Packages today run as high as $1,600 for the Elvis Pink Caddy Luxury Model Wedding Package, which offers couples the chance to be driven up the aisle of the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel by Elvis in a 1964 pink Cadillac convertible. The move comes weeks before the release of Baz Luhrmann's new big-screen biopic "Elvis" - a large-scale Warner Bros production expected to boost interest in the singer.Įlvis-themed weddings have been a lucrative business in Las Vegas since the 1970s. Frankly, I think this thing going to the public has changed their minds."ĪBG, which also controls rights for the Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali estates, did not immediately respond to AFP request for comment.īut the company said in a statement to local media that though it has "no intention to shut down chapels that offer Elvis packages," it remained the company's "responsibility to safeguard his legacy in Las Vegas." "This was not on the table a few days ago. "That is their solution, to pay $20,000 a year to do what we've been doing for the past nine years," said Kayla Collins, co-owner of the Las Vegas Elvis Wedding Chapel. On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that ABG had instead offered chapels financial "partnerships," including annual licensing deals to continue business as usual. "The Vegas Wedding Chamber shares a concern that many of our chapels and impersonators livelihoods are being targeted, especially as many are still trying to recover financially from the hurdles we all endured with Covid shutdowns." "Elvis Presley long called Las Vegas his home and his name has become synonymous with Las Vegas weddings," Jason Whaley, president of the Las Vegas Wedding Chamber, told AFP. The move triggered angry responses from Elvis impersonators, chapel owners, and even the mayor of Las Vegas. "Just as long as they book for their anniversary," Brenda agreed.LOS ANGELES: Every year thousands of visitors to Las Vegas can't help falling in love - at least long enough to get married by an Elvis impersonator.īut the company that controls the rights to the King's likeness has sparked outrage in Sin City by cracking down on dozens of wedding chapels offering Elvis-themed nuptials.Īuthentic Brands Group, which bought a controlling stake in Elvis Presley's estate in 2013, last month sent cease-and-desist letters to companies offering the kitschy weddings. "Hopefully, they'll be that happy by the time they're rolling out of here, they won't be thinking of anything else other than when they're coming back to Mom's Place," Bob said. The Lees, who eloped themselves, have some marriage advice for the future spouses: don't go to bed angry. Half a dozen brides booked their dates within the first 48 hours of the chapel being announced on social media and the total number of bookings has since risen to 32. Slots for the chapel are filling up quickly. I love anybody getting married," said Brenda, who has become a licensed marriage commissioner and will marry the couples herself. I cannot wait to see them all and all the smiles. "I'm looking forward to seeing all the brides. Then, later in the fall, the Lees hope to add a custom-made steeple. The chapel is getting its finishing touches before its inaugural ceremony can take place on July 14. Gardiner and Pye estimate creating the Elvis window, from the start of the design to the installation in the wedding chapel, took them about 100 hours. I got an idea,'" said husband Bob, adding that it wasn't the first time his wife woke him with "a crazy idea." "That night, she woke me up at four in the morning, 'I got an idea. The ceremony went off without a hitch, the bride was happy - and Brenda Lee had a vision. The idea formed after the couple, who run Mom's Place bed and breakfast, were approached by one of its guests, who wanted to say her wedding vows while staying at the vacation spot. We hope we're the first," Brenda Lee said with a laugh. "And I'm sure they'll try to duplicate, but they won't." They believe it's the first of its kind in the province. There, in Mobile, Brenda and Bob Lee have spent the past few months building Mom's Little White Chapel - their own version of the famous Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Soon, they can simply drive to Newfoundland's Southern Shore. Newfoundland and Labrador couples looking to get married in a Vegas-style chapel won't have to make the trip to Sin City anymore. The first wedding at Mom's Little White Chapel is booked for July 14. Bob Lee, left, and his wife, Brenda Lee, are excited to soon be a part of people's wedding day.
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