Getting Married in Las Vegas

With families on opposing sides of the world and no interest in spending stressful months organising (or paying for) a big wedding, we decided to elope to Vegas – and boy, we’re glad we did!

Beneath the neon, Las Vegas has quietly built one of the most efficient and stress-free wedding systems in the world. For us, that mattered more than anything.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nevada since 9 October 2014, and in the decade since, Las Vegas has become not just a symbolic place to marry, but a genuinely practical one.

The process is refreshingly straightforward. Couples can apply for their marriage licence online before arriving, then visit the Clark County Marriage License Bureau together with valid ID to collect the paperwork. The bureau is open 365 days a year, even on Christmas Day. “You would be hard-pressed to find another location on earth that makes getting married so easy,” County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya tells us.

Once the licence is issued, the only remaining requirement is a ceremony conducted by a licensed officiant. From that point on, everything else is our choice.

Choosing a Chapel

We knew early on that we didn’t want kitsch or parody. No Elvis. What drew us instead was the Til Death Do Us Part Chapel (palms.com | @palms), a striking black-and-white chapel located inside the Palms Casino Resort.

Designed by contemporary artist Joshua Vides, the chapel is a fully immersive graphic art installation that feels hand-drawn and cinematic. Opened in 2019, it was conceived as a modern alternative to Vegas’ traditional ‘white chapels’. It can accommodate up to 25 guests, but we loved that it offered a specific ‘Just The Two of Us’ package for couples eloping like us.

Despite being housed within a major resort, the chapel feels tucked away. There’s no sense of being on display, which mattered in a moment that was emotional rather than performative.

A Ceremony That Felt Like Ours

Our ceremony was officiated by Berlynn Holdmann of Hell Bent Hitchings (hellbenthitchings.com | @hellbenthitchings), and from the outset, her approach set the tone: calm, warm and affirming.

A short pre-ceremony questionnaire allowed the service to be shaped around us without feeling scripted or sentimental. We changed our minds about writing vows, which was no issue for her, and on the day, she guided the ceremony gently while allowing emotion to surface naturally.

Suits You Sir

For suits, we turned to Friar Tux (friartux.com | @friartux), whose Las Vegas locations are well-versed in short timelines. The process was efficient and surprisingly flexible, with a wide range of modern styles available same-day. Our Michael Kors tuxedos suited the chapel’s stark black-and-white aesthetic perfectly, and they offered plenty of more colourful options for those looking for something more flamboyant.

Photography That Let the Moment Be the Moment

Our photographer, Meo Baaklini (meobaakliniphotography.com | @meobaakliniphotography), was so unobtrusive that it was genuinely easy to forget she was there. Looking back at the photos afterwards, what stood out most was how many warm, intimate moments she had captured that we didn’t even realise were being documented at the time. It’s the kind of photography that lets you relive the experience every time you look at them.

A ‘Real’ Wedding

One persistent myth is that Las Vegas weddings aren’t “real”. Goya is clear on that point: “Las Vegas weddings are legal ceremonies, and Las Vegas weddings are recognised in countries across the world (including New Zealand).”

And for those hoping to recreate a scene from The Hangover, “You cannot be drunk (or high on drugs) when you get married,” she warns.

As we walk back through a casino heading off to dinner and a concert in tuxedos, it feels quite radical. Vegas didn’t make a spectacle of our wedding. It simply made it stress-free, which is exactly what we were looking for.