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.

Happy Father's Day

Sunday Church Feature

Costa Chapel

The Costa Pacifica Cruise Ship includes this beautiful petite chapel for daily worship. The chapel seats 18 and is 45 square meters in size.  Christ, Mary, and Joseph and perhaps the feeding of the multitudes are depicted behind the altar. Brightly painted single Saints are painted in the side wall niches of the chapel. Framed spiritual paintings are mounted between these wall niches. The blond wood pews, gold trim, crystal chandelier, and warm overhead lights reset in circular alcoves and chandelier give the chapel a golden glow. Dark carpeting contrasts with the shiny marble center aisle with its stylized cross border. The marble pedestaled altar is covered with a scalloped linen. An urn of flowers sit in front of the altar. Daily church service times at the Chapel on the deck 4 are varied to fit in with excursion schedules.

Other church services are held on board as well. On Easter Sunday the 8:45 am Holy Mass was held on deck 5 in the Around the Clock Lounge. This facilitated a larger congregation. On Saturday night at 8:45 pm a renewal of marriage vows was held on deck 5 in the Amadeus lounge. Honeymooners and those celebrating special wedding anniversaries were invited. Again a venue larger than the chapel was needed to accommodate the many couples that attended.

For personal worship a Gideon Bible can be found in the bedside table in each state room. Since this is an Italian ship, the Bible is in Italian, of course.

For more information regarding the Costa Pacifica see Blog Post June 19, 2010.

Photos: Taken on Costa Pacifica Cruise Ship in April 2010 by SW.
Thank you: To Carol Pennington Senior Advisor, Office of the Sr. Vice President- Guest Relations on the Costa Pacifica for details regarding the chapel.