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you will feel
the warmth, charm and welcoming that countless couples have
experienced over the years.
— the Wee Kirk is the original
and historic Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. Opened in 1940, its
beauty and charm continue today.
and relive once again, the joy of their original
wedding day.
Many couples choose our Las Vegas wedding chapel
because they originally exchanged their vows here and now
want to renew that commitment—and some have family
members who were married here and want to continue the love
and tradition that is the Wee Kirk O’ the Heather.
So,
whether you are just starting out together or whether you
are renewing your original vows of love, make Las Vegas'
Wee Kirk o’ the Heather your wedding chapel.
 With the
beginning of the 1940's, a new image for Las Vegas merged-the
silver screen, radio, and later television, as well as people
from all walks of life, began treks to Las Vegas to "tie
the knot." Originally, this was mainly
due to the fact that Nevada's laws were more lax than most
places in the country, where blood tests and waiting periods
were the norm. Not so here! It took, and still does, some
form of identification, the fee for the marriage license,
a minister, a place to get married, and last (but most importantly)
two willing souls to say "I Do." A need for places
to perform these ceremonies quickly developed and thus began
the wedding chapel business.
Two of the
very first wedding chapels to open in Las Vegas were the
Hitching Post (now closed) and Wee Kirk o'the Heather Wedding
Chapel. Both were opened in 1940 and soon
afterwards, other chapels began to spring up near downtown
and eventually out on the Strip to meet the demand for weddings.
Another of Las Vegas' most famous chapels, The Little Church
of the West, opened two years later (in 1942) "way
out" on the Strip.
The Wee
Kirk O' the Heather, which in Scottish means-"The Little
Chapel of the Lucky Flowers," is Las Vegas' oldest
continually operating wedding chapel.
Perhaps
the close proximity to the marriage license bureau, perhaps
the friendliness of the owners over the years, or perhaps
due to any variety of reasons, the Wee Kirk has survived
the ages. Once or twice a month, a couple will return to
renew their vows after 50 or more years. The same is true
of those married 40 or more years. They come, reminisce,
take pictures, and tell stories of their own "special
day" so many years ago. When they are gone, the people
at the Wee Kirk O' the Heather are elated to see the happiness
that they and the chapel have been such a part of.
 Sometimes,
a chapel in Las Vegas plays a big role in the families'
on-going history.
Couples will come to get
married where "mom and dad" or "grandma and
granddad" got married. Occasionally, one or two generations
will return with the soon-to-be-wed couple to the chapel
where they were married to witness the joining of yet another
generation.
Many movies have shown, or featured, Las Vegas
wedding chapels over the years.
Recently,
the Wee Kirk O' the Heather appeared in the movie "Fools
Rush In" and segments of several other recent movies
have been shot at this and several other Vegas chapels.
At the Chapel of the Bells, scenes from National Lampoon's
Vegas Vacation were shot, as well as some in Mars Attack.
If you're portraying weddings, why not show them in Las
Vegas - the city of love and marriage. Weddings are big
business in Las Vegas and next to gaming, constitute the
second largest industry in the state. Each year, more and
more people come from all over the world to get married
in Las Vegas.
In the early
1950's, upwards of 20,000 people per year were getting married
here. Today, over 100,000 marriages are performed annually
in Las Vegas - insuring its title as "Wedding Capitol
of the World." Marriages in Vegas range
from simple "I do's" to elaborate weddings with
a multitude of guests and on to the interesting, entertaining,
and even the bizarre. A variety of look-alike celebrities
are available to attend, and of course the King himself,
Elvis Presley, will come out of hiding to sing to the bride
and groom and wish them a long and happy life together.
Everything for a wedding can be bought, or quickly rented,
in Las Vegas. From Victorian gowns and formal wear, to limos
and flowers, it's all here, waiting for those who want to
be married in the city of love and marriage.
The list
of celebrities who have ventured to the "Wedding Capitol
of the World" over the years is long and varied.
Following is a partial list of personalities who have exchanged
"I do's." Some have lasted; while alas, others
have failed. There are no statistics, but love still brings
them to Las Vegas wedding chapels to "tie the knot."
Of all the Vegas weddings none would be publicized as widely,
or be alas famous as the one that took place in room 246
of the Aladdin Hotel on May 1, 1967.
On this
day, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n' Roll, wed Priscilla
Beaulieu. Almost everyone knows the story
of their marriage and subsequent break-up, but the story
of Elvis' wedding doesn't end there.
Shortly
before his death, Elvis again intended to get married in
Las Vegas. On a sunny afternoon, a call
came in to the Wee Kirk O' the Heather Wedding Chapel from
none other than Colonel Tom Parker. It seems Elvis, and
his live-in girlfriend Ginger, were wanting to get married
there that evening. Arrangements were made and Colonel Parker,
along with the entire "Memphis Mafia," showed
up for the ceremony. Elvis, however, never made it to the
chapel. He called and said they were going back to Memphis
instead, Of course that marriage was never to happen. Elvis
passed away just a few months later.
People from
all parts of the world flock to Las Vegas daily to exchange
their vows in the Wedding Capital of the World.
For
young or old, rich or poor, Las Vegas continues to be 'the'
place to get married.
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Kirk Douglas and Ann Buydens (1954)
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Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl (1954)
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Rita Hayworth and Dick Haymes (1954)
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Joan Crawford and Alfred Steele (1955)
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Carol Channing and Charles F. Lowe
(1956)
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Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme (1957)
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Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (1958)
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Mary Tyler Moore and Grant Tinker (1962)
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Betty White and Allen Ludden (1963)
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Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim (1965)
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Xavier Gugat and Char (1966)
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Ann-Margaret and Roger Smith (1967)
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Leslie Ann Warren and Jon Peters (1967)
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Wayne Newton and Elaine Okamura (1968)
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George Hamilton and Alana Collins (1972)
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David Cassidy and Kay Lenz (1977)
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Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford
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Dean Martin
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Ricki Lake
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Ernest Borgnine
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Jon Bon Jovi
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Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
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Billy Martin (New York Yankees)
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Judy Garland
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Bo Derek
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Beverly DiAngel
 back
to top you desire,
we're sure one of our wedding packages covers it. Las Vegas weddings. Las Vegas
wedding chapels.
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