A Las Vegas Wedding

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Sometimes it’s the little things that put a smile on your face. Case in point: Last week I was emailing with a friend of a friend about his upcoming trip to Las Vegas. He’s planning to pop the question and get married all within twenty-four hours, assuming his girlfriend agrees, and he had a few questions for me.

"Do you know a place in Vegas to get married?" he asked. "Nothing fancy, though if you can find me an Elvis wedding I’ll name our first-born child after you. And what about a trip to the Grand Canyon? I think that would be an awesome post-vows celebration."

Now, asking these questions of me is a little like asking the Pope if he knows anything about funny hats. Or asking Paris Hilton what she knows about driving with a suspended license. Do I know anything about Las Vegas weddings and tours to the Grand Canyon? Um, yes, as a matter of fact I do.

Getting Married in Vegas – Tips, Steps, and How-To

Let me start with the wedding. If you’re going to get married in Las Vegas, you have a few options:

An "I just met you, let’s get married for a lark" wedding must always include Elvis. And you have a few options. There’s the "Loving You" Elvis Wedding and the "Can’t Help Falling in Love" Elvis Wedding and let’s not forget about the "Hunk of Burning Love" Elvis Wedding. What’s the cost? Anywhere from $125 to $350, depending on the ‘extras’ you want (limo transfer, flowers, Elvis CD, photos, marriage certificate, you get the idea). You’ll also need to buy a marriage license on the spot for about $55, no waiting required. It’s just that easy to say, "I do."

If Elvis isn’t your thing, you can always opt for the other quintessential wedding option: a drive-up wedding. Limo service from the hotel, a swing by the courthouse for your license (pre-paid, as it should be), then off to the world-famous Drive Thru window at A Special Memory Wedding Chapel, where a real and totally legitimate minister will perform your nuptials. You can almost hear somebody asking you, "Do you want fries with that?" Total cost, a budget-friendly $300.

At the high-end of the scale, there’s a Grand Canyon Helicopter Wedding (cost: a cool $3,550) or you can super-size it with an Ultimate Grand Canyon Helicopter Wedding (cost: $3,900). What do you get for all that cash? Besides your own private helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam, you get a sunset wedding at the Valley of Fire. And don’t worry, for a little extra you can even hire an Elvis or Johnny Cash impersonator to accompany you. I am not joking.

Next up, the helicopter tours. Again, you have a few options:

• Start small, stay local and take in Las Vegas on a night helicopter flight. This is very cool, and it’s a real bargain at sixty dollars per person.

• The mac daddy option here is the All American Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour, which covers Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. It’s probably the easiest (certainly the quickest) way to see the Grand Canyon if you’re in Vegas and don’t want to make the four-hour drive. It’s also a good way to avoid the heat of the drive-the desert is hot in summer (it’s a desert, remember) and the helicopter has lovely air-con. Cost? $289.

• Or go big with a four-in-one Grand Canyon helicopter adventure. Yup, it’s a serious endeavor: Helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon, then a 4,000-foot descent in the chopper to the floor of the canyon, followed by a boat trip on the river, heli-hop back up to the rim, get four hours to explore the canyon on your own, the catch a helicopter back to Vegas where your limo is waiting to drop you back at the hotel. Sweet! Total cost: $499 and worth every penny. You even have time to check out the Grand Canyon Skywalk if you’re interested.

Like I said, I had a few suggestions for my friend (he probably wishes he had never asked me). If I’m lucky, I may even get invited to the wedding. After all I can do a mean rendition of "Love Me Tender … "

By Scott "Hound Dog" McNeely. This article was featured on DivineCaroline.com in August 2007. Reproduced with permission.