I didn’t mean it that way, when/if gay marriage becomes legal in Nevada, I would like to have a Vegas wedding too.
I asked this question, because getting married in Vegas is somewhat out of the norm.
Here’s one that I had handy in this computer…
We had dinner afterward in the Quark’s Bar, and the roaming Klingon sang/led us in a Klingon wedding chant. Really, really, really, cool…
But they closed the Star Trek stuff at the Hilton 
My cousin recently got married in Vegas. The Mrs. and I attended, along with with best man and his wife, and the bride’s brother and his wife.
She opted to get married in Vegas because she and her hub (both in their mid 50’s, never before married, but in a relationship with each other for over 15 years) didn’t want to get married in their home area, where they felt (rightly or wrongly) that they’d need to invite every friend from back to their grade-school days, every shirt-tail cousin, and all the great aunties and uncles whom they hadn’t actually seen in over a decade or more.
Besides, they wanted to do something exotic, and enjoy Vegas (they’d never been there before).
So they did, and it was good.
It was interesting from our perspective, seeing the Vegas wedding chapel, with a drive-thru window available for those that wanted it, a wedding every 30 minutes in their chapel, and the availability of a minister dressed like Elvis, if it was so desired.
My cousin opted for the traditional service, by a female minister who mentioned “God” at least once, and spoke up for values such as love, hope, kindness, and having a good time together.
So, is that what you did? Your dad sounds like a smart guy! 
I only wish I’d been able to get married in Vegas. We eloped and got married in a judge’s living room, then went to Denny’s. It was a sad little affair.
I have to ask; “touched”?
I’m actually getting married in Vegas in July (http://vegasherewecome.com/)! The reasons we decided to do it are mostly the same as what’s been listed here… no desire to be the center of attention, or to spend tens of thousands of dollars, or invite cousins I haven’t seen in years and ask everyone for presents. It was just very much “not us”.
In addition to that, we’re older (29 and 27) and don’t want/need a wedding like our friends had when they were younger with an open bar and plenty of drunk people. And we’re both the youngest of our siblings, so our parents have already seen a big wedding with their kids to get that out of their system.
Also, what a huge pain in the ass a fancy local wedding is. Huge guest lists, invitations, RSVPs, catering, seating charts, registries, programs… none of that seems like any fun at all to me or my future wife. Plus we’ll have been engaged only about 3.5 months as opposed to the year or more that our friends were engaged while planning their wedding. We’re too impatient to spend that much time planning.
Anyway, we’re really excited about it.
Actually, You probably could have. I watched a couple I know get married in Vegas and it was broadcast live on the internet. Example. The wedding party enjoyed it (as best as they could remember).
Taking an oath in front of any particular flavor of shaman won’t make me feel any more committed, and lining up at the court house is almost depressing, so yeah, I can see hitting the gaudiest shop on the strip.
Nope, and he is. Had a small garden wedding followed by a reception at my parent’s house. It was a beautiful day. As the marriage didn’t quite last five years I’m glad we didn’t blow a mint on it, and if we had taken Dad’s advice it would have been yet another album of photos I don’t like to look at now, so meh.
Some friends of mine were just about pre-divorcing each other over the wedding they were planning. They were fighting all the time over it. One day they said “why are we doing this?” chucked all the plans and got married at the Vegas MGM Grand with their parents and closest friends in attendance. Easy peasy.
Wife and I got married in Vegas about 3.5 yrs ago. We didn’t want a big wedding/reception for a few reasons:
-We’re both a little stage-shy, and would not have enjoyed being the center of attention for an entire day;
-we’re both grown adults (34 and 35 at the time) with fully furnished homes/kitchens, not kids just leaving high school/college, so it didn’t seem right to “solicit” gifts by inviting a whole bunch of people to attend our wedding;
-my wife’s family lives in Japan, and for various reasons they probably could not have come to the wedding;
-big weddings/receptions are, by all accounts, insanely expensive. Not that we’re cheapskates, but I’d rather put $10K into a downpayment on a house;
-big weddings/receptions are, by all accounts, stressful affairs. Find a church; choose invitations; choose a reception venue; choose a caterer; choose a menu; choose a band; and so on. Coordinate all these people/groups to arrive at the same place at the same time.
So…wanting a small, private, easy, economical wedding, and also wanting a honeymoon, what’s the logical destination? Vegas, of course. Tidy packages are available, and you can get married any which way you want. The stereotype for which Vegas is famous is a goofy/cheesy wedding, e.g. a drive-thru Elvis-themed fiasco; such things are indeed available, but you can also go to the other extreme, spending tens of thousands of dollars for a major shindig at one of the big-name casinos. Afterwards, your honeymoon is right there: luxurious rooms at the casino hotels, restaurants to suit any palate/wallet, big-name shows, and a bunch of national parks within driving distance.
We got married at Caesar’s Palace in a nice outdoor ceremony - just the two of us, the reverend, the wedding organizer, and a violin soloist, all in an isolated garden area. Total cost was about $1500, and included one night in a fancy hotel room (about $200 value) a bouqet for her, and a whole bunch of excellent photos (the photog was truly top-notch). Went to a Cirque performance at the Bellagio that night, in our wedding garb, which was a hoot - lots of stares and congratulations.
Our honeymoon was a national-park loop tour: Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and back to Vegas for another show and a couple of nights at the Bellagio.
All in all, things turned out great; we have no regrets about getting married in Vegas.
We got married in that same garden chapel at Caesar’s, with a reception in the hotel, then a night out on the town. For a small wedding of 30 guests, I can’t recommend the experience enough. The process was very simple:
- Speak with the hotel’s wedding planner by phone.
- Select times, dates, flowers and food from the hotel’s wedding menu.
- Write a deposit check
- Meet with the planner in person, and confirm that everything you asked for has been taken care of.
- Write another check
- Show up
I’ve been in weddings where being an usher or groomsman was more stress than planning our own wedding.
umm…the OP asks why Las Vegas.
And the answers are mostly “we wanted it small and quiet”
But Vegas is the least quiet place in the world. The flashing lights can be seen from outer space.
I’ve been to some nice, quiet subdued weddings with lovely ceremonies…In a back yard behind the house, in a city park, on the lawn of a college campus, and even in a judge’s office during lunch break
But never in Vegas…
Been at many Vegas chapels?
The Vegas chapel where my cousin was wed stood in the middle of a quiet neighborhood south of downtown, and well north of the strip. Trees, flowers, birds, a well-manicured lawn, a church steeple.
We picked Vegas for many reasons similar to the above: it wouldn’t be so big, it would take less planning and stress, and we’d already be at our honeymoon destination. Of course, the “not so big” didn’t really work out; give people an excuse to go to Vegas, and they will come, by Gadfrey. We figured there’d be a handful of people, but about 50 showed up, including far-off cousins. Ah well, it was still fun.
It was also a dodge, because we’re both atheists, and we just quietly asked the minister for a non-religious ceremony before the wedding started. Most of the ministers in Vegas seem to have all their various ceremonial texts memorized, so you just tell 'em what you want. I don’t think anyone from our families even noticed, and if they did, they didn’t mention it. At home, we’d probably have to do it in a church to satisfy parents, and to do that we’d have to belong to the church, and go through all the pre-marriage stuff with the preacher or whoever…not something we cared to do. I may not believe in God, but that doesn’t mean that I like being deceitful.
And one other thing: a Vegas wedding makes it unlikely that there’ll be kids. We’ve got a little one of our own now, and I love kids. That being said, they tend to mess up weddings, and I really don’t understand why people feel compelled to dress a three-year-old in uncomfortable clothes and traipse him down the aisle with rings on a pillow or a basket of flower petals. If they do it right, it’s a miracle, and most likely they’ll hate having to do it, hate being stared at, and probably freak out and refuse to do it or throw a tantrum. Did - not - want - that. Vegas is an adult playground, with vast casino stretches where kids are not permitted. Most folks will leave the kids at home rather than go through the hassle of taking them. For our wedding, we wanted none of that disruption or drama. Just grown-ups.
Oh, as for the “quiet” thing: you kinda have to scout out your location. My wife found the Garden Chapel at the Flamingo, which is set way back in the gardens down a winding path. The greenery is so thick around the place that you don’t feel like you’re in the city at all, so it’s quite secluded and quiet. If you pick a chapel that’s on the street, yeah, there’ll be some noise; you just gotta choose wisely.
My husband and I seriously considered a Vegas wedding.
One of our primary reasons for considering it was the bi-coastal nature of our respective families and friends. I had a host of essential wedding invitees on the west coast (parents, siblings, friends), he had a host of essential wedding invitees on the east coast (parents, siblings, friends). Vegas is a) kind of in the middle and b) serviced by an amazing variety of affordable, convenient airline carriers and absolutely awash with hotels.
Since regardless of venue, our wedding was going to be a casual affair (it wound up being a BBQ picnic in the park), Vegas sounded like it might be great for that
I’m with everyone on the less drama angle.
We were married in the Dominican Republic, with the wedding held onsite at the resort. But as the planning was unfolding, my parents separated then divorced, causing huge issues: One week at a resort with parents who now hate each other? Talk about creating memories that would last a lifetime.
I begged my now-husband to elope with me in Vegas; I told him that we could still have the bigger wedding in the DR (which by the way cost us $500 for the ceremony, etc., and $2,000 for the trip), but that I would prefer that he and I have our own drama-free, just the two-of-us ceremony to remember in Vegas, filled with fun, instead of seven days of parents claiming invited friends as being on “their side” and refusing to stand in the same photos as the other. Mr. NdP wouldn’t go for it…I so wish he had. There are so many beautiful, quiet and photogenic areas of Vegas; it’s not all lights and casinos!
The popular stereotype of a Vegas wedding is one performed by an Elvis impersonator in a 24 hr chapel or drive up window, but you can actually have a very classy wedding there.
Casinos like the Bellagio and the Wynn have tasteful and elegant chapels, and some offer outdoor ceremonies as well. They also offer a variety of wedding packages. Your wedding can be as big and expensive or as cheap and small as you see fit. You can still have all the trappings of a traditional wedding like the dress, the cake, and the bridesmaids if you choose. It becomes a fun vacation for you and your guests, and it takes a lot of the stress of planning off the couple.
What a beautiful bride! But does your new husband know that, while clothed, you performed Oo-mox on a strange Ferengi? :eek:
This is nothing - not only have I been to a wedding at the chapel at Walt Disney World, I was one of the readers for the service.