Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

GETTING MARRIED 191
has a large photo of a forest stream. They also have a gazebo for outdoor services,
but since it’s right on the Strip, it’s not as nice as it sounds. If you want
something special, there are probably better choices, but for a true Vegas wedding
experience, this is Kitsch Wedding Central.
1301 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 800/545-8111 or 702/382-5943. www.alittlewhitechapel.com. Open 24 hr.
San Francisco Sally’s Victorian Chapel Finds This is an extremely tiny
wedding chapel bursting at the seams with Victorian frills (fringed lamps, swags
of lace curtains). They basically offer “an Olde Tyme Parlor Wedding.” This is
perfect if you want a very intimate wedding—like you, your intended, and
someone to officiate. It literally can’t hold more than six people. (And the space
at the back of the room opens for an even tinier reception area—it can barely fit
the cake!) But if you love Victoriana, or you want to play dress-up at your wedding,
this is the place. The shop rents out dresses and costumes, so you can wear
a Scarlett O’Hara antebellum outfit or some other period number for your big
day. (It’s all fantasy anyway, so why not go whole hog?) They specialize in extras
without extra charges, like altering and whatnot. The women who run it refer to
themselves as “a bunch of mother hens”; they’re delightful and will pamper you
to within an inch of your life. (One couple drops in every year just to say “hi.”)
Some may find it a bit cutesy, but it really is quite charming and has its own distinct
personality, unlike most of the other chapels in the area (where the interiors
all start to blur together after a while). This is a decidedly special place that,
depending on your wedding desires and fantasies, might be just right.
1304 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 800/658-8677 or 702/385-7777 Mon–Sat 10am–6pm; Sun 10am–4pm.
A Special Memory Wedding Chapel This is a very nice wedding chapel,
particularly when compared to the rather tired facades of the classics on the
Strip. This is absolutely the place to go if you want a traditional, big-production
wedding; you won’t feel in the least bit tacky. It’s a New England church–style
building, complete with steeple. The interior looks like a proper church (well, a
plain one—don’t think ornate Gothic cathedral) with a peaked roof, pews with
padded red seats, modern stained-glass windows of doves and flowers, and lots of
dark wood. It’s all very clean and new and seats about 87 comfortably. There is a
short staircase leading to an actual bride’s room; she can make an entrance coming
down it or through the double doors at the back. The area outside the chapel
is like a minimall of bridal paraphernalia stores. Should all this just be too darn
nice and proper for you, they also offer a drive-up window (where they do about
300 weddings a month!). It’ll cost you $25—just ring the buzzer for service.
They have a photo studio on-site and will do a small cake, cold cuts, and champagne
receptions. There is a gazebo for outside weddings, and they sell T-shirts!
800 S. 4th St. (at Gass Ave.). & 800/962-7798 or 702/384-2211. www.aspecialmemory.com. Sun–Thurs
8am–10pm; Fri–Sat 8am–midnight.
Wee Kirk O’ the Heather This is the oldest wedding chapel in Las Vegas (it’s
been here since 1940) and the one at the very end of the Strip, right before
Downtown (and thus even closer to the license bureau). It would be declared a
historic landmark, except some renovations in the past moved just enough of the
interior walls to alter it sufficiently and keep it from being official. A recent
renovation isn’t all that impressive and seems to feature a great deal of bright
lavender. They have an organ as well.
231 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/382-9830. Daily 10am–midnight.