Las Vegas is a mirage, a city founded on the idea of turning your fantasies into realities—-for a price. How else could an oasis in the middle of the desert explode into one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world except by offering relaxed laws when it comes to entertaining your every vice. Consequently, Sin City has developed a reputation for dicey decisions, excess, buffets, hotels built like adult theme parks, gambling, prostitution, infidelity, and oddly enough, weddings.
Over the years marketing gurus have tried to brand Vegas as the marriage capitol of the world but a more fitting moniker is the eloping capitol. Weddings are big business in Vegas, with around 315 ceremonies performed daily. The licensing laws have even been relaxed to facilitate quick nuptials. While it's possible that a good many of these newlyweds are drunk, naive, habitually impulsive, or Mormons who drive over from BYU and get married for the weekend so they can have spiritually sound sex, not all them can be insane for choosing Vegas as the launching point for their marital lives. Vegas may not be the best place for a religious wedding heavy on obedient Bible versus and Jesus crackers, but it is ideal for couples who want to throw the dice, chug a glass of wine during the ceremony, and have some dirty fun on the best day of their lives.
Reasons to Get Married in Vegas:
-Nontraditional and Themed Ceremonies: In Vegas, nontraditional ceremonies are the tradition. There are probably more Elvis impersonators marrying couples in Vegas than priests. You can have any kind of ceremony you dream up, so long as you can pay for it. You can get married with a blessings in Klingon and Vulcan, in a castle, on a pirate ship, under water, while running a marathon, or even while bungee jumping off the Hoover Dam.
-Cost: If you want to have a $100,000 ceremony, Vegas can certainly accommodate you, but the city can also help you out if you're skimping on the ceremony to save for a certain unplanned visitor who may be staying with you for the next eighteen years. Even a barebones wedding in your parents' backyard will cost more than most all-inclusive vacations. The average wedding in the U.S. costs around $22,000, but a Vegas ceremony can happen for as low as $1,000-2,000, including travel expenses.
-Relaxed Marriage Laws: In 1931 the government passed laws allowing couples to obtain a marriage license with no waiting period or blood test.
-2nd, 3rd, or 4th Wedding: For couples on their second or third spouse, Vegas offers a convenient location where these marriage veterans don't have to worry about inviting all of their friends and family to yet another service. That and some churches still refuse to marry a person for a second time, leaving the couple to seek a more accepting venue.
-Marriage Renewal: If you've already been married long enough to watch your peers be married for a second time, it's time to renew your vows. But if you've already had a big traditional wedding, you may want a chance to have the real wedding of your dreams complete with a topless pastor and a gift bag of casino chips.
-Quick and Easy: Vegas has over 100 chapels, many of which are open 24-hours a day. There are even drive-thru chapels with five minute services. Most locations already have everything set up and ready to go, including suit rentals, photo packages, and fake flowers. Almost all of them now offer to broadcast the wedding online so friends and family back home can watch.
-The Everything Party Package: Vegas is for couples who like to keep partying continuously from the bachelor party straight through the honeymoon. The days before the wedding the groomsmen can hit one of the many strip clubs on Industrial Road while the bridal party can take in a classy male revue like the Thunder Down Under. You can have a conventional reception at a hotel banquet hall, or your wedding party can just overrun one of the many swanky bars on the strip. Then, instead of dealing with the stresses of rushing off to a honeymoon destination, you can simply order up bloody marys and hit the pool.
Getting Licensed: Before you can get hitched you have to obtain a marriage license from the Las Vegas Wedding Burea, which is located downtown and just off the strip at 201 Clark Ave. For your marrying convenience, it's open from 8 a.m to 12 midnight, 365 days a year. A license will cost you $60 cash so change your chips at the casino before you go.
Marriage Credentials: While the requirements to get married in Vegas are much less stringent than other states, there are still some rules. You must both be legally single and have one valid form of ID, a Social Security number, and you must not be any nearer in relation than 2nd cousins. Persons as young as 16 can get married, but anyone under 18 must have parental consent. No blood test or waiting period is required and you can fill the application out online to expedite the process. Same sex partners can't legally marry here yet, but almost every chapel and hotel will gladly host a commitment ceremony.
The Perfect Days to Avoid: If you're a spontaneous romantic who wants to fly the cocktail waitress you just met out to Vegas, propose on the plane, then get married an hour after you land, you may want to pick days other than Valentine's or New Year's Eve. These are the busiest days of the year for Vegas weddings.
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This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2011.