‘Magic dates’ expected to attract thousands to Vegas’ wedding chapels

By: McKenna Ross | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas chapels are prepared for the most romantic month of the year to be even sweeter.

February is expected to bring a windfall of brides and grooms to the region’s wedding chapels – mostly attributed to special dates in the month.

So-called “magic dates,” the easy-to-remember, possibly auspicious dates that get hundreds or thousands of couples to the altar, are also being played up by the wedding industry. In 2022, 2,341 couples married in Clark County on Feb. 22 for its numerical date of 2-22-22. This year, those dates will be Feb. 2, Feb, 4 and Feb. 24.

Valentine’s Day is also a consistently popular date. The Clark County Marriage License Bureau said of the most popular dates of all time in the region, 11 were on Valentine’s Day.

Carrie Gaudioso, wedding coordinator at Mon Bel Ami chapel, said her Las Vegas venue is expecting to be busiest on Feb. 24 because of its date and that it falls on Saturday.

“We keep our same routine regardless of what the date is,” Gaudioso said. “We can keep going earlier, and we can go later – one every hour.”

Several venues plan to market to those crowds with special promotions. At Mon Bel Ami, the chapel is discounting all wedding packages by 20 percent. Other promotions include $14 ceremonies at the Hitchin’ Post Wedding Chapel in Circus Circus and larger photo, flower and ceremony bundles at Paris Las Vegas and The Little Vegas Chapel.

Clark County officials will open a pop-up marriage license bureau at Harry Reid International Airport to ease the paperwork process for arriving couples by issuing temporary marriage licenses there, allowing them to skip a step at the downtown office. Located near Terminal 1’s baggage claim, the site will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 13 through Feb. 29.

“Las Vegas is known across the globe for being a stress-free, romantic destination for weddings, and we love to make the process even smoother for couples tying the knot in The Wedding Capital of the World,” Clark County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya said in a Thursday press release. “With three major wedding dates coming up in February, we anticipate thousands of couples heading to the destination for memorable ceremonies.”

Winter is often a slow pleasure travel season for the industry, Gaudioso said. Having holidays and special dates can bring some unexpected cash flow.

“It’s nice as a business to be like, ‘Hey, here’s all this extra money we weren’t counting on this month,” she said.