Real Vegas Love Story: Randy and Michael

Michael and Randy met 31 years ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, inside Paisley Park Studios — the famed creative complex founded by Prince. What began across a crowded room eventually led to not one, but three weddings, including one officiated by Olivia Newton-John.

“We’ve been married officially since 2003,” Michael says. “We’ve been married twice — once in Canada when it became legal, and then in 2008 we got married in Palm Springs because we wanted to have a U.S. wedding license as well.”

City Halls and Courthouse Vows

“Those first two weddings,” Randy explains, “we got married at city hall in Toronto, and then we got married at city hall in Palm Springs because we were just thinking we were celebrating the right to get married.”

Neither wedding was particularly traditional, but both were full of joy.

“They were both really happy occasions,” Randy says. “We were surrounded by people we didn’t know, but everyone was excited to get married.”

A Vegas vow renewal with Olivia Newton-John

When the couple’s 25th anniversary approached in 2019, Michael wasn’t planning anything big. That changed during a trip to Australia, when he mentioned the milestone to his longtime client, Olivia Newton-John.

“She said, ‘No, no, no — you’ve never had a party. You’ve always done courthouse weddings. You should invite your family and friends and do a vow renewal. Just make this your party,’” Michael recalls. “And I said, ‘Why don’t you come to Vegas and marry us?’ And she said, ‘I would be honored.’”

Just two weeks later, Olivia Newton-John flew to Las Vegas and remarried them inside a pod on the High Roller observation wheel.

Short, Sweet, and Very Vegas

“My favorite thing about the whole thing — it was very Las Vegas,” Randy says. “I’m not a big event person. I like things one-on-one with people, I like small groups. I don’t need a big wedding, which is probably why we had two courthouse weddings to begin with.”

The High Roller offered the perfect setup: “It’s over in 30 minutes,” Randy says. “Only 25 people. Plus, you can get a bar cart — triple play. All great.”

After the ceremony, the group walked a block down the Strip for a celebratory dinner at Chayo. A ceremony full of showbiz sparkle came together quickly.

“The great thing that I loved about it was, again, we had two weeks to put this together,” Michael says. “Then it turned into, well, we need someone to sing — we need music.”

He called Human Nature, the headlining Motown group he works with. “They said, ‘Hey, will you be our wedding singers?’ Then I called my Chippendale boys and said, ‘Will you be our ring bearers?’” he laughs. “It started turning into this very Vegasy wedding… and I’ll be honest, it was perfect.”

A Song That Says It All

Michael and Randy often describe how they met using lyrics from “Some Enchanted Evening” — a song that has become deeply symbolic for them.

“You will see a stranger across a crowded room, and somehow you know,” Randy recites. “Even then, that somehow you’ll see them again and again.”

When they told Olivia Newton-John that story, she surprised them by rewriting the lyrics to reflect their journey, then performed the new version a cappella during their ceremony.

“Who has a Las Vegas headliner, worldwide star, rewrite lyrics, and sing to you a cappella at your wedding?” Randy says. “It was really terrific.”