Horror films, zombies and other spooky themes have a way of surfacing on Little Vegas Wedding again and again, and I have no complaints. Today’s post is no exception…I mean, just look at that photo above!
Katherine and Chris are a very intrepid English couple who planned their spontaneous elopement in Las Vegas after their original plans for a more elaborate Vegas wedding did not materialize. It was in every sense a true elopement, as they hit the ground running as soon as they landed in Las Vegas, gathering all the things needed for the wedding including the license, outfits, and choosing a ceremony venue in just 48 hours.
Before the wedding they did a self-guided photo tour of some famous spots including the Valley of Fire and the Las Vegas Arts District. You can see more of their DIY wedding photo tour of here. Post-wedding (a mobile ceremony officiated by Las Vegas Luv Bug Weddings) they celebrated by attending Evil Dead the Musical, choosing to sit in the splatter zone. Read that again: they chose to sit in the splatter zone. In their wedding clothes. Aren’t they awesome? And fun fact: Evil Dead the Musical is now offering wedding packages. Trendsetters, these two!
Why Chris and Katherine Eloped to Las Vegas
We wanted to get married in Vegas because it’s our favourite place to be! Chris had been going to Vegas for many years before I met him and so it was inevitably our first holiday destination together. There’s so much to do and such variety from being on the Strip, or downtown, or out in the desert. Vegas guaranteed us the good weather we couldn’t have in England for an outdoors ceremony. I was also rather looking forward to showing our family and close friends around Vegas so they could hopefully understand why we keep coming back! :o)
When we’d discussed our wedding previously my only requirements were a pretty dress and pretty photos to remember the day. Vegas provided us with a unique opportunity to have photos in lots of really different locations in a single day — I had been researching companies who provide photo tours before we decided to just do it ourselves! :o)
Katherine and Chris’s Advice for Other Vegas Elopements
If you want to get married spur of the moment, Vegas is obviously an easy place to do it. With a couple of days we managed to create a special day for ourselves. David’s Bridal will sell you a dress off the rack, although they didn’t want to believe it was only us and were desperate to sell us a dress with a long train I couldn’t possibly have managed alone!
Don’t be afraid to trust in the kindness of strangers to take your photos! We had some great shots thanks to helpful people. Although we did buy a camera which auto-syncs the photos to my phone at every opportunity just in case someone decided to run off with it! ;o)
The Ceremony — Caesars Palace with Las Vegas Luv Bug Weddings
The evening of October 3rd we headed over to the Marriage License Bureau and filled out the required forms in the pencils provided – I’ve never signed an official looking document in pencil before! There was no queue, so we wandered up to a window, corrected our misunderstanding of their form, and in exchange for $60 we had the legal documentation required – it really is as easy as the movies make out!
We also booked Luv Bug Weddings to perform the ceremony, though we had no idea where! They’re a mobile company who come to you, to any public place, so first thing on Thursday we headed out to scout out locations – it was very early so the neon was still lit :) After a stressful day of visiting pawn shops for rings and wedding clothing shopping, Chris finally found his suit at an outlet mall. We headed over to David’s Bridal as I knew they would sell me a dress I could take away then and there and had the fun experience of trying on dresses in a proper shop!
Ceremony photos courtesy Pam Rowland of Luv Bug Weddings
The Reception — Eiffel Tower Dinner and Evil Dead the Musical
Dinner was actually pre-wedding at Paris Las Vegas’s Eiffel Tower Restaurant with a stunning view of the Bellagio fountains. Post-ceremony, attending a live showing of Evil Dead the Musical.
Was there a stand out moment, memory or challenge that has stayed with you?Â
The most memorable part of the whole experience was how lovely everyone was when we were in wedding clothes! Random people we passed were congratulating us, complimenting our outfits, offering advice. More importantly for us, strangers were helping us take photos. The kindness of strangers seems to multiply by huge amounts on your wedding day :o) Without their help we would have had far fewer photos to remember the day!
The most challenging part of the day was jetlag! We hadn’t factored that into the timing of the day. We were too excited to sleep much the night before and started the day pretty early. By the time it came to the ceremony we were already very tired and actually fell asleep before the evening entertainment! Thankfully we woke up just in time to get there!
Bonus: The next day, the couple headed out to the desert where they buried their “evidence” (i.e., wedding clothes) in a secret spot, Breaking Bad style. What happens in Las Vegas, stays…well, you know the rest. Congratulations, Katherine and Chris!
Venue and Vendor Details:
Photography: Chris and Katherine / Ceremony Photography: Pam Rowland, Las Vegas Luv Bug Weddings / Show Photos Courtesy: Evil Dead the Musical / Ceremony Venue: Caesars Palace Fountains / Reception Venue: Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas / Officiant: Tim Rowland, Las Veags Luv Bug Weddings / Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal / Chris’s Wedding Ring: Rocks the Jewelers at Hard Rock Hotel / Photo Locations: Valley of Fire, Arts District Downtown Las Vegas, Bellagio Fountains, Bellagio Conservatory, Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign