Las Vegas Weddings: A Brief History, Celebrity Gossip, Everything Elvis, and the Complete Chapel Guide, by Susan Marg

With over 170,000 marriage and renewal ceremonies each year, Las Vegas easily out-distances its nearest competitor, Reno, for the claim of “Marriage Capital of the World.” In Las Vegas Weddings: A Brief History, Celebrity Gossip, Everything Elvis, and the Complete Chapel Guide, author Susan Marg traces the evolution of the wedding industry in Sin City since 1933. She provides a fascinating look into dozens of chapels currently operating in Las Vegas, part of a thriving wedding industry that contributes, she estimates, over $1 billion each year to the local economy.

The author introduces readers to Charlotte Richards, owner of four wedding establishments including the Tunnel of Love and the Little White Wedding Chapel. The Little White Chapel recently hosted its three millionth nuptial, an over-the-top ceremony with showgirls as attendants, an Elvis impersonator, and celebrity look-alikes from James Brown to Madonna acting as witnesses. Marg’s book also provides little-known details about a host of celebrity weddings over the last seventy years. Whether you’re interested in Nelson Eddy, Judy Garland, Dennis Rodman, or Britney Spears, this book will tell you possibly more than you wanted to know about how and where they got married in Las Vegas.

The most engaging part of the book — and useful, if you’re shopping for a wedding venue — is Marg’s description of the services and style of the forty-two wedding chapels she profiles. If a location across from the city jail sounds attractive, A Chapel by the Courthouse has packages starting at a mere $159. At the other end of the scale, the deluxe “Cosa Bella” wedding package at the Bellagio Hotel with the “Terrazza di Sogno” upgrade can be arranged for a slightly more expensive $17,000. If themed weddings are of interest, you can don Sherwood Forest costumes and get married jolly old England-style at the Canterbury Chapel at the Excalibur. Personally, I like the idea of impersonating a Starfleet officer and getting hitched on the bridge of the USS Enterprise at the Las Vegas Hilton’s Star Trek Experience. The best thing about Las Vegas, though, is that there’s something to suit just about every taste and budget. Las Vegas Weddings lays out all the tantalizing possibilities, and they’re fun to read about whether you act on them or not.