Weddings And Vow Renewals In Las Vegas – Romantic, Fun Or Just Plain Tacky?

They say that Frank Sinatra ‘made Las Vegas swing’ during his time in the city, and he certainly helped make our wedding swing when my new Husband and I took our first married dance to the refrains of Fly Me To The Moon. This, together with the fact that my Husband chose to dress as Elvis for his Irish based Stag Weekend, meant that when considering options to celebrate a significant Wedding Anniversary and renew our wedding vows, Las Vegas seemed to be calling.

How to choose your wedding chapel in Las Vegas

There are lots of wedding chapels in Las Vegas and each seems to have a different angle or claim to fame, for example, being ‘the oldest’ wedding chapel, or ‘the first’ to offer Elvis themed ceremonies, or ‘the one where’ Friends characters Ross and Rachel got married. There is even a drive-thru’ wedding chapel.

Most wedding chapels will offer both wedding ceremonies and vow renewals in Las Vegas, usually with a variety of different packages ranging from the wildly romantic to the very silly, so you can spend an entertaining afternoon on-line looking at what appeals to you. I would recommend the Graceland Wedding Chapel – read on to find out why.

Elvis themed ceremony please!

We wanted an Elvis themed ceremony for our vow renewals in Las Vegas and so gravitated towards the Graceland Wedding Chapel, one of the oldest wedding chapels in Las Vegas which has hosted numerous celebrity nuptials over the years (such as Jon Bon Jovi). It also claims to the first wedding chapel to offer Elvis themed wedding ceremonies. Non-Elvis themed ceremonies are also available.

Whilst Elvis himself did not get married in the Graceland Wedding Chapel, he did visit in 1967 to have a look around and so, after his death in 1977, the Chapel (originally called the McKee Wedding Chapel after its founder) renamed itself the Graceland Wedding Chapel in commemoration of Elvis’s life, after which it started offering Elvis themed ceremonies.

Which Elvis themed ceremony to pick?

We had a look at the Graceland Wedding Chapel’s website and Facebook page to get an idea of the different Elvis themed packages on offer and decided to go ‘all out fun’ with the Blue Hawaii Vow Renewal (Group) which allowed for two couples to renew their vows within the same ceremony. As we were travelling with our friends, also celebrating a significant Wedding Anniversary, then this seemed perfect for us.

The Blue Hawaii Vow Renewal package included silk flower garlands, Elvis shades, a video recording of the ceremony, several professional photos and streaming of the ceremony on Facebook. We left with a copy of Elvis and Priscilla’s Wedding Certificate and our own Renewal Certificate to commemorate our vow renewals in Las Vegas.

The Graceland Wedding Chapel provided a limo to collect us from the hotel and take us to the Chapel, and return us afterwards, which took all the stress out of getting there and back. The limo itself had disco lights inside and was playing Elvis tracks (including Suspicious Minds which made us chuckle as it was not the most obvious choice for Wedding related activities!) to get us in the mood.

Be up for fun and prepared for anything

There was extremely good communication from the Graceland Wedding Chapel before the event and on the day, including plenty of reminders about what to bring. The Graceland Wedding Chapel has been running numerous services each day for decades and so is a safe pair of hands in terms smooth organisation.

Despite all this assistance however, it was still difficult to fully know what to expect and so there were some nerves. I guess a lot depends on how ‘good’ your Elvis is.

All I can say is that ‘our Elvis’ was extremely helpful and professional. He did a great job of putting us at our ease and coordinating the two couples during the ceremony – directing us in terms of where to stand, what to say and what moves to do for the photographer. Any nerves we had were quickly dispelled.

Elvis sang Blue Hawaii, Can’t help falling in Love and Rock-a-hula during the vow renewal ceremony, so it was fun. Whilst it might not be for everyone, we really enjoyed the whole experience.

Consider the words of the vow renewal exchange

During our Blue Hawaii Vow Renewal ceremony, we let Elvis lead and suggest things for us to say, although you can bring pre-prepared words if you want to say something special. The vows we exchanged were a mixture of touching and light-hearted, which was ideal for us.

NOTE – If you prefer something more romantic than the fun-based Blue Hawaii Vow Renewal there were lots of other options, such as, the Love Me Tender package.

Legal considerations for your wedding or vow renewal ceremony

Vow renewal ceremonies are not legal ceremonies and so there is no need to bring proof of your marriage with you.

However, if you are getting married at any of the wedding chapels then you will need to obtain a marriage licence elsewhere beforehand. This was made clear on the Graceland Wedding Chapel website.

Share the experience with a live stream of your vow renewal ceremony

The icing on the cake for us was that our family back home in the UK could join a livestream of the vow renewal ceremony on the Graceland Wedding Chapel’s Facebook page, which meant that nobody missed out. In the limo on the way back to the hotel, we enjoyed reading the comments our friends and relatives back home had written about what they had just seen – some funny and some touching.

Final thoughts on our Elvis themed Vow Renewal in Las Vegas

We were buzzing for hours afterwards and felt that we had created a lasting memory for a very special occasion. On reflection, only Las Vegas could have offered this style of vow renewal ceremony; it just wouldn’t have worked as well anywhere else.

So yes, Las Vegas is a great option for renewing your wedding vows, with or without Elvis. You can make it anything you want it to be – romantic, fun or even just plain tacky!

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