Lifestyle

Say ‘I Do’ at Las Vegas’s Quirkiest Wedding Venues

The coolest, strangest, and wildest places to get hitched in Las Vegas.

Photo courtesy of Little White Wedding Chapel
Photo courtesy of Little White Wedding Chapel
Photo courtesy of Little White Wedding Chapel

If you’re feeling wild, impulsive, and possibly drunk, why not completely change your life and get married? Las Vegas is known as the Wedding Capital of the World, thanks to quick and easy licenses and chapels all over town with nearly any kind of theme you can imagine. February is an especially romantic month, with Valentine’s Day turning up the heat and the arrival of the Super Bowl sending passions into overdrive. Anything can happen, right? To take advantage of the rush during what’s dubbed “Wedding Month” in Las Vegas, Clark County is opening a pop-up Marriage License Bureau at Harry Reid International Airport from Tuesday, February 13 through Thursday, February 29. Otherwise, pick up a license at the regular Downtown office at 201 E. Clark Avenue for just $102. The only question left: Where to tie the knot? Fortunately, we have a few fun “only in Vegas” ideas.

Photo courtesy of The Little White Wedding Chapel
Photo courtesy of The Little White Wedding Chapel
Photo courtesy of The Little White Wedding Chapel

The Little White Wedding Chapel

Downtown
A wide range of celebrities, from Britney Spears to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have gotten married at the historic Little White Wedding Chapel, including power couples like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, and Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. However, its greatest claim to fame is coming up with the 24-hour drive-thru wedding window, an idea that began as a practical matter when someone in a wheelchair couldn’t make it through the door. Now, you can choose between a simple drive-thru package, Pink Cadillac Ceremony, or Tunnel of Love Extravaganza to save time from actually bothering to step inside.
 

The Vox Agency/Flickr
The Vox Agency/Flickr
The Vox Agency/Flickr

Mob Museum

Downtown
Take a deep dive into the world of underground crime and get married at the Mob Museum, built inside the old courthouse that once prosecuted the nation’s most notorious gangsters. Choose between a ceremony in the actual former courtroom-perfect if you view marriage as a jail sentence-or the Underground speakeasy on the basement level for a little Prohibition-era swagger. Either way, you and your guests get free museum access. Ceremonies are also held in the Million Dollar Room, which feels like an odd choice since the exhibit is about fraud and financial theft. At least you have options.

Nick_Nick/Shutterstock
Nick_Nick/Shutterstock
Nick_Nick/Shutterstock

Venetian Gondola

Grand Canal Shoppes
If you have always dreamed of a Venice wedding but couldn’t afford the trip to Italy, here’s the next best thing. The Venetian has an intimate ceremony for two aboard a white-and-gold gondola that travels through the Grand Canal Shoppes and out in front of the resort on the Strip. A videographer or photographer is the only other person on board, along with a singing gondolier. Guests are welcome to cheer on the happy couple from the sidelines or one of several overpass bridges.

Photo courtesy of KISS Museum and Mini-Golf
Photo courtesy of KISS Museum and Mini-Golf
Photo courtesy of KISS Museum and Mini-Golf

I Love It Loud: A Rock n’ Roll Wedding Chapel

Rio
Put on your Ace Frehley makeup, play a few rounds of putt-putt golf, and exchange vows inside the wildest rock n’ roll wedding chapel in Vegas-onstage with bright lights and fog machines-just like a KISS concert in 1977. And who doesn’t want to kick off a lifetime of unholy matrimony with songs like “Love Gun” and “Lick It Up” in the background? The I Love It Loud wedding chapel is a companion piece to the KISS Museum and Mini-Golf attraction at the Rio. Choose from a host of rock star imitators as your officiant, from Gene Simmons and Alice Cooper to Meat Loaf or Madonna. It’s worth noting the Rio is under new ownership and most of the rooms inside the Ipanema tower are newly renovated if you plan to spend the night.

Denny’s

Downtown
Sometimes, love is like a Lumberjack Slam. If you and your significant other go together like bacon and eggs, it’s time to book a wedding inside the Denny’s at the Fremont Street Experience, which has its own chapel. Ceremonies include a champagne toast and a wedding cake made with Pancake Puppies. You also get two complimentary Grand Slam breakfasts (valid for a return visit Lumberjack Slam-don’t get greedy now). The Denny’s Wedding Chapel offers free weddings on Valentine’s Day this year, so call 702-471-0056 to see if any time slots are still available.

Photo courtesy of Taco Bell Cantina
Photo courtesy of Taco Bell Cantina
Photo courtesy of Taco Bell Cantina

Taco Bell Cantina

The Strip
If Denny’s is too fancy for you, there’s always Taco Bell. The fast food chain operates the Taco Bell Cantina at the Harmon Corner complex on the Strip. The menu is loaded with exclusive items, boozy slushies are available, and there’s a wedding chapel on the second floor. The bride’s bouquet is made of sauce packets, and the reception is catered with tacos, burritos, and other bites for up to 25 guests. Save some room for a slice of Cinnabon Delights wedding cake. Yes, people actually do this, so don’t be shy. Raise a glass of Baja Blast Mountain Dew and toast to a lifetime of happiness.

Photo courtesy of Maverick Helicopters
Photo courtesy of Maverick Helicopters
Photo courtesy of Maverick Helicopters

The Grand Canyon

Northern Arizona
There are a few ways to see the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas, and this could be the best of all. Take a Maverick helicopter over the west rim, land in an exclusive spot near the Colorado River, and tie the knot with America’s largest canyon as your backdrop. The journey back to Vegas includes views of the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and other landmarks, concluding with a jaunt over the Strip and Downtown. Maverick also offers ceremonies at the Valley of Fire State Park with a landing on a towering plateau.

The Neon Museum/Flickr
The Neon Museum/Flickr
The Neon Museum/Flickr

Neon Museum

Downtown
The Neon Museum should already be on your Las Vegas bucket list, so why not make a wedding out of it? The outdoor “boneyard” restores and preserves vintage Las Vegas signs and marquees, which provide a photogenic backdrop for a ceremony in the North Gallery. It’s up to couples to supply most of the extras-officiant, photographer, catering, etc.-but the Neon Museum has plenty of recommendations on standby.

Las Vegas Immersive Wedding Chapel

Off the Strip
Las Vegas is full of “immersive attractions” these days, and the trend is carrying over to the wedding industry. The Las Vegas Immersive Wedding Chapel has a wall-to-wall video backdrop to create a custom digital environment to fit the mood and tone of your ceremony. Exchange vows in front of fireworks, flowers, or local Vegas iconography. You can also go with Barbie or The Great Gatsby themes. In a fun twist, the chapel has added “Steamboat Willie” to the lineup after the first-ever Mickey Mouse cartoon entered the public domain on January 1.

Photo by Anneli Adolfsson, courtesy of Planet 13
Photo by Anneli Adolfsson, courtesy of Planet 13
Photo by Anneli Adolfsson, courtesy of Planet 13

Las Vegas Cannabis Weddings

Industrial Corridor
Tie the knot with pot. Cannabis culture continues to grow in Nevada, where recreational marijuana is legal. So, it was only a matter of time before the weed industry crossed over into the wedding industry. Las Vegas Cannabis Weddings allows couples to get married at the Planet 13 mega-dispensary (which happens to be expanding in 2024) or on the site of a grow house. Either way, you get a cannabis-themed cake and, depending on the package, bongs for the couple. Proceeds from February bookings benefit Wish Upon a Wedding, a nonprofit that provides weddings to couples facing terminal illness or life-altering health circumstances, often using marijuana for medical benefits.

Photo by Rob Kachelriess for Thrillist
Photo by Rob Kachelriess for Thrillist
Photo by Rob Kachelriess for Thrillist

The Las Vegas Farm

Northwest Valley
Despite being in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas has its share of farms among the great outdoors. One of our favorites, the Las Vegas Farm, is a charming destination with a weekend farmers market and animal sanctuary. The property is also home to a beautiful wood wedding chapel, which was brought over piece by piece from Bonnie Springs, a now-closed Wild West ranch. The Las Vegas Farm now offers all-inclusive packages with a DJ, bar, catering, and anything else you need for an easy, carefree ceremony and outdoor reception.

The Vox Agency/Flickr
The Vox Agency/Flickr
The Vox Agency/Flickr

BattleBots

Off the Strip
Fans of the BattleBots can wed in the same arena where robots battle in an explosive form of mechanical combat. Book a ceremony in the BattleBox Arena with a motorized robot as your ring bearer, and take home a customized version of the Giant Nut championship trophy. One of the TV show’s hosts can also step in as your officiant. The reception is in a private VIP lounge for up to 300 guests with meal options, hors d’oeuvres, and cocktails. Just make sure to stick around for a live performance of Battlebots: Destruct-A-Thon.

Photo courtesy of The Smith Center
Photo courtesy of The Smith Center
Photo courtesy of The Smith Center

The Smith Center

Downtown
The Smith Center provides a classy and elegant wedding experience, whether booking a ceremony or reception in the courtyard, Grand Lobby, or Myron’s Cabaret Jazz. If you want true showstopping nuptials, however, go big with an event on stage at Reynolds Hall, where the Philharmonic and touring Broadway productions entertain audiences. The Smith Center provides the furnishings with preferred vendors handling the food and beverage.

Photo courtesy of Bellagio
Photo courtesy of Bellagio
Photo courtesy of Bellagio

Fountains at Bellagio

Bellagio
Virtually any big resort on the Vegas Strip has a wedding chapel on the property. Bellagio has two. Yet, if you crave something extra special, book the Terrazza di Sogno (Terrace of Dreams) or the larger Fountain Courtyard for a ceremony overlooking the iconic Bellagio fountains. Almost everything is done in-house-salon services, dining, photography, and anything else required for a perfect day. A live webcast will bring the ceremony to friends and family who can’t attend in person.

Walter Cicchetti/Shutterstock
Walter Cicchetti/Shutterstock
Walter Cicchetti/Shutterstock

Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel

Downtown
The Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel offers the key element of flexibility when planning a theme for your wedding. Go with Elvis in a pink caddy, Dracula rising from a coffin, or even Darth Vader, armed with a lightsaber to lead the ceremony. Planners and coordinators are on staff to ensure every step of the wedding is done just right, with photographers and videographers documenting a day to remember.

Photo courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau
Photo courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau
Photo courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Northeast
Rev your engines for a lifetime of matrimony. Race fans are welcome to get married at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 80,000 guests in attendance. Plan carefully. Weddings and vow renewals take place in the Neon Garage’s Victory Lane on the Friday of NASCAR weekend every spring. The clock is ticking. NASCAR returns March 1 for a big weekend headlined by the Pennzoil 400. Email the Speedway for booking details.

High Roller

The LINQ
Take a ride on the world’s tallest observation wheel and tie the knot with the surrounding Vegas skyline as your chapel. The High Roller has individual cabins that hold up to 18 people, reaching as high as 550 feet in the air during a single rotation that lasts about 40 minutes. Book a reception in an event space inside the terminal building with options for photography, flowers, catering, and more.

Photo courtesy of AREA15
Photo courtesy of AREA15
Photo courtesy of AREA15

AREA15

Off the Strip
Almost any corner of AREA15 can be used as an event space. Take advantage of wraparound video walls and projection mapping at Illuminarium or the Portal. The Wall is a more intimate, with a bar and a 20-foot-LED screen. You can even book Omega Mart, Meow Wolf’s trippy take on a grocery store, with at least four different areas suited for a ceremony.

Punk Rock Museum

Downtown
Exchange vows at the Punk Rock Museum, which has an upstairs chapel and the option to include a mini-reception at the Triple Down dive bar with champagne, cake (or cupcakes), and a gift bag for the happy couple. Guests need to supply their own officiant and photographer, reflecting the DIY mentality that made Punk an underground sensation before going mainstream. For an additional sign of commitment, ask for wedding band tattoos at the on-site tattoo parlor.

The Vox Agency/Flickr
The Vox Agency/Flickr
The Vox Agency/Flickr

Minus5º Icebar

The Strip
If you’re planning a summer wedding, beat the notorious Vegas heat with a wedding at Minus5º Icebar at the Venetian, Mandalay Bay, or The LINQ. Each location has more than a hundred tons of ice used for anything and everything, from the bar tops and cocktail glasses to the furniture and elaborate Instagram-worthy art pieces. Guests receive a hat and furry coat to stay warm. The venues can be bought out as private event spaces with a VIP lounge, open bar, and catering packages available. Minus5º Icebar also specializes in bachelor and bachelorette parties.Want more Thrillist? Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Rob Kachelriess is a full-time freelance writer who covers travel, dining, entertainment, and other fun stuff for Thrillist. He’s based in Las Vegas but enjoys exploring destinations throughout the world, especially in the Southwest United States. Otherwise, he’s happy to hang out at home with his wife Mary and their family of doggies. Follow him on Twitter @rkachelriess.

Lifestyle

The Best New Bookstores in LA are Curated, Specific, and Personal

Discover a new favorite book, join a book club, and maybe even do some karaoke at the new wave of LA bookshops.

Photo by Innis Casey Photography, courtesy of Zibby's Bookshop
Photo by Innis Casey Photography, courtesy of Zibby’s Bookshop
Photo by Innis Casey Photography, courtesy of Zibby’s Bookshop

A couple of years ago, the legendary Powell’s Books in Portland released a perfume designed to evoke the smell of a bookstore. The scent has notes of wood, violet, and the lovely and unusually precise word biblichor, the particular aroma of old books. The reality of the scent is what it is-mostly sweet and floral-but more important is the imagery it conjures. The best bookstores are both cozy and mysterious, familiar and surprising, with endless potential for discovery.

Los Angeles has a wealth of independent book sellers, including beloved legacy shops like The Last Bookstore, The Iliad, and Chevalier’s. But a new wave of bookstores has been growing over the last few years, shops that eschew the traditional one-of-everything mindset to focus on specificity, curation, and point of view. There are bookstores with themes, bookstores that double as event spaces, bookstores that reflect their neighbourhoods, bookstores that take inspiration from a specific person-whether that’s the shop owner, a historical figure, or a little bit of both-and so many more.

Like the niche-ification of the internet and the culture at large, these new and new-ish bookstores provide a space to discover books, ideas, and perspectives led by an expert, the kind of things that you may never have found on your own. They can also be a safe harbour for pure nerdiness, a place to dive deep into your favourite category or cause. To help you on your way, we’ve put together a list of some of the best new bookstores in LA, with a focus on curated shops with their own specific perspectives.

Photo courtesy of Octavia's Bookshelf
Photo courtesy of Octavia’s Bookshelf
Photo courtesy of Octavia’s Bookshelf

Octavia’s Bookshelf

Pasadena
Pasadena is a famously book-friendly city, with bookstore royalty in the form of legendary Vroman’s and its own literary alliance. Now it has one of the most exciting new bookstores too. Octavia’s Bookshelf is owner Nikki High’s tribute to the science fiction master Octavia E. Butler, who was a Pasadena native herself. The name of the shop provides a clue into High’s inspiration, titles she imagines Butler would have had on her shelves, with a focus on BIPOC authors. The storefront is small, but the collection is impeccably curated and the space is cozy and welcoming for readers of all backgrounds.

Photo by Mads Gobbo, courtesy of North Figueroa Bookshop
Photo by Mads Gobbo, courtesy of North Figueroa Bookshop
Photo by Mads Gobbo, courtesy of North Figueroa Bookshop

North Figueroa Bookshop

Highland Park
Vertical integration can be a beautiful thing, especially when it allows independent creators more control over their products. The new North Figueroa Bookshop is a shining example of the concept, a storefront built on a collaboration between two publishers, Rare Bird and Unnamed Press. North Fig features titles from those presses, of course, including lots of striking literary fiction and memoir, but it also features a curated collection of other books. They’ve made it a point of emphasis to serve the needs of the local Highland Park, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, and Eagle Rock community-there’s lots of fiction from fellow independent publishers, other general interest titles with a focus on California history and literature, and plenty of Spanish-language books.

Photo by Karen Cohen Photography, courtesy of Zibby's Bookshop
Photo by Karen Cohen Photography, courtesy of Zibby’s Bookshop
Photo by Karen Cohen Photography, courtesy of Zibby’s Bookshop

Zibby’s Bookshop

Santa Monica
Speaking of vertical integration, there’s another new combined publisher and bookstore on the other side of town. Zibby’s Bookshop is the brainchild of Zibby Owens, Sherri Puzey, and Diana Tramontano, and it’s the physical home of Zibby Books, a literary press that releases one featured book a month. That system is designed so that each book gets the full attention and resources of the press. Owens is an author, podcaster, and book-fluencer, and she has become something of a lit-world mogul with a magazine, podcast network, event business, and an education platform too. The shop has a unique sorting system, built around a feeling for each book-in store many of the shelves are labelled by interest or personality type, like “For the foodie,” or “For the pop culture lover.” On their webshop, you can browse for books that make you cry, escape, laugh, lust, or tremble. There are recommendations from Owens and the staff, sections for local authors, family dramas, and books that have just been optioned. If this all seems a little overwhelming, you should probably avoid the section dedicated to books that make you anxious.

The Salt Eaters Bookshop

Inglewood
Inglewood native Asha Grant opened The Salt Eaters Bookshop in 2021 with a mission in mind-to centre stories with protagonists who are Black girls, women, femme, and/or gender-nonconforming people. Over the last year and change that it’s been open, it has also become a community hub, a place for Inglewood locals and people from across town to drop in, to see what’s new and to discover incredible works in the Black feminist tradition. They also host regular events like readings, discussions, and parties.

Lost Books

Montrose
Thankfully, legendary downtown bookshop The Last Bookstore’s name is hyperbole, and owners Josh and Jenna Spencer have even gone so far as to open a second shop, Lost Books in Montrose. Instead of the technicolour whimsy of the book tunnel at The Last Bookstore, Lost Books has a tunnel of plants that welcomes you into the shop, which opened in the summer of 2021. They sell those plants in addition to books, and coffee and vinyl too, which makes Lost Books a lovely destination and a fun little surprise in the quaint foothill town just off the 2 freeway.

Photo by Claudia Colodro, courtesy of Stories Books & Cafe
Photo by Claudia Colodro, courtesy of Stories Books & Cafe
Photo by Claudia Colodro, courtesy of Stories Books & Cafe

Stories Books & Cafe

Echo Park
Ok, this one is fudging the criteria a little-Stories has been open for almost 15 years. But over those years the shop has become a pillar of Echo Park community life, hosting readings, discussions, and events, and their cafe tables function as a de facto office for about half of the neighbourhood on any given afternoon. After the tragic recent passing of co-owner and Echo Park fixture Alex Maslansky it seemed like the shop’s future was in doubt, but thankfully after a brief hiatus co-owner and co-founder Claudia Colodro and the staff were able to band together to reopen and keep the beloved cafe and bookstore going strong.

Page Against the Machine

Long Beach
The name alone makes it clear what you’re getting at Page Against the Machine-revolutionary progressive books, with a collection centred on activist literature, socially conscious writing, and a whole lot of political history. The shop itself is small but the ideas are grand, with fiction by writers like Richard Wright, Colson Whitehead, and Albert Camus next to zines about gentrification and compendia of mushroom varieties. They also host regular readings and discussions.

Photo by Viva Padilla, courtesy of Re/Arte
Photo by Viva Padilla, courtesy of Re/Arte
Photo by Viva Padilla, courtesy of Re/Arte

Re/Arte Centro Literario

Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights has its own small but mighty combined bookstore, art gallery, gathering space, and small press in Viva Padilla’s Re/Arte. Padilla is a poet, translator, editor, and curator, and as a South Central LA native and the child of Mexican immigrants, she’s focused on Chicanx and Latinx art, literature, and social criticism. Re/Arte’s collection has a wide range of books, from classic Latin American literature to modern essays and everything in between. Re/Arte is also now the headquarters for sin cesar, a literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction, and essays from Black and Brown writers. There are always community-focused events happening too, from regular open mics and zine workshops to film screenings and more.

The Book Jewel

Westchester
Most bookshops host events, but few host them with the regularity of The Book Jewel, the two- year-old independent bookstore in Westchester. Their calendar is so full with readings, several different book clubs, signings, and meet and greets that there are sometimes multiple events on the same day. The shop also hosts a ton of family-focused readings, with regular storytime on Sunday mornings often followed by a talk with the author. It’s a great fit for the relatively low-key (but not exactly quiet) suburban neighbourhood, and it’s no coincidence that storytime lines up with the Westchester Farmers Market, which takes place right out front.

Reparations Club

West Adams
Most bookstores lean into coziness, aiming to be a hideaway for some quiet contemplation or maybe a quick sotto voce chat-not so at Reparations Club, the exuberant and stylish concept bookshop and art space on Jefferson. Owner and founder Jazzi McGilbert and her staff have built a beautiful and vibrant shop full of art from Black artists, including books but also records, candles, incense, clothing, and all sorts of fun things to discover. There’s a perfect seating area to sit and hang out for a while, and they host a range of wild and fun events from readings to happy hours, panel discussions to karaoke nights and more.

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Ben Mesirow is a Staff Writer at Thrillist.

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