Las Vegas destination wedding guide: elegant to outrageous

Gone are the days when a Las Vegas wedding meant his ‘n’ her track suits and an Elvis minister. During a recent weekend visit  we found a rich collection of destination wedding venues that combine genuine elegance (really) with the kind of eye-popping showmanship you’d expect. Whether it’s a tiny ceremony with just the two of you or a blow-out with 100 guests, here’s a look at romance, Vegas-style.

First stop: Aria Resort & Casino, part of City Center, an upscale hotel and shopping complex right off the Strip. We were taken with the sophisticated room decor, the private spa suites (rent one for a day — bliss!), and a couple of noteworthy restaurants. If the groomsmen are longing for NewYork-style pizza with a twist, Five50 offers gooey-drippy delicacies like mushroom-ricotta-bacon pies–and individual slices at the bar. And Sage, chef Shawn McClain’s special-occasion spot, does farm-to-table food in an unfussy style that’s refreshing in this neck of the woods. It would be a swell place for a rehearsal dinner. But Aria’s wedding showstopper is its new chapel. Opened for less than a year, the mauve, chocolate, and cream-toned jewel is hidden away near the convention facilities, but you don’t have to worry about privacy: Only one wedding happens at a time, and once your party is inside, the doors are locked to prevent spectators. In addition to a chic pre-wedding lounge, the space had dedicated areas for brides and grooms (his comes with a billiards table). The chapel itself has a sophisticated lighting system that can be adjusted for your color scheme, and the event  specialists can work wonders; when a Brazilian couple arrived with 20 friends—but without any advance planning—Aria’s magicians located a minister who spoke Portuguese and whipped the wedding into shape faster than you can say, “obrigado.” 

Next, the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, where the Forever Grand Wedding Chapel takes a page from cinema’s golden era in its Hollywood Glamour package. In a nice nod to the whole MGM vibe, you can snag a vintage hairstyle at the Critophe salon, carry a timeless bouquet of white calla lilies, and sit for portraits done in dramatic 1940s style (black and white, natch) in the on-site studio. Afterward, you might retreat to one of the hotel’s Skylofts, outrageous spots for a private reception. The tall-windowed suites with rambling entertainment areas are perfect for cocktails and hors d’ouvres (a sushi station, wagu sliders, and New Age ice cream sundae bar sounds about right). The most magnificent Skylofts have glassed-walled terraces, plunge pools, and stellar views;  good luck getting anyone back inside. If that doesn’t sound quite exclusive enough for you, the resort is also home to Joel Robuchon, a Michelin three-star masterpiece just off the casino floor, where the decor changes every season, the 16-course tasting menu will run $425, and Catherine Zeta-Jones may be at the next table. The restaurant has just introduced a charming wedding service; you can marry in the side garden with its lush wall of greens and flowers, then dine on truffled langoustine ravioli in the private room next door. It’s an intimate space, so you’ll have to pare your guest list to 12 deserving souls. They’ll be thanking you for the next century.

A showstopper of another variety, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino comes with its own aquarium, home to over 2,000 marine species, from sharks to moray eels to Komoda dragons. It’s a stunner of a facility—1.6 million gallons of watery oh-my-goshness—but what makes it notable for brides and grooms are a couple of only-in-Vegas possibilities. If you don’t mind exchanging vows at 9 A.M., you can actually marry under a  dome on the aquarium floor, walking down an “aisle” in the shark tunnel with flickering blue lights illuminating your own. For those who’d rather sleep in, or who don’t mind a bit of a pause before the reception, the new Seascape Ballroom has a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that peer directly into the aquarium, so you can snack on your grilled lambchops while hammerheads, giant sea turtles, and shark rays swim by. As one gob-smacked guy put it, “it’s totally romantic, in an oddly powerful way.” We concur. Another Mandalay Bay highlight is the Vegas outpost of Aureole, superchef Charlie Palmer’s showpiece with the world’s only wine tower (it’s accessed by “wine angels,” who wear wire-rigged harnesses to retrieve bottles) and Swan Court, a quiet courtyard that could be in Beverly Hills or Bermuda. It’s one of the most popular ceremony sites in the city, delightful for cocktails, too.

Bellagio Resort & Casino, which brought a new, rococo-glam vibe to the Strip when it opened 15 years ago, has chapels both outside and in, but our favorite spot is Jasmine, one of the West’s prettiest places for a post-wedding brunch. It’s not just the food, though the massive buffet of Chino-American goodies (caviar! oysters! red velvet waffles! Peking duck!)  is one of the city’s most popular. And the Versace place settings are certainly gorgeous. But the most memorable part of a meal here is the choreographed fountain “ballet,” when 1,200 massive jets of water dance to a soundtrack of the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Bocelli. Just the spot to celebrate taking the plunge.

Finally, for those of you who feel as though marriage truly is a commitment until death you do part, may we suggest marrying on the staircase of the Titanic? Well, a fascimile of it, at least, at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, whose “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” displays more than 250 authentic artifacts removed from the wreck site. For those couples with a more buoyant spirit, the Luxor Chapel offers full ceremony services, and the Egyptian Ballroom can seat up to 1,ooo guests for dinner.