This question is representative of many we receive from people planning to wed in the Wedding Capital. We asked Ken Van Vechten, author of our upcoming book Neon Nuptials, to explain the basics.
There are about 60 chapels and wedding venues in Las Vegas that will tie your knot and the number goes much higher if the count includes places that require a reception with a wedding ceremony, hotel banquet facilities that can roll in a faux ivy-wrapped arbor for an altar, public and private clubs, parks, helicopters, boats, churches -- yes, Vegas has real churches -- restaurants, you name it. But if you want a wedding that just screams V-E-G-A-S, you're looking at five-dozen sites from which to choose.
In a nutshell: The freestanding chapels that are largely sprinkled along Las Vegas Boulevard and around downtown are the chapels of popular conception -- usually dove white, cast in an attempted churchly serenity, and caked heavily in cherubs, pink lace, and plastic flora. Casino-hotel chapels tend to be newer, cleaner, more expensive, and slightly less roll-'em-off-the-assembly-line-like. Elvis can preside anywhere, though only one can legally have you say, "I DO."
If you like speed, three places offer drive-thru windows. And if you have a taste for things al fresco, you can opt for a Romanesque garden, beachside with a view across the lake to a glimpse of Celine Dion's house, or most anything in between.
You can have it quick, kitschy, and double-digit cheap, or run up pop's credit card to the tune of five figures with an accompanying amount of oozy class. (But however you choose to take the plunge and no matter what you spend, the license still only costs $55 and there're no waiting periods or phlebotomists involved.)
My best suggestion is to wait a few months for the release of our upcoming book, Neon Nuptials: Getting Married in Las Vegas. Forget tabloid stories of rock starlets and annulments and glossy bridal catalogs fueled by advertising dollars. This is an independent guidebook, a no-holds-barred, critical, and funny look at how and where to get married in the marriage capital of the world. Neon Nuptials takes you inside each one of those 60-whatever love palaces and tells you exactly what you'll find, whether it's a hunka hunka burnin' love or a grouch behind a cash register. You'll learn if the chapel of your dreams is a visual nightmare or whether an otherwise dour storefront harbors a quaint and cozy retreat. And as it's a guidebook, you'll have at your disposal everything you'll need to make your neon nuptial complete -- from when and how to get your license to where to bunk for a truly special honeymoon.
In the interim, I don't mind sharing a few thoughts on where to take the plunge if you do so before Neon Nuptials hits the shelves. My email address is [email protected].
