By Charles Higgins
Las Vegas is popular for Valentine’s Day partially because of all the options it offers. Upscale, moderate, and/or tightwad budget choices for hotels, dining, entertainment, nightlife, and offbeat activities for Valentine’s Day in Vegas abound. Add on a significant list of potentially romantic free attractions along with numerous wedding options and Vegas rises to the top among romantic getaway destinations. And, my goodness, look at all those lights!
Check out some of the 2014 Valentine’s Day options in Las Vegas. Follow the provided links for more info.
Wedding Options : Vegas wedding / vow renewal packages vary in cost from the $40 drive-through option ( highly recommended by the author) at the Little White Chapel to the $25,000+ Eternally Yours package at the Wynn Las Vegas resort. Check this link for a listing of nearly 50 Vegas wedding chapels that offer options from very simple to very elaborate traditional ceremonies / packages. Many Vegas resorts house their own wedding chapels and offer varying packages (check this link).
For more adventurous couples, there are some weirdly wacky wedding options in Las Vegas.
Silverton Casino’s Aquarium wedding – Get hitched..IN the aquarium…with hundreds of exotic fish as witnesses
Vegas Extreme Skydiving wedding – Talk about taking the plunge…
New York-New York Roller Coaster wedding – Say ‘I do’ at 67 m.p.h. when you’re not screaming/ hanging on for dear life.
Helicopter weddings – Get hitched at the Grand Canyon or over the Vegas Strip via helicopter
Viva Las Vegas themed weddings – Get married by Elvis, the Blues Brothers, an intergalactic superhero, a pirate, Dracula, or a zombie. There are more options if these don’t stir your hearts.
Luv Bug Weddings – Have your wedding your way with Vegas as the backdrop. This group comes to your chosen nuptial site with packages starting at $99. Couples can take pride in being hitched by a guy driving a Volkswagen beetle.
It’s easy and convenient (comparatively) to get a marriage license in Las Vegas. There is no waiting period or blood testing required and the cost is $60. Check this Clark County link for details. Couples selecting the helicopter Grand Canyon wedding option will need an Arizona marriage license. That tidbit marks the end of this article’s geography and law lessons, and we’re happy about that.
Last minute Vegas Strip hotel room rates : Vegas Strip hotel occupancies are usually above 90% for Valentine’s Day, and room rates are not cheap. Hotels with normal room rates of $30 – $40 midweek are over $200 for 2-night stays this weekend. Most everybody is either aware of or should assume that but this holiday makes people goony-goo-goo at times. For those who have not booked a room yet for whatever reasoning, there’s still rooms available on the Strip for Valentine’s Day weekend at most resorts. All a couple needs is a fat wallet (or wealthy relatives). The actual holiday falls on a Friday this year which will allow a full weekend’s worth of romantic celebration (and/or debauchery) in conjunction with the President’s Day holiday falling on Monday, Feb. 17th.
Here’s some budget-categorized Vegas Strip room rates still available for 2-night stays (check-in Friday / check-out Sunday) as of this writing. Posted 2-night rates for basic rooms with 2 guests of course do not include all those joyous ancillary resort fees and taxes. All of the following rate quotes were derived from individual hotel websites. Check the links to confirm quotes and availability (both will change significantly during the next few days). The Cosmopolitan, one of the more popular Strip hotels, is sold out for Saturday the 15th according to their site.
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[MARCHVEGAS] – noun 1. “March to Vegas” symbolizes the humanistic tendency to march, migrate, or advance as a deliberate or organized body in a habitual manner back to Las Vegas. 2. Marriage of March Madness and Las Vegas, especially during tournament time. 3. The “MARCHVEGAS 4-day™ Holiday” (March 20 – 23, 2014) – Sign the Petition.