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Follow Us When visiting Downtown Las Vegas, keep an eye out for the 10-foot-tall, steel-heart-shaped sculpture in front of the Clark County Marriage License Bureau by artist Mathew Rosenblatt.
Couples may take photos with the heart sculpture before or after their wedding festivities and for proposals. (Unfortunately, marriage ceremonies cannot take place in front of the art piece at the Marriage License Bureau.)
Clark County Shows Heart
During the heart sculpture reveal, Clark County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya shared some of the “romantic” history between the city of Las Vegas and the county, according to a video from Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Since councilwoman [Olivia] Diaz took office, we’ve done things to promote wedding tourism around the city of Las Vegas, which has the highest number of chapels of [anywhere] in the world. We know we are the No. 1 destination for weddings from around the world. Nobody else does more destination weddings than Las Vegas. About 80 percent of the licenses we issue are to tourists,” Goya says. “We want to make sure that they understand that we really appreciate them coming here, and we want to make it a pleasant and exciting experience, even at the Marriage License Bureau.”
Goya says of the public art work, “This is the kind of partnership between the county, the city and private enterprise that I really appreciate.” Councilwoman Diaz was also present at the unveiling. She consistently supports the growth of the city’s illustrious wedding tourism industry since her election into office.
Community Through Love
Goya reinforces the importance of celebrating Las Vegas wedding culture.
“I think it is in the best interest of bringing the community together to promote wedding tourism,” she explains. “When the community is behind us, then more couples come here and that increases the economic impact and it helps all of us. It’s an honor to oversee the wedding industry and the Marriage Capital of the World, and these kinds of events and this kind of commitment from the city and from the community are really what this is all about.”
Councilwoman Diaz was instrumental in changing the ordinance to allow chapels to apply for redevelopment funding and update the facades of their venues. Additionally, “Wedding Row” banners were strung on light posts in the Downtown area last year to promote wedding tourism.
“This project demonstrates how community partners and local government can work successfully to bring more art to our public spaces,” Diaz said in a statement. “The city and Clark County have been working hand in hand to promote that Las Vegas continues to be the Wedding Capital of the World.”
The ‘Big Heart’: A Labor of Love
Before the “Big Heart” sculpture became a prominent fixture in front of the Las Vegas Marriage Bureau, the giant red sculpture was displayed at the Christmas Market and Life Is Beautiful festivals. Mathew Rosenblatt, the creator of the heart art statue, was overjoyed that his piece had merited an ideal home in the Marriage Capital of the World.
“I hope it has a positive impact, even if it’s for one second. So, one step at a time, we make this world a better place,” Rosenblatt says. “Relationships aren’t built in a day. They’re also little steps. Part of it is to affirm each other. Part of it is expressing love to each other at that moment.”
The “Big Heart” artist says all his artwork is a labor of love. This particular one just so happened to be the most straightforward.
“For me, it was an honor and a privilege to both create it, and then give it to other people so they could share it. Thank you to the city and thank you to Life Is Beautiful for the opportunity.”
Each year, the county clerk’s office issues about 80,000 marriage licenses for ceremonies across the city.
