Las Vegas – Wedding Edition!

Las Vegas – Wedding Edition!

Whether you plan for a Vegas wedding or it just works out that way, finding yourself married in Vegas is a great way to tie the knot and make some memories. With its tacky glamor and cliche Elvis impersonators, Las Vegas marries 300 people on average, every single day! There’s a good reason it’s known as the Marriage capital of the world.

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Photo taken by Jill

Curtis and I are no strangers to a Vegas wedding, we tied the knot on December 21, 2012 (a.k.a Mayan end of Calendar). I strolled down the aisle in a parking lot with Elvis singing “I can’t help falling in love”. It rates high on my list of tackiest things I’ve ever done but it makes me smile every single time I think about it and that’s what counts.

It wasn’t the wedding we had planned for, it wasn’t on the warm tropical beaches of Mexico and it didn’t have the romance of the ocean breeze at sunset as all of our friends threw confetti while the groom and bride walked away as husband and wife. No, it had none of that. And we regret nothing!

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Photo taken by Deidra Wilson

When we realized that our wedding plans needed to change it was nearing Christmas 2012 and a Vegas Christmas was already in the making. We joked that it would be funny if we just came back married. Then we stopped joking. It made sense to get married in Vegas. We were already going, it was cheap and most of our friends and family had already told us that they wouldn’t be able to make it to a wedding in Mexico anyway. With our plans of an early retirement just starting to become a reality, the idea of saving thousands on the wedding looked extremely appealing. Neither one of us ever dreamed of a wedding, it was the marriage we wanted. The details didn’t matter and it turned out that a tacky Vegas wedding was just our style. In the end a few close family members were able to come along to witness our style!

That’s our wedding in a nutshell, we took a gamble and it has definitely paid off!

So how exactly do you get married in Vegas? Great question!

Marriage License – Yes, you need one.

Clark County Marriage Bureau: Open 24hrs on weekends, 8am – midnight on weekdays. It’s located: 201 Clark Ave, Las Vegas, Nevada 89155-1603

Download the pre-application form, fill it out and bring it with you to the Marriage Bureau

All fees related to marriage licenses can be found here: Fees

Once you fill out the form mentioned above you take it to the Marriage Bureau, bring your spouse and all other necessary documents, pay the fee and you’ll have your marriage license in about 5 minutes.

Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel

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Photographer unknown

I can’t say enough good things about Viva Las Vegas Chapel. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Even though they herd people through the chapel every 15 minutes or so, they make you feel like your wedding is the only wedding happening that day. They’re very well organized, the only thing I needed to do was book the options I wanted and then show up. I also booked my hair and makeup appointment through Viva Las Vegas. Viva sent two ladies right to my hotel room before the wedding and had me looking like a Barbie doll in about 30 minutes! I was impressed by the quality and speed at which they work. Viva has a number of different chapel options. I chose the garden chapel which was in the parking lot. But honestly, once you’re inside the chapel you can’t tell you’re in the parking lot. The chapel has enough greenery to hide the backdrop. Our Elvis impersonator (Brian) was really good, great voice and seemed to enjoy what he was doing. We were married by Rev. Robb and we thought his ceremony speech was fantastic. We’re not religious and the words he spoke were perfect. Yes, we understand he has said those very words to hundreds of other couples, but it still seems authentic.

The only downfall with Viva Las Vegas is the photographer. Please hire your own, pay the extra money! We didn’t hire a photographer for the ceremony and wish we would have. We have great photos from after the wedding though!

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Photo taken by Viva Las Vegas Chapel

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Photo taken by Viva Las Vegas Chapel

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Photo taken by Viva Las Vegas Chapel

Wedding PhotographerDeidra Wilson

Deidra was awesome! She took us around Old Vegas to get some really great shots. In a matter of hours we were whisked around to 5-8 different locations. She even sweet talked a security guard to let her park in a no parking zone momentarily while she snapped a few photos of us.

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Photo taken by Deidra Wilson

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Photo taken by Deidra Wilson

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Photo taken by Deidra Wilson

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Photo taken by Deidra Wilson

Reception DinnerSpago

This Wolfgang Puck restaurant is located in the forum shops at Caesar’s. Serving American cuisine with influences from around the world.

We decided to have our dinner here because all of the hotels that our guests were staying in were located near Spago. The restaurant has great reviews online and did not disappoint.

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Photo taken by Curtis

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Photo taken by Curtis

Our wedding, marriage license, photographer and reception dinner had us spending less than $2000. If you’re eloping and don’t need a professional photographer you can definitely get married for less than $600.

For us, every $30 we each save is an extra day we can live in Central and South America, it’s an extra day in Asia or some other cheap place to live. Getting married in Vegas is one of the things that has made our list of smart choices we’ve made.

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Photo taken by Deidra Wilson

Did you get married in Vegas? We’d love to hear about it!

Jill Patterson
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2 Comments

  1. Roma 10 years ago

    After spending months on mine and getting no where, I am TOTALLY considering it!

    • Author
      Chasing Adventure 10 years ago

      Our wedding was completely stress free! We loved everything about the way we did it 🙂 Good luck with your wedding, I’ve watch many friends go through the process and I’m sure that even though it feels like you’re getting no where, you probably are making lots of progress!

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