Numerous celebrity shotgun weddings throughout the years, including that of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez and Elvis and Priscilla Presley, have established Las Vegas as the “marriage capital of the world.” Hundreds of couples from around the globe are selecting “drive-thru” weddings at one of Vegas’ renowned chapels every single day, Sin City now boasts a $2 billion wedding business.
The stereotypical Vegas wedding is shown as a tacky occasion in Hollywood movies and television shows, frequently with Elvis impersonators officiating the ceremony and drunken tourists making last-minute decisions. Aside from the thrills and spectacle, getting married in Las Vegas is also far quicker, less expensive, and easier than anywhere else in the country.
The background of Las Vegas weddings- When the state of Nevada loosened its standards for acquiring a marriage license in the 1900s, Las Vegas first became associated with quick and simple wedding ceremonies. In contrast to most states where obtaining a marriage license could take several days, it was quick in Vegas. Young couples quickly started traveling to Nevada to get married from nearby locations like California. After officials legalized gambling and reduced the divorce period in 1931, the Vegas wedding emerged as the centre of the city’s emerging tourism economy.
When World War 2 encouraged many young men and women to just get married before even being recruited, the appeal of these weddings grew during the 1940s. As per a study by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there were almost 20,000 weddings in Clark County in 1942.
By the 1950s, some famous people from Hollywood, like Francis Ford Coppola, Eleanor Neil, Elvis Presley, and Priscilla Beaulieu, were also being married in Vegas, giving the occasion a touch of glitz.
The city made the decision to establish a marriage license office in the train depot amid a flurry of marriages. Up until around 2006, this office remained open until midnight on most days and 24 hours on weekends and holidays.
Over the years, dozens of wedding chapels have popped up along the famous Las Vegas Boulevard in an effort to profit from the city’s expanding 10-minute wedding market.
According to an NPR story, today’s wedding tourism accounts for roughly $2 billion of the city’s $58 billion yearly tourism economy and creates around 18,000 jobs.