Las Vegas Centennial: Wedding spectacle planned

Ken Miller

Thursday, May 12, 2005 | 8:59 a.m.

After gambling, the one thing many people think of when they hear "Las Vegas" is weddings.

That's not surprising. Las Vegas has hosted millions of weddings over the past 100 years, and in 2004 alone 128,250 marriage licenses were issued in Clark County. Celebrity weddings have been a highlight, from Bing Crosby-Kathryn Grant and Elizebeth Taylor-Eddie Fisher in the '50s to Frank Sinatra-Mia Farrow in the '60s to Britney Spears and Jason Alexander in 2003.

And "The Wedding Capital of the World" is going to make good use of its title for this year's Centennial celebration with its "Once Upon 100 Weddings" event.

The Centennial Committee, partnering with Southwest Airlines, will be giving 98 couples from outside Las Vegas and two local couples a wedding package that includes nuptials, bachelor and bachelorette parties and wedding gifts provided by local retailers.

In addition, all lucky couples will be married under the canopy of the Fremont Street Experience on June 9.

Hotel accommodations for each couple will be provided by the Golden Nugget. Bachelor parties will be provided by MGM Grand's Studio 54, and bachelorette parties will be provided by New York-New York's Coyote Ugly.

Wedding gifts provided for each couple will include a $100 gift certificate to David's Bridal, show tickets for "La Femme" at MGM Grand and individual ice cream wedding cakes by Cold Stone Creamery.

Esther Carter, special events coordinator for the Centennial Committee, said the mass wedding has been in the planning stages for two years, and that everything has gone smoothly thanks to community and corporate participation.

"This has been a fun event, especially when you have partners like Southwest Airlines, MGM, Coyote Ugly and others," Carter said. "It's fun to see local companies embrace this and want to participate."

To select the local couples, the committee is holding an online competition. Couples must submit an essay of 500 words or less describing their personal love story, why they are compatible and their secret for a long-lasting marriage.

A jury comprised of a local marriage counselor, divorce attorney and a couple married 30 years will judge and select the winners, who will be announced at the end of this month.

For details about the online contest, go to www.lasvegas2005.org. Carter said the centennial committee has already received more than 100 submissions from local couples.

Of the 98 remaining couples, 92 will be selected from Southwest Airlines/Las Vegas feeder markets, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, Phoenix, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego and Houston through a variety of television and radio promotions.

The six additional couples will be chosen by promotions in Las Vegas' top international markets, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, France and Australia.

Fifty of the couples will be married by one minister at the First Street stage, and the other 50 will be married by another minister at the Third Street stage.

Carter said the ceremony will be held at 8:30 p.m. so that the Fremont Street canopy's LED display can be used to full effect, adding that "some fun, special wedding graphics" will be used.

As an added bonus, Carter said all couples will be given a short tour of Las Vegas called the "Centennial Poker Tournament." They will be driven by Celebrity Coaches to several casinos, collecting a playing card at each one.

Once they arrive at their final destination, whoever has the best hand wins the grand prize, although several other prizes will also be given out, courtesy of Fashion Show mall.

Carter added that nothing like this has ever been done before in Las Vegas, and encouraged everyone to come out to enjoy the evening.

"You only turn 100 once," Carter said. "The more people we can get involved, the better it will be. Because Vegas turning 100, that's pretty cool."