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| - A few years ago my then-fiance and I scoured Las Vegas to find a wedding chapel that met only one criteria: someplace we would bring our mothers to. Now, our mothers are not prudes or high-maintenance, but we wanted to get married in a Vegas chapel that was not located next to a porn store, hourly motel, pawn shop, or serve as a hobo retreat.
It was a grim search, with little success.
Finally, down near Mandalay Bay we saw a tiny chapel. Outside it boasted that Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere were married there as well as Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob. And certainly those couples are models of successful marriages. Nevertheless, we paid the Little Church of the West a visit.
The best thing going for it is that it a sweet wooden cottage. Some of the signs outside are a little dated, but it erred on the Holly Hobbie side rather than the sequins and Liberace side. Also, having been relocated several times, it was a bit of an oasis with no porn or hobos nearby (note: things change quickly in Vegas so I don't know if this is still true). There were actually trees outside and green lawn, which is pretty darn picturesque for a Vegas chapel. We gave it a go.
Now, if you're a straight-laced-Martha-Stewart-weddings-check-out-my-wedding-gown-choices -on-my-knot-wedding-page bridezilla, you probably won't really like this place. Then again, you wouldn't be getting married in Vegas, would you? But if you're looking for a quaint chapel for you and close friends to gather that has some element of charm, you will be pleasantly surprised.
The interior of the church is a little on the cheesy side - lots of plastic plants, but nothing we couldn't deal with. We played preacher roulette and had someone we didn't even know marry us - he was a sweet older man who unintentionally made our guests giggle with some of his more antiquated views on men and women. There is a dressing room available, which came in handy - I went to the chapel early and changed there.
We got one of the more modest wedding packages - a few pictures, a bouquet of roses for me (quite nice) and a DVD of our 5-minute ceremony. We thankfully had friends take lots of pictures...be warned that the chapel does not use a digital camera (my eyes were closed in one of the pictures!) The staff was also helpful and attentive...until the next wedding half an hour later ;)
In all, my guests had fun at our wedding, and more importantly - and often rare -my husband and I had fun at our wedding. If you chose to not get married at one of the hotel chapels on the Strip, I recommend this one.
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