Valentine’s Day sees record marriages

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 10:23 a.m.

Several hundred more couples tied the knot in Las Vegas over Valentine's Day weekend than during the same period last year.

Although the Clark County Marriage License Bureau does not keep records for any particular weekend, it is believed that the 2,590 licenses issued Friday through Monday is an all-time best for a four-day holiday.

"I'm sure it is (a record)," one Marriage Bureau clerk said. "It goes up every year."

Over the same four-day period last February, 2,126 licenses were issued to couples looking to exchange vows on or near the holiday that is symbolized by flowers, pink hearts and Cupid.

If every license -- they cost $35 apiece -- was exchanged for matching gold bands, then 464 more couples entered the state of matrimony in Las Vegas this past Valentine's Day weekend than last.

However, statistics are not available on how many folks actually used those licenses to immediately get hitched or got cold feet before saying "I do."

Each year, thousands of lovebirds flock to Las Vegas to take advantage of liberal marriage laws, which include no blood test and no waiting period. Divorces, however, have to be final before another plunge can be taken into the sea of matrimony.

Prospective mates must be 18 or older and "not nearer of kin than second cousins," according to county marriage regulations.

Marriage licenses are acquired at the bureau's 200 S. 3rd St. office, which traditionally is jammed around Valentine's Day with folks clad in everything from t-shirts and jeans to tuxedos and white gowns.

The number of marriage licenses issued annually in Clark County has climbed significantly in the last decade. Last year, a record 110,696 wedlock permits were issued compared to what was a record 59,423 licenses in 1988.

Since then, records have been set every year, with the exception of 1991 and 1992 when annual license issuances dipped slightly.

In 1993, a booming year for local marriages, the 86,608 licenses that were issued shattered the previous record of 76,060 set in 1990, according to county records.

In 1995, the number of licenses topped the 100,000 plateau for the first time, with 101,755 issued. That mark stood just one year as a new record was set in 1996 with 104,920, which in turn was topped last year.