LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Love is in the air as more couples choose to say “I do” in Las Vegas.
Clark County had its 5th Annual State of the Wedding Industry, and some venues are doing 20% more weddings than they were in 2019.
“Despite COVID, people want to get married and they really want to share their lives together,” said Clark County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya.
The world has not fallen out of love. And through August, Clark County’s anticipating the good times to keep rolling—in the form of wedding licenses.
“I think we’re on track to reach 80,000,” she said. “We were 73,000 in 2019, so that’s a big jump and it’s a very good story.”
The recent mask mandates have caused some ceremonies to push their big days back. But generally, re-opening the economy has worked wonders.
“It’s been phenomenal. I mean, we’ve been able to staff back up,” said Donne Kerestic, the CEO of Chapel of the Flowers. “We’re just under 90 employees again. During COVID, we dropped down to 30.”
And the county is going to hit 5 million wedding licenses sometime between this coming December and February.
“We’re coming really close to 5,000,000 people celebrating their love in Vegas by getting married in Vegas,” he said. “And that’s huge. I don’t know any other city that can claim 5 million people got married—especially in a city this size.”
And until that time, the marriages are expected to keep happening.
“And it comes to a point where if you want to get married on a Saturday, if you’re in Tennessee or New York, you’re going to be waiting three or four years because of the pent-up demand,” said Kerestic.
In September 2022, there will be the "5-Million Love Stories Celebration" at Caesars. The county is inviting every couple because it will also be going for the Guinness record on the largest vow renewal.
“We understand how important you are to our history and to what makes Las Vegas Las Vegas,” said Goya.
The next hot date for weddings is expected to be Feb. 22, 2022, or 2/22/22, where Clark County could see as many as 1,600 weddings. That day falls on a Tuesday.
