Las Vegas Hits Wedding Milestone

The self-proclaimed “Wedding Capital of the World” celebrated its 3 millionth wedding Tuesday with showgirls serving as attendants and Elvis giving away the bride.

The nuptials were performed in the We’ve Only Just Begun wedding chapel in the Imperial Palace hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip with Elvis impersonator Graham Patrick crooning “Fools Rush In.”

In the pink neon chapel three couples exchanged vows--for the second time. Their original ceremonies took place Feb. 9.

It wasn’t until March that the Clark County recorder’s office discovered the 3-million mark had been passed.

“We knew it was coming,” said Jim Edwards, spokesman for the recorder’s office. “But when you’re doing 450 marriages a day, the first priority is to record those marriages.”

The recorder’s office and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority invited the 3 millionth couple and the ones on either side of them to return and celebrate the anniversary of the city’s first wedding, which took place July 3, 1909.

The couples received free air fare and were provided complimentary hotel suites in exchange for renewing their vows in front of television crews and flashing cameras.

Marlen and Alberto Recio of Miami were the 3 millionth couple to be wed in Las Vegas. They were accompanied Tuesday by Marlen Recio’s 10-year-old daughter, Nathalie, who was the flower girl.

Lisa and Cory Castillo, of Roy, Utah, were the 299,999,999th couple and Linda and John Henk, of Norwich, Conn., were No. 300,000,001. All three couples exchanged vows at the wedding chapel in front of the same minister, James Terrell.