I cannot say more how please I was with our wedding venue! Everything was held at El Conquistador. It was great having all of our guests stay at one venue (since some were from out of town). We worked closely with Clyde, who was very communicative & clear, responsive, and helpful in giving us options for our events.

Our Thanksgiving Weekend started on Thursday and went through Sunday with special little events throughout!

Originally this was going to be our Wonderful Wedding Weekend, but in the face of a tragedy, we still wanted to bring family & friends together in a way like we never have before! So we took out the ceremony & reception & left as many of the plans in tact as possible. (The Hilton El Conquistador staff rolled with the changes so fluidly and we’re so supportive and flexible with us, that this still turned out to be #TheBestThanksgivingEver!!!)

Let me tell you about it!
This was a destination Thanksgiving with friends & Family coming in from Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, Oregon and parts of Arizona!!! Being an Arizona native myself, I wanted to show off the natural beauty of our glorious state (many of the guests had never been to AZ before), and the Hilton El Conquistador showcases our Arizona desert so beautifully!!! It’s tucked away from the city like an oasis with sparkling pools, beautiful palm trees, blue skies, green grass, array of cacti and purple mountain majesty!

(But it’s also close enough to the city to grab some party favors, last minute travel items or outfits, Whole Foods or Panda Express and movies all within 10-15 minutes!)

Otherwise, everything you need is all on-site at the Resort! That was the next thing.. with 4 days of vacay, I wanted guests who were flying in to be able to all stay in one place and be able to enjoy the weekend without ever having to leave or worry about driving! The Hilton El Conquistador has a variety of rooms that accomodated my friends and family as needed, from standard rooms to casita suites to attached rooms! Everyone had a little home away from home that suited them beautifully! Thank you, Lindsey Garland, for all of your help & flexibility with arranging the rooms!

With restaurants on site, from Starbucks to sit down, to bars in the lobby & by the pool, plus room service... delicious food & drinks are readily available!

Then I had to account for multiple generations attending: The Hilton El Conquistador offers the perfect blend of luxury and laid back style that I was excited and confident inviting everyone from my glamorous girlfriends to grandparents & toddlers!!! Wanted this to be everything from a fun Family Vacation to a romantic getaway, so that kids, couples, and aging adults could all have fun, and I’m happy to report that everyone did!!!

Next, the events: planning with Clyde was a dream partnership!
Thursday: People were coming in from all over the country, so I wanted to welcome our weary travelers with a casual Western theme, nothin’ fancy! So Clyde and I created a Traditional Thanksgiving meets the Southwest buffet dinner down at The Last Territory, and people came in their Western Wear!!! It was so great! There’s a saloon, wagon wheel, jail, picnic tables, fire pits and white twinkly lights!!! There’s indoor seating and outdoor seating, and a wooden band stand that of course I had to take advantage of, so The Lucky Devils Band came and jammed out for us, incredible live music on THANKSGIVING DAY!!!!!! Clyde & his team had everything set up- we had the most amazing Thanksgiving Dinner, and I didn’t hafta lift a finger!!! The youngin’s loved this setting the most, cuz they got to run around and play while the adults got to dance & dine, and it was just so great for everyone!

Friday: Just for fun, we had a ballroom dance lesson, cuz one of my friends is a fabulous dancer so I asked her to teach us some moves! Clyde had a mini ballroom set up for us with a dance floor, seating & water station, and we danced and laughed and had a grand time!

Saturday: Professional photo shoot to commemorate our extraordinary time together! We got to wander around the Resort and Sunset Point is a great spot for a ceremony or photography session.. the grounds are so beautiful!!!

The cake: a couple months prior we had a cake and menu tasting! I got to bring along a couple of then-bridesmaids and we sampled various cake, fillings, frostings and fresh fruit! Me and the girls enjoyed all of the treats and put together a delicious custom cake, from the inside to the design on the outside! And on the day that the wedding was originally scheduled, Clyde whipped up a miracle and had a mini version of the custom cake prepared and delivered to us!!! What a treat!!!! Everyone loved the cake! We even sent home a slice to Grandpa so he could have a taste of #BestThanksgivingEver even though he wasn’t able to travel! And that made his day, plus it was gone by the time I called to check on him!

Saturday: Professional photo shoot to commemorate our extraordinary time together! We donned the white robes and grabbed some champagne flutes and got some amazing photos that captured the relaxed luxury of the weekend immersed in the natural beauty of the Arizona landscape and design of the property! Sunset Point is a great spot for a ceremony or photography session.. the grounds are so beautiful!!! Can’t wait to see the photos! Thank you Laura K. Moore (& Jennifer) for a fabulous photo session and Margarita GoDiva (& Jaysyn) for a glam make-up sesh in our suite!!! We had so much fun & felt so pretty!!

The cake: a couple months prior we had a complimentary cake and menu tasting! I got to bring along a couple of then-bridesmaids and we sampled various cake, fillings, frostings and fresh fruit! Me and the girls enjoyed all of the treats and put together a delicious custom cake, from the inside to the design on the outside! And on the day that the wedding was originally scheduled, Clyde whipped up a miracle and had a mini version of the custom cake prepared and delivered to us!!! What a treat!!!! Everyone loved the cake! We even sent home a slice to 86 year old Grandpa so he could have a taste of #BestThanksgivingEver, even though he wasn’t able to travel! And that made his day, plus it was gone by the time I called to check on him! So it was beautiful AND delicious! :)

Sunday: Check out and say our good-byes :) Many spent time by the pool on Sunday and some loved their stay so much that they extended it!

For my stay, Clyde had secured the Hospitality Suite for me, which was so great, because it was so spacious and easily located next to the entrance, so friends and family just dropped in all throughout the weekend! We even got the attached standard room next door with two queen size beds and full bath, so when we opened up those doors we had 3 beds, 3 full baths, kitchenette, dining area, seating area with fireplace and living room with tv.. basically it was a house by the time we added that room! All filled with natural lighting thanks to the floor to ceiling sliding glass doors along the back of the suite providing beautiful views and direct access to Sunset Point! :)

Bonus: some days I’d come home and there were surprise gift baskets waiting for me in the suite! We’re talking natural spring water, snacks, champagne and chocolate covered strawberries with hand-written notes from Clyde! Awwww!!!

***** FIVE GLOWING STARS *****

Huge THANK YOU to all of the Hilton El Conquistador staff for your impeccable service and thoughtful hospitality!! You definitely gave us the #BestThanksgivingEver!!!!!

Words can not express how grateful I am to Clyde and the Hilton Staff! Planning a wedding is stressful... but when dealing with Clyde (which I called my happy place) it was smooth and easy. Even when the rain showed up Clyde was my knight is shining armor with plan B. I would have not changed a thing about our wedding day. I had a smaller budget wedding and some places I spoke to treated me as such, but not with the Hilton. I felt as though I was the most important Bride in the world. Every question, concern, or just plain random thought was always answer quickly, kindly, and thoroughly. I even request a unique design for my wedding cake and WOW did they make it perfect. THE FOOD!! I still hear about it from our guest on how delicious it was. Brides if you want to feel like the most important person in the world and have an amazing wedding go no where else beside the Hilton El Conquistador!