Las Vegas has been "the wedding capital of the world" for decades, but with couples tying the knot at a 26-year low last year, the county is expected to discuss which agency should be controlling the money spent to promote Las Vegas weddings during a meeting on Tuesday.
Currently, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority determines how the money is spent to lure soon-to-be newlyweds to Las Vegas. But the county clerk is wanting to take control.
Like everyone who gets a marriage license in Clark County, Jessie and Jamie Goselind paid a $14 fee that goes toward promoting Las Vegas as the wedding destination.
“I looked at costs for weddings back home, I would have not gotten near as much as I got here,” Jamie said.
That $14 fee adds up to $1.1 million a year.
Clark County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya said, “I don’t think the LVCVA is doing anything wrong.”
But Goya, who spearheaded the license fee at the Legislature, wants her office to handle that matrimonial money.
“The change is that the wedding industry wants to be more involved in the promotions, and actually that’s what the funds were originally designed for," Goya told Action News.
Goya said more promotions like the Valentine's Pop-Up Marriage License Bureau at McCarran or Royal Wedding Month could turnaround the slumping stats.
“We were hit hard after the shooting,” Goya said, noting the decline in weddings after October 1.
The LVCVA released a statement to Action News:
“The County Commission asked the LVCVA to assist in developing a program to promote the wedding industry in 2016. We were happy to work with the Clerk’s office to create the program and provide our expertise. The LVCVA is happy to continue working with the County on this program if that is the desire of the Commission. Weddings are an important segment of our tourism industry and we continue to be the wedding capital of the nation.”
The meeting begins Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Clark County Government Center.
