Las Vegas, USA

World Capital of Weddings vs Sin City


cozy Vegas
Couple photographed in front of the famous Las Vegas welcome sign.
Cupid's
Thematic chapel promotes quick marriages.
Silt
A large limo passes along the Strip.
Jon Bon Jovi
Graceland Chapel promotes the fact that Jon Bon Jovi was married in it.
Venice, Nevada
Gondolas anchored in the artificial lake at The Venezian hotel-casino, one of the most popular among couples visiting Las Vegas.
Wedding Menu
"Tunnel of Love" wedding menu, another matrimonial chapel in the city
stone chapel
One of the many matrimonial chapels in Sin City.
Paris, Nevada
A replica of the Eiffel Tower reinforces the romantic character of the ever opportunistic Las Vegas.
Welcome to
Detail of the famous sign that welcomes the fabulous Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world, conquered from the Mojave Desert.
pay me tender
Elvis look-alike earns money photographing herself with her Cadillac.
border weddings
Roadside sign announces weddings
limos
Limousines lined up in the parking lot of a matchmaking chapel.
fable marriage
Couple celebrates marriage at the glamorous Bellagio hotel.
Little White chapel
A conveniently signposted chapel near the height of a palm tree on the side of a Vegas road
The Strip
Car traffic leaves colorful light trails along the ever-busy Las Vegas Strip.
The greed of the game, the lust of prostitution and the widespread ostentation are all part of Las Vegas. Like the chapels that have neither eyes nor ears and promote eccentric, quick and cheap marriages.

Fame does not always live up to reality. The sign at the window promises instant marriage for just over $50. Intrigued by the supposed popularity and ease of the phenomenon, we moved into that drive-thru matrimonial and we ask what it occurs to us to ask, starting with whether everything is really resolved there.

The price is confirmed for the most sober of ceremonies, but the same cannot be said for the simplicity of the process.

We are told that a certificate from the Marriage License Bureau of Clark, the Nevada county in which Las Vegas is located, is required first. When we investigate such a cabinet, we discover how easy it is for any romantic enthusiasm to be undone by the cold bureaucracy.

Beachside Weddings, Las Vegas, United States

Roadside sign announces weddings

The government building turns out to be prefabricated, too ordinary to be defined in architectural terms. There is a battalion of vagabonds in the vicinity and the line that separates us from the service approaches fifty meters, gradually increased by Mexicans and immigrants from different origins in a hurry to get married to consummate their legalization or conquer other American privileges .

It's hot and there's a lot to explore in Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada. We refuse to believe that the stars who tie the knot there will submit to such punishment and we have decided that, in those conditions, they don't count on us either. If you trust the numbers, let's be an exception.

Little White Chapel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

A conveniently signposted chapel near the height of a palm tree on the side of a Vegas road

Over two million marriage licenses are issued every year in the United States. More than 110K – 5% are sued by Clark and are destined for Las Vegas.

In recent times, the numbers have even dropped, but it cannot be said that due to a shortage of supply, much less due to the lack of imagination of countless promoters.

Virtually all hotels and many of the city's restaurants have small spaces that emulate chapels where they host the ceremony.

cupid's

Thematic chapel promotes quick marriages

But weddings can still take place on the local golf courses, in the more or less conventional chapels of the Wedding District, such as the Chapel of the Flowers and, in gazebo chapels, for bikers, simply drive thru or the truly versatile ones that offer a multitude of thematic possibilities.

Want to get married on Treasure Island surrounded by pirates? Choose your favorite fable and become a part of it? Opt for gothic outfits over the classic white dress? Who knows, marrying off into distant galaxies from the Star Trek USS Enterprise?

Aboard a helicopter, balloon and/or broadcast online? Everything is possible. And it only costs a few dollars more than the 50 base and the phone call to set the desired date.

Elvis has become even more idolized thanks to his regular Las Vegas appearances. "Love Me Tender” was one of the themes that he sang the most and after Priscilla Anne Wagner gave in to the appeal, the couple's union also took place in the City of Sin.

Graceland Chapel, Las Vegas, United States

Graceland Chapel promotes the fact that Jon Bon Jovi was married in it.

Today, 34 years after his death, The King continues to enrich the imagination of Las Vegas and is seen, sometimes simultaneously, at different points of the long Strip or in chapels that offer weddings in its style like the Wee Kirk o' the Heather or the more luxurious addition of the Hilton hotel.

On one of so many days in Vegas, we decided to check out the official start of the Strip and stopped by the popular “Welcome I'm there Vegas".

We ended up with a professional Elvis impersonator who charges a minimum of $10 to let himself be photographed with his pink Cadillac, and a newlywed couple who insisted that their photo shoot pass by.

Elvis lookalike, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Elvis look-alike earns money photographing herself with her Cadillac.

At that time, they were the last of many others to give in to the less sinful temptation of Las Vegas, part of a list that has several million betrothed and countless personalities from the showbiz and sport.

In addition to Elvis and Priscilla, they married in Vegas Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton, Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, Carmen Electra and the exuberant Dennis Rodman.

Also Axl Rose of Guns'n'Roses and another basketball idol Michael Jordan – with their respective wives, not each other.

And, for short, André Agassi and Steffi Graff who, if they so wished, could have had their ceremony on a tennis court. They all got together in Vegas with more or less fanfare and media attention, despite the famous maxim “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas".

cozy Vegas

Couple photographed in front of the famous Las Vegas welcome sign.

Some stars became incorrigible fans of the experience and repeated it without showing any boredom. Actor Mickey Rooney, for example, married Ava Gardner for the first time in Las Vegas in 1942 and returned to the city six times to marry other women.

Their persistence inspired Wikipedia to create a complex table that distributes the descendants by each union.

The Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Car traffic leaves colorful light trails along the ever-busy Las Vegas Strip.

But Sin City is as expert at sponsoring unions as it is at breaking them up. Along the Strip, an army of destitute-looking Mexicans smack small cards together with both hands and loudly announce: “Girls, girls, girls! Cheap girls!".

The gesture, repeated over and over, produces a tech characteristic recognizable from a distance. And at his pace, the ground around him is full of these letters, rejected by passersby who are already tired of the offer or, right from the start, without any interest.

We note that girls and their services are offered not only to men of all ages but also to couples, women and even children. The few dollars earned by Mexicans for their distribution do not seem to pay for common sense or modesty, much less selectivity.

They just justify the priority mission of getting rid of the small parts as quickly as possible.

Limousine, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

A limo passes along the Strip.

As in the old towns of the North American gold rush, here too money abounds and prostitution flourishes. And when it's not about the adultery or paid sex, gambling addiction and the ruin it leads to justify, by itself, the abrupt collapse of thousands of relationships and families.

Grooms, Bellagio, Las Vegas-Nevada, United States

Couple celebrates marriage at the glamorous Bellagio hotel.

Las Vegas doesn't matter as long as the profit doesn't stop increasing. If marriages are consummated in three stages and for symbolic values, the city's divorces are not far behind.

One to three days is enough for the judge to define the sharing of children, assets and debts. "The show must go On” and, in Las Vegas, there is always a second chance.

Key West, USA

The Tropical Wild West of the USA

We've come to the end of the Overseas Highway and the ultimate stronghold of propagandism Florida Keys. The continental United States here they surrender to a dazzling turquoise emerald marine vastness. And to a southern reverie fueled by a kind of Caribbean spell.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Death Valley, USA

The Hottest Place Resurrection

Since 1921, Al Aziziyah, in Libya, was considered the hottest place on the planet. But the controversy surrounding the 58th measured there meant that, 99 years later, the title was returned to Death Valley.
Jaffa, Israel

Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

Tel Aviv is famous for the most intense night in the Middle East. But, if its youngsters are having fun until exhaustion in the clubs along the Mediterranean, it is more and more in the nearby Old Jaffa that they tie the knot.
Las Vegas, USA

The Sin City Cradle

The famous Strip has not always focused the attention of Las Vegas. Many of its hotels and casinos replicated the neon glamor of the street that once stood out, Fremont Street.
Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary

Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
Miami, USA

A Masterpiece of Urban Rehabilitation

At the turn of the 25st century, the Wynwood neighbourhood remained filled with abandoned factories and warehouses and graffiti. Tony Goldman, a shrewd real estate investor, bought more than XNUMX properties and founded a mural park. Much more than honoring graffiti there, Goldman founded the Wynwood Arts District, the great bastion of creativity in Miami.
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

Few coasts concentrate, at the same time, so much heat and displays of fame, wealth and glory. Located in the extreme southeast of the USA, Miami Beach is accessible via six bridges that connect it to the rest of Florida. It is meager for the number of souls who desire it.
Little Havana, USA

Little Havana of the Nonconformists

Over the decades and until today, thousands of Cubans have crossed the Florida Straits in search of the land of freedom and opportunity. With the US a mere 145 km away, many have gone no further. His Little Havana in Miami is today the most emblematic neighborhood of the Cuban diaspora.
Grand Canyon, USA

Journey through the Abysmal North America

The Colorado River and tributaries began flowing into the plateau of the same name 17 million years ago and exposed half of Earth's geological past. They also carved one of its most stunning entrails.
Mount Denali, Alaska

The Sacred Ceiling of North America

The Athabascan Indians called him Denali, or the Great, and they revered his haughtiness. This stunning mountain has aroused the greed of climbers and a long succession of record-breaking climbs.
Juneau, Alaska

The Little Capital of Greater Alaska

From June to August, Juneau disappears behind cruise ships that dock at its dockside. Even so, it is in this small capital that the fate of the 49th American state is decided.
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

Iconic Western filmmakers like John Ford immortalized what is the largest Indian territory in the United States. Today, in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo also live in the shoes of their old enemies.
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Navajo nation, USA

The Navajo Nation Lands

From Kayenta to Page, passing through Marble Canyon, we explore the southern Colorado Plateau. Dramatic and desert, the scenery of this indigenous domain, cut out in Arizona, reveals itself to be splendid.
San Francisco, USA

San Francisco Cable Cars: A Life of Highs and Lows

A macabre wagon accident inspired the San Francisco cable car saga. Today, these relics work as a charm operation in the city of fog, but they also have their risks.
Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Mauna Kea: the Volcano with an Eye out in Space

The roof of Hawaii was off-limits to natives because it housed benevolent deities. But since 1968, several nations sacrificed the peace of the gods and built the greatest astronomical station on the face of the Earth.
pearl harbor, Hawaii

The Day Japan Went Too Far

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor military base. Today, parts of Hawaii look like Japanese colonies but the US will never forget the outrage.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
The Zambezi River, PN Mana Pools
safari
Kanga Pan, Mana Pools NP, Zimbabwe

A Perennial Source of Wildlife

A depression located 15km southeast of the Zambezi River retains water and minerals throughout Zimbabwe's dry season. Kanga Pan, as it is known, nurtures one of the most prolific ecosystems in the immense and stunning Mana Pools National Park.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Sheets of Bahia, Eternal Diamonds, Brazil
Architecture & Design
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

Lençóis da Bahia: not Even Diamonds Are Forever

In the XNUMXth century, Lençóis became the world's largest supplier of diamonds. But the gem trade did not last as expected. Today, the colonial architecture that he inherited is his most precious possession.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Aventura
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Tiredness in shades of green
Ceremonies and Festivities
Suzdal, Russia

The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

With summer and warm weather, the Russian city of Suzdal relaxes from its ancient religious orthodoxy. The old town is also famous for having the best cucumbers in the nation. When July arrives, it turns the newly harvested into a real festival.
One of the tallest buildings in Valletta, Malta
Cities
Valletta, Malta

An ex-Humble Amazing Capital

At the time of its foundation, the Order of Knights Hospitaller called it "the most humble". Over the centuries, the title ceased to serve him. In 2018, Valletta was the tiniest European Capital of Culture ever and one of the most steeped in history and dazzling in memory.
Singapore Asian Capital Food, Basmati Bismi
Lunch time
Singapore

The Asian Food Capital

There were 4 ethnic groups in Singapore, each with its own culinary tradition. Added to this was the influence of thousands of immigrants and expatriates on an island with half the area of ​​London. It was the nation with the greatest gastronomic diversity in the Orient.
Maiko during cultural show in Nara, Geisha, Nara, Japan
Culture
Kyoto, Japan

Survival: The Last Geisha Art

There have been almost 100 but times have changed and geishas are on the brink of extinction. Today, the few that remain are forced to give in to Japan's less subtle and elegant modernity.
Sport
Competitions

Man: an Ever Tested Species

It's in our genes. For the pleasure of participating, for titles, honor or money, competitions give meaning to the world. Some are more eccentric than others.
Manatee Creek, Florida, United States of America
Traveling
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
amazing
Ethnic

Amberris Caye, Belize

Belize's Playground

Madonna sang it as La Isla Bonita and reinforced the motto. Today, neither hurricanes nor political strife discourage VIP and wealthy vacationers from enjoying this tropical getaway.

Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
History
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

The Legacy of an Historic Shuttle

The founding of Colónia do Sacramento by the Portuguese generated recurrent conflicts with their spanish rivals. Until 1828, this fortified square, now sedative, changed sides again and again.
Buffaloes, Marajo Island, Brazil, Soure police buffaloes
Islands
Marajó Island, Brazil

The Buffalo Island

A vessel that transported buffaloes from the India it will have sunk at the mouth of the Amazon River. Today, the island of Marajó that hosted them has one of the largest herds in the world and Brazil is no longer without these bovine animals.
Correspondence verification
Winter White
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

Fed up with waiting for the bearded old man to descend down the chimney, we reverse the story. We took advantage of a trip to Finnish Lapland and passed through its furtive home.
shadow vs light
Literature
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Braga or Braka or Brakra in Nepal
Nature
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Natural Parks
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Couple visiting Mikhaylovskoe, village where writer Alexander Pushkin had a home
UNESCO World Heritage
Saint Petersburg e Mikhaylovkoe, Russia

The Writer Who Succumbed to His Own Plot

Alexander Pushkin is hailed by many as the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. But Pushkin also dictated an almost tragicomic epilogue to his prolific life.
Earp brothers look-alikes and friend Doc Holliday in Tombstone, USA
Characters
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Baie d'Oro, Île des Pins, New Caledonia
Beaches
Île-des-Pins, New Caledonia

The Island that Leaned against Paradise

In 1964, Katsura Morimura delighted the Japan with a turquoise novel set in Ouvéa. But the neighboring Île-des-Pins has taken over the title "The Nearest Island to Paradise" and thrills its visitors.
Sanahin Cable Car, Armenia
Religion
Alaverdi, Armenia

A Cable Car Called Ensejo

The top of the Debed River Gorge hides the Armenian monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat and terraced Soviet apartment blocks. Its bottom houses the copper mine and smelter that sustains the city. Connecting these two worlds is a providential suspended cabin in which the people of Alaverdi count on traveling in the company of God.
Executives sleep subway seat, sleep, sleep, subway, train, Tokyo, Japan
On Rails
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
patpong, go go bar, bangkok, one thousand and one nights, thailand
Society
Bangkok, Thailand

One Thousand and One Lost Nights

In 1984, Murray Head sang the nighttime magic and bipolarity of the Thai capital in "One night in bangkok". Several years, coups d'etat, and demonstrations later, Bangkok remains sleepless.
Casario, uptown, Fianarantsoa, ​​Madagascar
Daily life
Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

The Malagasy City of Good Education

Fianarantsoa was founded in 1831 by Ranavalona Iª, a queen of the then predominant Merina ethnic group. Ranavalona Iª was seen by European contemporaries as isolationist, tyrant and cruel. The monarch's reputation aside, when we enter it, its old southern capital remains as the academic, intellectual and religious center of Madagascar.
Jeep crosses Damaraland, Namibia
Wildlife
Damaraland, Namíbia

Namibia On the Rocks

Hundreds of kilometers north of Swakopmund, many more of Swakopmund's iconic dunes Sossuvlei, Damaraland is home to deserts interspersed with hills of reddish rock, the highest mountain and ancient rock art of the young nation. the settlers South Africans they named this region after the Damara, one of the Namibian ethnic groups. Only these and other inhabitants prove that it remains on Earth.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.