It takes a bit to get used to "Vegas time" -- 3 hour difference between the East and West Coast. Naturally, we woke up early and headed off to the Marriage License Bureau in downtown Las Vegas around 8:30am. Second lesson of the trip, one that we'll never need again: take quarters to park at the Bureau because all parking there is metered. (This is a fact you'd think someone would put on some site, like perhaps the Marriage Bureau's own, that no one ever makes note of.) Jeffy, in true can-do fashion, found a gas station a couple blocks off downtown to get some quarters so we could park. (Honestly, he is the Radar O'Reilly of logistics and supply even without the Internet. It's kinda scary.)
Walking up to the Bureau to get the license from the adjacent parking lot began this adventure. We were approached on the street corner before entering the Bureau by not one, but two, different chapel representatives hawking their chapels in case we were getting married. We went in, presented our forms, and about 10 minutes later walked out with a license to get hitched, only to be confronted, amicably, by exactly both of the same chapel people we'd met 10 minutes before. They knew we had a license, so the chase was on....
What occurred in these conversations was both humorous and surreal: these two guys started competing with each other in a good natured and hilarious way for the business to tie our knot. One would offer a package at a price, and the other would up it to include more pictures and a limo ride to their chapel with a driver waiting to take us and get us BACK before our 1 hr long meter fee ran out. Jeffy wanted to check out two places right across the street he'd read about and contacted, so we declined their offers and went for a walk only to find that these two places weren't open yet. So, in one of those cases of it was "meant to be", Israel and Tim of A Special Memory Wedding Chapel got the dubious distinction of marrying us.
Tim, our Cadillac Escalade limo driver, drove us a couple blocks away to their chapel, and after paying a much-reduced fee from what appears on the website, we got married outside under a clear Las Vegas blue sky. Must say, these people were terrific - they are in the business of marrying folks whatever way shape or form the bride and groom intend it to take. Pictures ensued, and then Tim loaded us up and took us back to our car at the Bureau. On the way back, Tim explained to us when we expressed amazement about the street corner hawkers and their obvious goodwill as a competitors that a couple years ago, one chapel caused a great deal of angst on that corner and it didn't used to be that way. The other chapels gathered together to run this guy off the corner legally with the City of Las Vegas and he no longer has a business license to attract clients there. Tim promptly dropped us off at our car with 5 minutes to spare on the meter, we wished him well, and tipped him as he left us.
How much does it cost to get married in less than an hour in Las Vegas? Here ya go:
- Parking fee.....................................$1.00
- Marriage license...............................$55.00
- Chapel/limo/facilities/pictures..............$56.50
- Minister.........................................$40.00 (tip)
- Limo driver.....................................$10.00 (tip)
- Experience.....................................PRICELESS
Of course, right after getting married, one must eat and we drove back to the Gold Coast for a post-marriage breakfast at the Ports O' Call buffet (we ate as much as we wanted for a grand total of $11.90) before heading off to the Las Vegas Strip.
We parked at the Bellagio and while we toured the casino there, we were much more impressed when walked over to Caesar's Palace. Caesar's Palace has 3 towers, a casino floor which is opulent and garish, but the cocktail waitresses are there for you like johnny on the spot to take your drink order at the slots. Jeffy was most impressed with Caesar's sports book, and he wanted to take the huge LED display home with him. Most astonishing of all is the shopping inside Caesar's Palace called The Forum Shops. The detail with which designers have created the "mall" to resemble a Roman or Venetian streets at dusk (yes, it looks like practically night in there) is amazing. At the Swatch store, Jeffy found a skeleton Swatch Watch that he has coveted for over a year, and Swatch has discontinued it - I gave it to him as a post wedding gift. We saw Ken Stabler and Pete Rose signing autographs at a sports memorabilia store --Pete Rose really does need to wear a ball cap because that bald spot is HUGE.
While what I have put above sounds like a hop skip and jump, we walked miles and for hours. We got back to the car and left for the Gold Coast to drop off our booty, and then left there to hit our favorite of all stores that we can't get to here on the East Coast, Boot Barn. Boot Barn is the mecca for all that is western boots, and if you think I didn't walk out with a new pair of Lucchese boots, you probably need your head examined. :-)
After a quick stop at CVS and Jack in the Box, we went back to the hotel to get ready to leave for our 9pm reservation at the Harmon Theater to see The Amazing Jonathan. We first saw Jonathan's show on Comedy Central some years back and said if we were ever in Vegas, we certainly were going to see him - and we did. We had VIP tickets in the Center of the theater on cushy benches with a cocktail table and places to put our feet up, and complimentary bottle of champagne to take the edge off. For 2 hours, we laughed ourselves silly -- Jonathan is truly as funny in person as he is on his special and afterwards, Jonathan signed the tee shirt I bought. Great show -- if you've never seen Jonathan on Comedy Central, you can see a clip of him on YouTube. He is outrageously funny.
My ring still sparkles exceptionally well in casino lights - and now it has a partner. :-)
