In Vegas, this February’s wedding season is 2 lucky 2 miss

By: Hannah Sampson

Jeffrey and Liddy Ryan kiss for the first time as newlyweds while an Elvis impersonator sings at Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas on 2/2/22. (Photos by Saeed Rahbaran for The Washington Post)

Cassandra Hemingway, 42, has always had a thing about numbers. So when she and her fiancee, Kathleen Gay, 45, were deciding on a date for their Las Vegas wedding, the palindromic prospect of the second month of 2022 was too good to pass up.

The only question was whether the couple, both nurses, would wed on 2/2/22 or 2/22/22. Then Hemingway remembered: Gay proposed on Feb. 2, 2019.

Kathleen Gay and Cassandra Hemingway at Chapel of the Flowers on 2/2/22.

“It was like, ‘Okay, yup, it’s definite: We have to use those numbers,’ ” she said.

The couple from Rochester, N.Y., have plenty of company in the self-proclaimed “wedding capital of the world” this month, starting on their own wedding date, continuing into perennial favorite Valentine’s Day and then Feb. 20 and 22. The later date appears to be the biggest draw, insiders say.

Nick Edwards, groomsmen and bridesmaids wait in line to enter the wedding chapel at Chapel of the Flowers on 2/2/22.

Video and audio techs work on a computer at Chapel of the Flowers.

“What the chapels have been telling me is that 2/22/22 — on a Tuesday — is really exciting for couples,” said Clark County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya. “There’s a number of chapels that have already been booked for a while. There’s no way anywhere in town you can get a 2 o’clock ceremony.”

It’s not clear yet how Tuesday will stack up to banner dates of 11/11/11, when about 3,500 couples got married, or 7/7/07, when 4,500 couples wed, Goya said. Another big day: 4/3/21, when nearly 1,000 couples tied the knot. Last year, the county’s marriage license bureau issued 77,000 licenses.

On Sunday — 2/20/22 — Clark County issued its 5 millionth marriageto a California couple who got married later that day. Mayra Ramirez and Luis Pantoja won a plane trip back to Las Vegas, two nights at Paris Las Vegas, tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show, dining and shopping certificates and more. With their ceremony already planned, they gave their free wedding package to another couple.

JA and Ajax Mitchell at Graceland Wedding Chapel on 2/2/22.

Rod Musum, general manager of Graceland Wedding Chapel, said palindrome dates are always popular at the Elvis-themed venue. They’re a favorite of his, since his own last name can be spelled the same way forward and backward.

On a typical February day, Musum said, the chapel might perform 15 to 20 weddings or vow renewals. On Feb. 2 and 14, there were more than 65 slated, and more than 70 on the 22nd.

Graceland extended its normal hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to accommodate the demand on Tuesday, and opened the outdoor gazebo. Ceremonies are planned about every 15 minutes from 8 a.m. until midnight, Musum said.

Lucy Edwards walks down the aisle with her parents at Chapel of the Flowers on 2/2/22.

He said the special dates are appealing because they’re unique, easy to remember and “just a great conversation piece.”

“We’re getting married on 2/22/22, it’s kind of fun to be able to say that,” he said.

As someone in the business of popular wedding dates, Musum said his team is already looking ahead at the calendar. One date that’s starting to show promise: 3/2/23.