Las Vegas Weekly

April 12, 2010 · 1:58 PM

Photos: Melissa Rycroft surprises Tye Strickland with L.V. birthday trip

By Robin Leach

Melissa Rycroft and Tye Strickland celebrate Strickland's 29th birthday at Azure at the Palazzo on April 10, 2010.

Photo: IS Photography/imagesofvegas.com

To celebrate her husband Tye Strickland’s 29th birthday, gorgeous Melissa Rycroft of The Bachelor and Dancing With the Stars fame returned to the Palazzo where they’d celebrated their bachelor and bachelorette parties before their December wedding.

Tye and Melissa checked into the luxurious Sienna Suite at the Palazzo for a weekend-long celebration, and an overflowing welcome basket for Tye gave away the total surprise behind the trip. Melissa, who is now an Entertainment Tonight correspondent, said: “We love the Palazzo and The Venetian! We had our pre-wedding parties here, so it was the perfect place to bring Tye for his surprise birthday bash.”

The first stop for the couple was dinner at Tao in The Venetian, his favorite restaurant. After a dinner of sea bass -- his favorite again -- they partied late into the night upstairs with friends, and the deejay gave Tye a “Happy Birthday” shout-out. The next morning, the lovebirds were at The Venetian’s Canyon Ranch Spa Club for a couples massage.

“It was the best massage I’ve ever had,” Melissa said. “It was amazing. The perfect way to rejuvenate after a night of dancing!” Melissa and Tye then met up with friends at Palazzo’s Azure Pool, where it was time for sun and relaxation in their private cabana.

Tye, who is a big fan of Phantom -- Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian ever since seeing it during his bachelor weekend, was totally surprised when a Phantom butter cream birthday cake was presented in the poolside cabana.

Melissa and Tye went to First Food & Bar on their second night for cocktails and then attended Joan Rivers’ standup comedy show in The Venetian Showroom. After nearly 90 minutes of hysterical laughter, they were invited backstage to meet Joan. Their night ended at Wolfgang Puck’s CUT Steakhouse.

Photo: IS Photography/imagesofvegas.com

Melissa Rycroft and Tye Strickland celebrate Strickland's 29th birthday at Azure at the Palazzo on April 10, 2010.

Our thanks to the newlyweds for giving IS Photography intimate access during the surprise birthday visit so we could put together this photo gallery of the weekend.

More and more stars are turning up in Las Vegas, perhaps more this summer than ever before, proving that Las Vegas is Hollywood’s very own backyard playground again and the perfect escape for everybody!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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