Las Vegas wedding

[lioness88]

DH and I love Las Vegas and have decided to get married there in 2021. But where to start! I know there are loads of options of chapels, but does anyone have any personal recommendations for venues/ planners?

Oh gosh, there are billions of options in Vegas. Anything from a 10 min ceremony for 2 people on the strip, to a day-long event for 20 people. What sort of wedding are you hoping for?

We had a garden wedding at a place called The Grove, on the edge of town away from the Strip. It was very peaceful. We were happy to have all the fun of Vegas after we were married but I wanted the ceremony itself to feel like a proper wedding. Strip weddings tend to be very quick - if you want time to have photos etc with all your guests, it's worth paying for a longer time slot. Some of the hotels have nice chapels - although I didn't investigate that option.

In terms of all the extras: cars, flowers, photographer etc - most venues will do you a package deal. Weddings are a big industry in Vegas so they are pretty organised about the whole thing. Prices are actually pretty reasonable compared to the U.K, but there is less scope to customise it and make it bespoke. That said, I had an absolutely beautiful hand-tied bouquet of roses at my wedding, so was happy. The car turned out to be a gold stretch limo - which was definitely not what either of us would have chosen but we had a laugh about it!

You will need to pick up your marriage licence from the registrars office before you marry. (They absolutely won't conduct a wedding without one.) Go in advance and be prepared to queue.

Shouldn't a Vegas wedding be spontaneous? Otherwise you could be anywhere.

It's a bit of a myth that Vegas weddings are totally spontaneous. You can't actually just walk up to a chapel and just ask to get married on the spot as you still have to get a marriage licence and a lot of places still book up in advance, even if only by a day or so.....

You can have a drive thru wedding if you want

You typically get the licence the same day. The limo usually takes you on the way to the chapel (unless it’s valentines, or 02/02/02 or something) You don’t typically plan 2 years in advance.

My husband was keen on that option. I said no #partypooper

Check first the paperwork side, you need to buy a marriage licence first from the county offices (this is the same across the USA, different states them have different waiting periods) so allow time for that on arrival, not sure they are open on weekends etc so ensure you don't arrive on a holiday weekend. There's loads of options for your actual marriage, the hotels are a good first place to look because they can put together a package.

@BatleyTownswomensGuild @stucknoue excellent advice, thank you!

@BatleyTownswomensGuild we want a quick one! But also want it to be different and fun. We will probably have about 10-15 friends and family coming on the trip and will plan to do lots of fun things too. We were thinking about a drive thru before we started telling people and lots wanted to come (didn't think anyone would), so thinking a chapel/ elvis affair now.
Is there a particular planner you booked through?

Last year we stayed at the Bellagio but would like to stay at the Cosmopolitan next time.

We booked it all ourselves online and flew out and got married later that week. We did it in the Little White Wedding Chapel and stayed in the Excalibur.

OP, we didn't use a planner - just booked it all ourselves. As I say, if you go for a package all the planning is pretty much done for you and the Hotels all have good beauty salons etc.

Another thing, you can buy wedding dress boxes that match the dimensions of overhead luggage lockers on planes so you can take your dress as carry-on. Definitely recommend - imagine if you ended up in Vegas but your dress went to Chicago!

@QuietAndStill we are thinking Little White Chapel- how was it?

@BatleyTownswomensGuild thanks for the tip, that would be awful!

Also, definitely recommend the French restaurant at the top of the Eiffel Tower. We had our wedding meal there and the food was lovely. And some of the tables overlook the fountains at the Bellagio

Right, enough of this - unfortunately I have to go to work!

Yeah, it was cool. We were much younger then. I loved the history of it!

@stucknoue Nevada has no waiting period and the Clark County Marriage Bureau is open 8 am to midnight every day. That’s why LV is such a popular choice for quickie and spontaneous weddings.

Op, if you just want to get married in Las Vegas you just need to get yourselves there, get the license and you will find places where you can get married. Plenty of 24-hour $99 wedding places just off the Strip. Whether it will be the wedding of your dreams is another matter. If you want one of the more upscale venues then you will need to reserve in advance.

We did it 8 years ago and would not change it...was amazing! We booked it all ourself and were going to go on our own and then had a few too many Christmas drinks and my brother told us he was moving to Australia so we said not before you’ve come to Vegas!! We had us and five guests...we booked flights and hotel - then I booked a heliocopter breakfast for us all on wedding morning, then boys went to a swanky spa in the MGM Grand for a shave and girls had hair and make up and room service...I can find the make up artist of you want she was amazing. Then all went together in the limo and got married at Chapel of Flowers just off strip! Lovely ceremony and photos and then cocktails in the Chandelier Bar and dinner in Mix - that has since closed I believe. Booked it all ourself very easily and so so much fun and chilled out!

We stayed in Tropicana and family stayed other places - nothing fancy...just good deals...I’d say don’t over plan and just go with what you want to do when you get there once big things are planned.