Las Vegas is known for many things, exciting nightlife, world class dining, entertainment, gaming and…weddings. According to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau, an average of 100,000 people is married in Clark County every year. One of reasons is that Nevada doesn’t require a blood test and a marriage license is only $55.

Las Vegas is known for several famous weddings, dating back to Elvis Presley and Priscilla (at the original Aladdin Hotel). Several other entertainers and athletes have joined the list, including Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra. Even Britney Spears got married once in Las Vegas. Getting married in Las Vegas has become a popular business over the years and true to the spirit of the city, if you don’t want a plain ordinary wedding, there are several theme wedding chapels and ceremonies available, from pirate ships to Elvis performing the ceremony, you can find it in Las Vegas. If you are looking for a more picturesque affair, there are Eiffel Tower ceremonies, gondola rides (at the Venetian or Lake Las Vegas) and helicopter rides to Death Valley, guaranteed to make a memorable one of kind event. That’s the great thing about Las Vegas, you can have any kind of wedding you want, even a drive through window service ceremony!

Finding a wedding chapel is simple, there are dozens of them around town and several located right on the Las Vegas strip and inside several of the resorts. The Clark County Marriage License Bureau (702-455-4415) is located in downtown Las Vegas at 201 Clark Ave and is open from 8 am to midnight so getting a license is pretty easy to do. However, on certain holidays (like Valentine’s Day) expect to wait in line.

Ah, but what about planning? Nearly all of the wedding chapels will take care of everything for you, from rings to flowers to video taping the event. Some will even provide a limo to take you to the license bureau as well taking you back to your hotel if you aren’t a local.

The other big attraction is cost. Getting hitched in Las Vegas can be done on the cheap. A license is only $55 and a basic service will run you about another $130. If you want to have the whole affair with photos, flowers, video and a cake, you can find places that will do it for around $500 or so, but it won’t include any tips for personnel (don’t forget to tip your minister).

If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas to specifically get married, it will pay off to shop around. Some hotels with chapels in them may give you a better package rate for everything than by doing things piecemeal. Certain holidays like New Year’s and Valentine’s Day are super busy for wedding chapels, so you might want to get your licensing and planning done ahead of time so you can enjoy the event without being rushed.

You can also download a license application from the Clark County website at http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/clerk/Pages/marriage_license_applications_online.aspx

If you have visited our website or follow this blog, you know that we are huge animal lovers and are very active in the animal rescue community in Las Vegas. I received an email alert about a contest being held by care2.com. They are giving away 25,000 to the top 29 shelters across the US and Canada with the most votes. So I’m asking for your support for my favorite rescue, Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary. Here is a short list why they deserve to win:

NO KILL and an all breed rescue. They also have a free mobile spay/neuter clinic targeting impoverished areas that can’t afford vet care plus they trap feral cats and spay/neuter those as well. You can vote at this link.

It’s inevitable when you live in Las Vegas. Your out of state friends, relatives or even perfect strangers what to know what else there is to do, where the best deals are for food, rooms, etc.  My response has been how would I know? I rarely go to the strip and am mostly a home body.

Of course a search of the web lists dozens of sites that will answer those questions. Most of them are big corporate run sites which I am NOT a fan of. Big business wants to run the web like they run the other media networks. I like privately owned and run sites, they always go the extra mile and have more up to date information. For example, if you are looking for things to do on the cheap, try SaveLV.com. The site is a blog that lists fun things to do, who is having a special or offering a discount and what concerts are coming up. The site is run by Randi and there are new posts almost every day. There are even a few things listed there that I didn’t know about.