Media Tour with Le Devoir

Carolyne Parent's coverage from her March 2016 trip to the destination has now appeared in Le Devoir and she has included your company in the article and in the end links to the article. Congrats!

The coverage is very comprehensive and positive with much historical info on weddings in Las Vegas. Please note that some of the literal translations are a bit awkward but you will get this gist of it all by reading through 🙂 A rough translation of the piece is below.

You can see the article online here and PDFs are attached as well.

Original article Link

Rough Translation:
MARRIAGE: PLACE YOUR BETS!
For better and for worse in Las Vegas
May 14, 2016 | Carolyne Parent - Associate in Las Vegas | Trip

With its profusion of golden palaces of starred restaurants and photogenic sites in Las Vegas, bathed in the aura of all the stars who have married there throughout its history, remains the "world capital of marriage." And, of course, all kinds of celebrations are possible here, including being united by Edie, the "Mistress of Sensuality" of Zumanity, the festive spectacle of Cirque du Soleil!

It's a fact: the Quebec marriage rates are plummeting. In 2014, 22,410 marriages were celebrated in Quebec, almost ... 30 000 less than in 1974!On the other hand, a trend continues in recent years to officially unite through nuptials abroad.

So when my elegant cousin announced that she wanted to marry her boyfriend Serge outside our borders, no family member was surprised. No, it was instead, her choice of destination that surprised us. While we would have bet on a California vineyard, here that focused on quality ... Las Vegas was the choice they opted for, along with 80,465 pairs last year, that's 3% of Canadians.

It is true that the US entertainment capital, where 42 million tourists stayed in 2015, a record of all time, offers everything and its opposite. From pizza kiosks to the new Alain Ducasse restaurant. The high-performance flight and the has-been. The budget motel and the all luxury palace and the mégahôtels that made Las Vegas a fantasy land for adults. For weddings, it's a winner.

In fact, this once humble town in the desert which was an important mining town, is the wedding capital almost since its founding. The first hotel was built on Fremont Street in 1906. Theatres and night clubs settled around them.

Then, when the mining industry declined, the state of Nevada legalized gambling - the first legal casino opened in 1931 - and prostitution, and made express marriage and divorce the industry. "On their own, nuptials annually inject two billion dollars into the economy," says Kristen Labuda, co-founder of Las Vegas Wedding Chamber of Commerce.

As for divorce, it can be obtained quickly after six weeks of residence in the territory, the shortest time in the country, he drew the first "tourists" in Reno, but also in Las Vegas. They settled in effect in a ranch in Tule Springs, an oasis in the Mojave Desert ... where weddings are celebrated today!

Yes, Elvis

In May 1967, results of the 8-minute ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel, unites a certain Priscilla Ann Wagner to Elvis Presley for life. These nuptials certainly helped to make the city a destination for weddings, says the planner of weddings Joni Graham Moss, although celebrities were already getting married here in secret for years, and at any time of day. "On weekends, the courthouse opened at 8 am Friday morning and closed at midnight on Sunday! "Says the founder of Las Vegas Wedding Connection.

Built on the site of the former Aladdin, Planet Hollywood hotel celebrates this famous union. For fans of the King, it offers a celebration in a small chapel lit by candlelight and decorated with a work of the master of glass blowing of Dale Chihuly. "And it is not unusual to use one's winnings from gaming to make a deposit on his wedding package! "Said the coordinator wedding Erin Gilday. Of course, if you want to follow in the footsteps of Elvis you must also go to the Graceland Wedding Chapel.

Built in 1927 by Scottish immigrants, themselves from a border town where they celebrated weddings at full steam, the building sheltering the chapel is one of the oldest structures in the city. One day in 1967 Elvis asked to visit. Its owner asked in turn if he could baptize his chapel in his honor; instead, the star allowed him to give them the name of his estate, Graceland.

Anyway, last year, 9,000 marriages were celebrated at home.

You can adorn the ring finger everywhere, at a drive-in in a branch of Denny's, in a gondola at the Venetian hotel, before an erupting mock-volcano, in the lobby of the auditorium of the New York- New York, by an artist from the cast of Zumanity, aboard a cab Ferris wheel High Roller (very nice, by the way), a western theme at Bonnie Springs Ranch, or by helicopter over the strip ... Make your games, anything is possible. "This is also why we want to get married in Las Vegas: everything you dream can be created here," says Graham Moss.

Yes, the garden

The majority of hotels offer weddings and vow renewal packages that include the place where the union will be celebrated and the celebrant services and those of a photographer. Everything else - flowers, photo session elsewhere in the hotel, webcast for family back home, cocktail, reception - is on the map. Prices vary depending on the wedding will take place on a weekday or weekend, inside or outside.

Outdoor ceremonies are popular, and for good reason: the chapels of the best hotels on the Strip we visited aren't as bright and inspiring as their outdoor counterparts.

The prestigious Wynn hotel boasts the only garden designed specifically for holding weddings. A dream celebration for 50 people at Primrose Courtyard, including two nights hotel accommodation for the married couple, can cost up to $ 30,000 US! The semi-private gardens at Caesars Palace are particularly attractive, spacious, and here, a ceremony will look in the US $ 1,199 or more. Finally, the Venetian also has beautiful gardens, though they are public.

"Many couples who choose us were engaged in Venice," says Rebecca Stebbins, wedding planner at The Venetian and Palazzo, the adjoining property. They found the old world charm of Italy here and in our green gardens populated by statues and a romantic atmosphere. "

More recent construction of the Strip, The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas offers for its part several fun places for daytime weddings like Rose. Rabbit. Lie., a bar with the feel of a 20s speakeasy, or The Chelsea, a theater with industrial decor. For a small group, the 3678 suite with balcony and stunning views of the city is particularly popular because a cocktail may also take place there after the ceremony.

"We appeal mainly to people aged 20 to 40 looking for a festive place really out of the ordinary," said Ashley Marshall, weddings.

Yes, away from the business.

Away from the busy casinos, the extraordinary Keep Memory Alive Event Center, designed by Frank Gehry, pleases philanthropists insofar as its rental income (from US $ 5,000 for four hours) is used to finance the Lou Ruvo Center for brain Health, the adjacent clinic dedicated to the treatment of brain diseases.

"It's a great place for product launches, galas and weddings, the ceremony can take place in the garden and the reception inside, said the director, David Watts. We have a kitchen including 3,000 square feet created by chef Wolfgang Puck! "

Ultimately, my cousin Sylvie chose instead to marry in the Mojave Desert and its aptly named Valley of Fire, located an hour's drive north of the Strip. "I fell in love with this valley it a few years ago and promised myself to come back ..." she said.

With his "sculptures" of red sandstone, this state park provides a spectacular backdrop to the photogenic unions that take place there, and even more at sunset. Last March, yellow and purple flowers added a magical touch to the already enchanting surroundings.

Scenic Las Vegas Weddings, a wedding organization specializing in natural settings, was in charge of all the logistics, including: licensure of the park, hiring a transportation service for the guests' limousines and to bring everyone to the photo session.

According to Kristen Labuda, conjugal unions make have a positive aura in Las Vegas. "People get married to be recognized as couples, she said, and weddings give our city a dimension of romance and passion. "

So, therefore, the happily married couples that get hitched in Vegas, disprove the adage that what that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Loose Talk

For advice: Stop in Las Vegas, Alain Legault (Ulysses editions), a gold mine of good plans for going outside to play.

To know: Get married here in spring or autumn. Summer is scorching.

Stay:The Palazzo, a classic hotel with a dolce vita in the US, that is to say, the hotel is with dripping spacious suites of marble and equipped with three TVs! This and The Venetian, which are connected, count 7000 suites, which would make it the largest hotel in the world.

Feast: At The Palazzo hotel, the Italian steakhouse Carnevino, where officiate chefs Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, offer a range of elegant rooms that can accommodate groups of 10 to 80 guests. The menu of dry-aged beef melts in the mouth, of course, but also veal, pasta and seafood, including a grilled octopus dish on a bed of marinated vegetables with limoncello. Verdict? A sure bet and not just another trendy address.

To take some fresh air. The Park, the first green area of the Strip, between the hotels New York-New York and Monte Carlo and near the new arena T-Mobile.


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