It seems like the second biggest business in Las Vegas is weddings. There is so much that caters to those who want to get married. Las Vegas has the reputation as the place to go if you want to elope or have the destination wedding of your dreams.
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Las Vegas Wedding Options
You'll find places to get married all over Las Vegas. And companies that will help you plan your destination wedding and supply all your needs, from a dress, to tuxedos, to limousines, to a cake or champagne.
Getting married in Las Vegas can be spur of the moment or it can be a lavishly styled and well planned at a five star Vegas hotel. If you decide to get married in Las Vegas, you'll be joining a long list of people who have tied the knot there. Some 120,000 people get married in Las Vegas each year. Some of the famous marriages over the years include Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra. And perhaps the most famous wedding of them all on May 1, 1967 Elvis Presley married Priscilla Anne Beaulieu.
Here are a few things to remember if you are planning a Las Vegas wedding. If you want to do it over a holiday, especially New Years or Valentines, remember there are lots of others planning the same thing. So make sure you make your arrangements as early as possible. This is where a Las Vegas based planner can be a huge help. They'll have the contacts to make things happen. That planning ahead also goes for any kind of hair, makeup or spa treatments you might be planning just before the wedding for yourself or others in the bridal party. Make reservations well in advance so you don't end up not getting the time you want.
Destination Wedding Planners
Putting together a destination wedding, like in Las Vegas, can be an overwhelming task. But if you have a planner on site things can go very, very smoothly. Looking for an unusual spot? maybe you want to get married in the chandelier bar of the Cosmopolitan Hotel? Let the wedding planner work out the details. A Las Vegas wedding planner can help you pull all the details together. Do you want the bridal party to party in the hottest nightclubs? Then a planner can help. Are you interested in a special theme, perhaps tropical or exotic, maybe the Las Vegas classic and Elvis Wedding, then a planner can make a huge difference. They'll know who does what and how to get the things that you want. A good wedding planner can save you a lot of time. They can help you get show tickets to keep guests happy in the days leading up to the wedding. They can help you get a wedding cake, set you and your wedding party up with formal shops, arrange for limos, photographers, flowers and much, much more.
Most of the hotels also employ onsite planners who will work with you to put your wedding together at their hotel.
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Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties
As famous as it is for weddings, Las Vegas is also famous for its destination Bachelor and Bachelorette parties. You can plan one, from the sedate to the decadent. Get your buds together and head to the desert to party. There are companies who will put together your entire party for you or you can go ala carte so to speak. There is plenty to do on this vacation, from clubs, yes those types of clubs for both sexes, to hot spots where the party goes on all night, to pools and golf courses. You and your friends won't be bored.
Let's get the legal requirements out of the way too. You have to be 18 and proof of age may be required. You both must appear at the Marriage License Bureau in the County Courthouse, at 200 S. 3rd Street, first floor. The office is open from 8am until midnight each and every day of the year, not just every day of the week, every day of the year. There are no required blood tests, (though many would argue there should probably be a blood alcohol test), and the cost is $55. The license is good for a year. If you are under 18, you'll need permission from your parent or guardian. BTW, that means the parent or guardian has to be there to give permission. No notes are accepted. Couples from outside the United States can also get married in Las Vegas.
Wedding Chapels
Now that you have the license, the question is where to get married. Well you could do it right there at the same place you get the license. They perform weddings every day, same as the license office but they only stay open until 10pm. But you probably have something a little more romantic in mind. For that, you may want to turn to one of the many wedding chapels in Las Vegas. Each has its own unique atmosphere. You can get married 800 feet up in the air, at the Chapel in the clouds at the Stratosphere Hotel or if you are looking for something rustic and traditional then perhaps the Little Church of the West will work. It's been around since 1942. Or, perhaps you are looking for that Las Vegas cliche;, the Elvis wedding. There are a number of places that offer that service, including the place that started it all, Graceland Chapel. You'll find scores of wedding chapels up and down the Strip in Las Vegas and most hotels have wedding chapels of their own. Keep in mind that many of the stand-alone wedding chapels will not allow you to bring your own officiant. You know, the person who marries you. Many wedding chapels offer package deals. They can arrange all the details for you, even a limo to pick you up at your hotel. Some of the wedding chapels even have internet streaming so you can broadcast your wedding on the Internet to friends who aren't able to make it.
You don't have to use the hotel chapel - pick another site. How about on the lake at Bellagio or high atop the Eiffel tower at Paris or even the higher tower at the Stratosphere Hotel. There are other unique places in and around Las Vegas. Red Rock is just 20 miles away. These red sandstone cliffs are a dramatic backdrop. Lake Mead is less then and hour from Las Vegas. You can get a boat and have your ceremony or perhaps your proposal out on the lake or stay ashore and do it all on the beach. The Grand Canyon isn't all that far away either. If you want a small wedding, you can even have a helicopter take you and a few others to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. All of these places are great for weddings but they also can be a perfect place to pop the question.
Other wedding tips
One other thing - Remember the time of year if you want an outdoor wedding. This is the desert and during the summer, the temperatures can be brutal, even into the evenings. That contrasts with some other times of the year, such as December and January, when the bride will get very uncomfortably cold outside in the evening in her strapless gown. One other hint, if you plan to get a tan for your wedding, don't plan on coming a few days early and doing it in Las Vegas. The sun can be brutal and you don't want to have a sunburn for your weddings, or your wedding night.
