Las Vegas Anticipates Busy Wedding Year Along With 4-3-21 Palindrome Date
With many milestone events, including weddings, being postponed over the last 12 months, 2021 is shaping up to be the
Sadaf Tabibzadeh
With many milestone events, including weddings, being postponed over the last 12 months, 2021 is shaping up to be the year of love. One of the most highly anticipated dates for such celebrations is palindrome date 4-3-21, coming up this weekend.
Las Vegas’ Clark County Marriage License Bureau is gearing up for this special day, whether they are overdue celebrations or whim weddings.
Want to know what it’s like to get married in Las Vegas on a palindrome date? It’s like when your watch tells you that it’s 11:11—make a wish—but it’s stuck on that sweet serendipity all day. Palindrome dates are always exciting, but this year they carry far more significance.
The Heart of Wedding Affairs
For decades Las Vegas has been known as the wedding capital of the world, because it is a hub for safe, stress-free weddings. People drive or fly to the area for extravagant weddings, or “micro-weddings” of less than 50 guests. The most common types of Las Vegas weddings however, are the more intimate “minimonies” of less than 10 guests.
Additionally, Las Vegas is known for its affordable, all-inclusive packages and services. Such amenities keep the couple safe while also offering streaming services for family and friends that are far. With that being said, the Las Vegas Marriage License Bureau, a division of the Clerk’s Office, is busy, busy, busy. They issue about 75,000 marriage licenses annually.
In addition to marriage licenses, the wedding industry is an integral part of the tourism economy. Four percent of all Las Vegas visitors come to Clark County to either attend a wedding or get married. As a result, weddings generate more than $2 billion in economic activity annually, including lodging, entertainment, dining, and more.
Why Do People Tie the Knot in Las Vegas?
CELEB spoke with Clark County Clerk Lynn Goya, who has played a critical role in the bureau since 2015. When she discovered a 37 percent decrease in wedding tourism in the past, she immediately took action. Goya worked closely with the legislature and as a result, they cultivated a special wedding promotion fund generating over $1 million annually. In addition to that, she created a public/private partnership with the wedding industry that developed into the Las Vegas Wedding Chamber of Commerce. Goya also works closely with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, or LVCVA, Travel Nevada and Brand USA.
“We have the reputation of being one of the easiest and most efficient places to come and get married,” Goya says. “If you want to, you can arrive at the airport and come down to the Marriage License Bureau and get married the same day. Or you can have an incredibly elaborate, beautiful multimillion dollar wedding if that’s what you’re looking for. We have the whole gamut here.”
4-3-21: The Allure of the Palindrome Wedding Date
Palindromes are words or phrases that are read the same when they are backward, like ‘racecar’ as an example. In the case of weddings, people are hooked on “love dates” like 7/7/07, and the upcoming 12/1/21. But 4/3/21 is creating an even bigger boom in Las Vegas weddings. On Valentine’s Day, there was a 23 percent increase in weddings, from 660 people in 2020, to 811 people in 2021. With stats like that on non-palindrome milestones, you can only imagine the fervor building around the specialty dates.
“Last year, 10/10/20 was a very popular day,” Goya says. “We always expect to draw couples on those particular days.” She then mentions that 7/7/07 was the biggest date of all, where they hosted 4,492 weddings that day. Some chapels are reporting the highest rates of inquiries and bookings that they have ever had. “People are really looking to come get married and celebrate. We’re designed for this, more than other destinations.”
April is always peak wedding season, because spring is the backdrop that makes the foliage and floral-packed outdoor weddings boom. Not to mention 4-3-21 being on a Saturday and falling on a long weekend. What’s there not to be excited about on this fun-filled day of weddings?
The Las Vegas Wedding Industry Reinvents Itself
“We have all of our COVID safety precautions in place,” Goya says. “We limit the number of people that can come inside the lobby of the marriage license bureau. And we make sure the staff is masked and about half of the staff is vaccinated now.”
Social distancing is, of course, also in order.
“Some venues have additional options such as Chapel of the Flowers, that offers couples with larger groups the ability to follow safe social distancing guidelines” Goya adds. “This is done so by dividing up the guests into different chapels on the same property so that the wedding party could watch the ceremony through live streaming.”
Looking to get hitched in the next two days? The bureau also issues their wedding applications online. The 4-3-21 application also doubles as a keepsake with a special 4-3-21 graphic. It’s an exclusive marriage keepsake designed specifically for this special day. For more information on getting married in Las Vegas, you can visit www.mlic.vegas.