We love off-the-wall questions like this (see QoD 1/26/06, concerning how and where you can scatter cremated remains in and around Las Vegas, for example), so thanks for the submission.
The answer we'll address in two parts, dealing first with the legal aspects of the wedding itself, and then possible locations.
According to the official Clark County website, the marriage ceremony can be performed at any wedding chapel, church, Office of Civil Marriages, or anywhere a licensed minister or other person authorized to solemnize a marriage is willing to perform a ceremony within the State of Nevada.
For the marriage to be legally recognized, the person performing the ceremony must possess a Certificate of Authority to Perform Marriages issued by a County Clerk from the State of Nevada. If you're organizing the whole ceremony yourselves, rather than going through an established church or chapel, then it's recommended that you make doubly sure that the minister is properly authorized via the state-wide database of authorized ministers. If in doubt, call the Marriage License Bureau office at 702/671-0580.
Note, also, that if you have someone from back home who you'd like to perform the ceremony for you, it is possible for an out-of-state minister to obtain permission to perform one ceremony in the State of Nevada. See "Minister Licensing" for information on how to apply for a Temporary Certificate of Permission to Perform Marriages. There's no application fee.
So, there's the boring technical stuff out of the way. Now, once you've found a friendly minister who's willing to travel out into the desert with you, in which direction should you head?
The actual chapel in the movie Kill Bill, where Beatrix Kiddo and Tommy Plympton had their wedding rehearsal, and where the massacre takes place, is The Two Pines chapel, located in the Mojave Desert near Lancaster, California (see image below). In terms of finding something equivalent anywhere near Las Vegas, the best idea we came up with was to find a church or chapel in one of Nevada's many ghost towns. Many of these so-called "towns" amount to nothing more than a pile of rubble and timber, or a few rusty old vehicles, but there are some that still contain solid buildings, including a few with churches.
In the course of our research, we came across a website called silverstateghosttowns.com, which has comprehensive listings and histories of each location, plus some great photographs (which are available for purchase). So, we scrolled through some of the slideshows and came across Manhattan, Nevada (which, we confess, we'd never heard of), one of the better-preserved ghost towns that has a wooden chapel on the side of a hillside that looks like it might fit the bill (no pun intended) perfectly.
We then contacted the owner of the site to see if he had any other suggestions or advice, and we got a great response, which we'll share below:
"Manhattan, as well as Belmont (about 18 miles from Manhattan) would work - they both have the same little church, although the Belmont church is a replica of the Manhattan church. The church in Manhattan was actually moved from Belmont many years ago, so later on Belmont wanted it back, and Manhattan said no, so they built a replica. I'm sure you would need permission to use either one, but I do not have any contact names.
"One good place, and a lot closer, would be Goodsprings, which is a living ghost town. It is only about 35 miles from Vegas, just 8 miles west of Jean. They have a small church - see my Goodsprings page on my web site. Another idea would be Rhyolite, just west of Beatty about 5 miles. It has no church, but lots of old building remains - see my Rhyolite page. The Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction would be another suggestion."
Goodsprings looks like a definite possibility and, as a "living" ghost town with a functioning church, might be the easiest option to get clearance for. Rhylite is an interesting suggestion, too, if your friend is looking for a quirky location. One of the buildings there is Tom Kelly's Bottle House, while the Goldwell Open-Air Museum comprises a number of quirky sculptures that seem to have just been randomly dropped in the desert and make for some interesting photo opportunities (see the page cited above, plus QoD 5/26/09 for more information and pictures).
In terms of obtaining permission to conduct a ceremony at any of these locations (aside from Goodsprings, or the Opera House, which is still a functioning hotel), we'd suggest the Bureau of Land Management as a good place to start; if they don't own the property, they probably know who does.
Good luck, and let us know how it all works out if your friends decide to go down this route.
