I talked to before and make references to past conversations. I liked that a lot."

That didn't mean the process has been totally stress free, especially considering a couple of major changes brought on by wrecking balls. The chapel Keith and Jen liked so much was closed and a new one is being built that they won't be able to see until the wedding weekend. But that paled in comparison to what happened to the location where they were intending to have their reception.

"We were supposed to have the reception at the Boardwalk," said Keith, "But that didn't exactly work out."

When the announcement came that the Boardwalk Hotel would be closed and torn down by the time their wedding date arrived, the couple had to scramble to find a new location for that open bar they promised me. They switched to a reception room at the Excalibur, sight unseen.

"We're not too worried about the Mandalay Bay situation," Jen explained. "We know they aren't going to downgrade, and in fact it will probably be even nicer than the old ones. And the staff at Excalibur has been great to work with, so we feel good about how the reception will turn out also."

In the end, they are confident that they made the right decisions and that everything will go well on their wedding day.

"We're just planning on having a good time," said Keith.

As it should be with any trip to Vegas -- wedding or not.

Keith and Jen will be married on April 22. I'll do a follow-up story in this column on the wedding and the reception shortly after the happy day.

The Full Story

• Wrecking Balls And Wedding Bells
• Riviera Investors Want Renovation, Not Destruction
• Vegas Q&A: Which Gentlemen's Club Is Best?

In Next Week's Column

Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.

Plus, don't forget to send your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!

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