Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sunday Church Feature
Las Vegas, Nevada
Wedding Capital of the World

"Las Vegas may be best known for its casinos and showgirls, but it is also the wedding capital of the world." According to Visit Las Vegas, the official website of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, there are more than 122,000 marriage licenses issued each year.  Wedding Chapels are big business in Las Vegas.  You can get married for as little as $40 at Las Vegas Garden of Love or as much as $20,000 at The Bellagio.  Additional fees include the marriage license, which you have to secure at the Clark County Courthouse. It costs $55. 

You don't even have to go into a wedding chapel to get married.  You can have the ceremony conducted at a drive-thru window and receive your vows curb-side.  Of course, you can be married by an Elvis impersonator/officiate, have another Elvis impersonator escort you down the aisle, while a third Elvis  sings in the background.

The wedding chapel The Little Chapel of Flowers, in the photo above, is at 1717 Las Vegas Boulevard just north of the The Stratosphere Casino Hotel.  As the sign says you can have your wedding "live on the internet FREE" so the whole world can watch.  There are three  chapels for the actual ceremony: The Victorian Chapel, The Magnolia Chapel, and the La Capella Chapel.  Then you can take photos outside: on the Veranda, on the kissing bridge, under the ivy arch, in the Glass Garden, in the gazebo, in front of the waterfall and in font of the fountains.  The cost of the weddings here range from "$195 to $3,495". (See Link 1.) One of the famous couples "married here was the Baywatch beauty Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman ." (See Link 2.)

Link1:http://www.littlechapel.com/
Link2: http://www.lovetripper.com/las-vegas-weddings/192006-littlechapelflowers.html
Photo: Taken in 2005 from the Observation Deck of  The Stratosphere Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, by SW.