Las Vegas Weddings and Divorces - Getting Married in Las Vegas

Chapter 6: Entertainment & Shows

6.1: Getting married in Las Vegas
6.2: After the sun goes down
6.3: Best long running shows
6.4: Getting the best deals
6.5: What or who is playing now
6.6: The hot Vegas night c lubs
6.7: Bars, lounges & comedy club s
6.8: Seamy side of Sin City

Las Vegas wedding chapel near downtown

6.1 Getting married in Las Vegas

There can be no doubt that Las Vegas is the Wedding Capital of the World and these marriages are recognized in every country. More than 100 thousand couples tie the knot in Sin City every year. Getting married in Las Vegas is incredibly easy. It takes about 10 minutes to get a marriage license. Both parties (a man and a woman ...same sex marriages are not allowed) must appear in person at the Clark County Court House and fill out a short form.

Vegas weddings are popular!

The Marriage License Bureau recently moved and is now located in the Justice Center at 201 Clark Avenue in Downtown Las Vegas. (At the corner of S. Casino Center Blvd. and Clark Avenue ...3 blocks south of the Golden Nugget Hotel-Casino.) Tel. (702) 671-0600. The marriage process is explained here.

The Marriage License Bureau is open every day from 8 a.m. until midnight. Proof of age may be required if you look under 18. No blood test or waiting period is necessary. The current license fee is $60.00 payable in cash only. (They will not accept credit cards, checks or money orders.)

If you chose to not have a formal wedding, you can be married by a Commissioner in the Office of Civil Marriages -- open every day from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. It is located at 309 S. Third Street, First Floor - about a block away from the Marriage License Bureau. There is a $50 ceremony fee for this service.

Clark County issues more than 125,000 marriage licenses annually. ...that’s about 350 weddings a day! They even offer online marriage license applications and instructions .

You must show proof of identification by bringing a driver's license, birth certificate, passport or military ID. If you are between 16 to 18 years old, consent must be given in person or by a notarized affidavit of either parent or legal guardian. (Parental consent and court order is required if under the age of 16.) Both partners must provide their social security number. If you were previously married, your divorce must be final in the state where granted. The date of the final decree and the city and state where granted are required. All marriages must be witnessed by an individual other than the person performing the ceremony. (This is usually provided without cost.)

To obtain a copy of a marriage license you may send $10 with the date of the marriage to the office below: Clark County Recorder, Courthouse, 500 South Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89106

The marriage ceremony

The ceremony at one of the many chapels on the Strip can be as cheap as $40 and as short as 20 minutes. That’s if you use the quickie drive-through window ...like the one they have at The Little White Chapel. All you need to do is show identification and fill out a form.

Most couples, however, opt for more elaborate weddings costing from $150 to “a lot more.” (A wedding aboard a yacht costs $3,000.) Be aware that most quoted prices do not include a Limousine chauffeur’s gratuity ($25-35), minister’s fee ($50), marriage license fee ($60) or sales tax (7.5%.)

Las Vegas drive-thru weddings!

The Little White Chapel has six rooms and can handle up to seven weddings at a time if one takes place at its outdoor chapel. They even offer Internet broadcasts of your ceremony. It is also where Britney Spears married childhood friend, Jason Alexander. (The marriage lasted only 55 hours.)

The Las Vegas ReviewJournal newspaper says The Little Church of the West is the "Best Place To Get Married In Las Vegas" in their 2005 Best of Las Vegas listings.

Las Vegas has the reputation of being the divorce capital of the world. But actually divorces account for only a small percentage of the marriage/divorce business. Its marriages that are unbelievably popular ...there are ten weddings in Las Vegas for every divorce. There are all sorts of marriage ceremonies. Check out the following websites to see what we are talking about. You have to see it to believe it.

Wedding Chapels

There are about 50 places where you can get married in Las Vegas. Most of the larger Las Vegas hotel-casinos have wedding chapels. But there are more than 30 stand-alone chapels also. Most are located on Wedding Chapel Row, just north of the Strip. Here is a partial list. You will find some wedding chapel reviews here.

A Hollywood Wedding Chapel – (702) 731-0678 or (800) 704-0478
A Special Memory Wedding Chapel - (702) 384-2211 or (800) 962-7798
Chapels of Las Vegas - (800) 545-4106
Chapel of the Bells – (702) 735-6803 or (800)-233-2391
Cupid's Wedding Chapel & Reception – (702) 598-4444 or (800) 543-2933
Elvis Wedding Chapel - (702) 384-0771 or (800) 574-4450
Graceland Wedding Chapel – (702) 382-0091 or (800) 824-5732
Las Vegas Wedding Bureau & Chapel – (702) 933-3464 or (800) 823-4095
Las Vegas Wedding Chapel – (702) 383-5909 or (800) 452-6081
Little Chapel of the Flowers – 702-735-4331 or 800-843-2410
Little Church of the West - NO Longer Recommended!!
Little White Wedding Chapel – (702) 382-5943 or (800) 545-8111
Vegas Weddings 4 U - (702) 914-0198 or (877) 914-4490
Victoria's Wedding Chapel – (702) 252-4565 or (800) 344-5683
Viva Las Vegas Themed Wedding – (702) 384-0771 or (800) 574-4450
Wedding Bells Chapel – (702) 731-2355 or (800) 305-9040
Wee Kirk O'the Heather Wedding Chapel – (702) 382-9830 or (800) 843-5266

Las Vegas Divorces

Nevada legalized gambling and liberalized divorce laws in 1931. After only six weeks of residency, a “quickie” divorce could be granted. It paved the way for Las Vegas to become the nation's divorce capital. The travelers that came for divorces stayed at dude ranches.

Today, Nevada divorce laws still require one of the divorcing parties to establish six weeks residency in the state and a Resident Witness (who has been a Nevada resident for at least twelve months) must attest that you were in the state for all of the six-week period. The divorcing party must also have the intent to permanently reside in the State of Nevada at the time the divorce action is filed. Both divorcing parties must sign the Joint Petition for Divorce.

This process is relatively inexpensive for those parties that can agree to an amicable divorce. The cost of filing a divorce petition in Clark County is $152, payable in cash, money order, or local check with valid photo ID.

An annulment dissolves the marriage as though it never occurred in the first place and both spouses are returned to their prior marital status. There must be extenuating circumstances for a marriage to be annulled, such as lack of consent being caused by intoxication or substance abuse, close blood relationship, fraud, underage, married but not divorced, etc.