The Wedding Wars

January 29, 2009 | Uncategorized

Here’s a bit of tourism news you may have missed lately: New York is taking on Las Vegas to become the wedding capital of the U.S.

Apparently, it’s been a pet project of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg for some time. The decorator who re-did the mayor’s Upper East Side townhouse was hired to redo the new Manhattan Marriage Bureau which recently reopened to the public. The $12.3 million, 24,000-square foot bureau seems to be getting rave reviews from the newlyweds.

According to First Deputy City Clerk Michael McSweeney, “We’re taking Las Vegas on — the city hopes to advance New York not just as a tourist destination, but as a marriage destination.”

If that’s the case it certainly is a step in the right direction considering that in the old Marriage Bureau women in their elaborate bridal gowns had to pass through metal detectors. And when they wanted to freshen up they were sent off to the public restroom, so perhaps not all the fragrances of that special day came from the bridal bouquet.

Last year New York City issued about 66,000 marriage licenses, and Clark County, Nevada, where Las Vegas is located, over 108,000. So New York has some work to do to catch up, probably made more difficult by the fact that in NYC you must wait 24 hours to get married after getting your license while in Vegas it’s immediate.

A bigger hurdle for NYC, however, is that it doesn’t yet offer drive-through weddings presided over by Elvis. Then again, according to a very high source in Mayor Bloomberg’s office, Vegas can’t offer the Rockettes as bridesmaids.

Jim Ferri