Human Unit 763246B

I can see how some may like the spur of the moment, the potentially lower costs. On the other hand, a quicky wedding will probably lack the number of guests, friends, family, etc.

dw8146

Attended two weddings in Vegas, one was mine own. Both didn't work out. YMMV.

drbond

I got married at the Silver Bell Wedding Chapel

Scott in LA

In the case of my friend, they decided to have it there because there wasn't any one central location that would have made sense. Their parents lived in different states, they lived in yet a third, siblings were scattered as well...since 95% of people would have had to travel no matter where it was, they just decided to have it someplace fun, and settled on Vegas.

UA835

While this may be the stereotype of most Vegas weddings, I'm happy to say that Mrs. UA835 and I enjoyed a very different experience at Bellagio.

We fall into the same category as a previous poster, i.e. family and friends scattered around the globe. We were fortunate enough to have over 30 of our closest friends and family fly out to join us, for what I'd characterize as one of the most well-executed events of which I have been a part.

One of the main reasons we chose to do a wedding in Vegas was that we had witnessed the strain that wedding planning had put on couples we knew, and I had no desire to set ours up as a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project, which is what would have happened had my wife and I been in charge of planning.

We began the planning process four months in advance, and were able to hand over the planning and execution to one of their wedding coordinators who helped us through everything, including flowers, video, photography, rehearsal, reception, etc. For once, it felt nice to step back and let someone hold our hands through a process, rather than having to manage it ourselves.

I came away from the whole experience with the feeling that I had received tremendous value for the money spent, which can often be a rarity.

Also like the previous poster, we're still hearing friends' stories about this trip, 3 years later.

I wouldn't hesitate to reccomend a Bellagio wedding to anyone who's looking for the same things we were.

Dianne47

We married in the chapel at Treasure Island in 1999. I visited Las Vegas several months prior and previewed several hotel wedding venues: Bellagio, Monte Carlo, and a few others. I thought Bellagio was overpriced and had a very negative experience in the hotel with rude security staff (!).

We had about 30 guests for a 1pm wedding and luncheon in the Carribbean Room. The wedding coordinators and catering manager were wonderful, everything was handled flawlessly down to the nth detail. They even did a multi-layer cake from a photo, beautiful. We had the most expensive package that included beauty/spa treatments, best photo package, and suite accommodations. I would highly recommend a wedding at TI.

melondenny

I got married in Reno. It cost $70. I have been married 25 years. We thought the money a fancy wedding would have cost could be better spent on a down-payment for a home.

missdona

I got married in Vegas last weekend. We had a 40 person dinner with a DJ and dancing at Victoria's chapel.

It was a great space for that size group and the food was delicious.

oliver2002

I always wondered why people go NV to marry. We intend to marry informally this month to get some visa formalities going (I'm a German on a work visa, fiancee can't join me here unless we are married) and to my surprise it is pretty easy to get hitched in MI where I'm resident or VA where some family lives.

VA issues a marriage license the same day even to non residents. My county in MI does it within two working days. So we signed the application for the marriage license yesterday (wednesday) afternoon and will receive it on monday. The first Judge we contacted said she had time on tuesday afternoon. Cost 20$ for the license, 10$ for the Judge.

Much cheaper and much less hassle than flying to Nevada. For 30$ you only get pretty cheesy chapels in Las Vegas...

BDLORD

We got married at The Little Church of the West. The same place Elvis got married in "Viva Las Vegas".
It was pre Sep. 11 at LGA and my Mother in law forgot her ID. She is German and didn't even have her green card.
Thank God for the wonderful CI agent.
We then went to Rosemarys and had an amazing meal.
Ended the night at The HOB Foundation room at the top of Mandalay Bay.

GA_John

My wife and I have been together for 20 years. But this December 23, we will have been married for just 1 year!

That is not to say we haven't tried. Let me see if I can recount some of our wedding experiences:

* Went to Hawaii to visit friends for Thanksgiving about 16 years ago, was going to get married there. Just one catch, in Hawaii a woman (and not the man) has to have a blood test. She wasn't going for that (and perhaps some cold feet too)

* Barbados - After trying to get married on a cruise ship, decided to just go into town and get a civil ceremony. After dashing back and forth to and from the ship to get our passports and to meet their time deadline, we couldn't get married because I didn't have proof of divorce from over 20 years earlier.

* So, we finally just decided to "do it in Vegas", booked the trip, had a great time, saw some awesome shows, and although we didn't have friends/family there, were happy to "git ir done".

It isn't for everyone, but Vegas made it easy, and there aren't too many better places to party.

cogitate

Vegas even offers drive-through weddings, with the couple remaining in their car for the entire ceremony! For example, see http://honeymoons.about.com/od/vegas...gChapels_7.htm

And no, I didn't avail myself of this service...

phillygold

Great story ! I'm LMAO ^
18 years ago my wife and I did a courthouse wedding as well. Just immediate family were present, and 2-3 friends. I sprung for the extra 5 bucks for the "deluxe" wedding package. The Justice pulled out a musical Hallmark card that played Here Comes the Bride. (Hey, I'm a classy kind of guy).
Meanwhile, a good friend spent 80k on his wedding. Had the whole shooting match at a rented mansion. 10 years and (at least 10) combined affairs later, they finally announced their impending divorce 2 weeks ago.
It's not the cost....it's the people, people.

KosraeTV

Couldn't have said it better. While not at Vegas I got married in shorts, sandals, and a T shirt in a palm thatched court building for a cost of -0-, with NO family around. Four kids later we're still around.

I think it's the family and friends that seem to object most to non traditional weddings. I got an earfull from everyone after I called them after the fact and said we were married.

N751PR

I also attended a wedding in the Flamingo almost exactly 6 years ago. It was in the Garden Chapel instead of the gazebo though with the reception in the Carson City ballroom (IIRC) in the lower level of the conference center. I believe 100ish attended but was smaller than what I usually see whenever at a wedding. Seemed nice though not as fancy as what I see other hotels showcasing. This is the only wedding I've experienced in Vegas though I'm sure it's not gonna be the last!