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It seemed like a good idea at the time. As our 50th (gasp!) anniversary approached we each thought about ways to celebrate that milestone that would be memorable -- and, in my case, affordable.
Independently, believe it or not, we both came up with this:
Why not fly to Las Vegas and renew our vows -- with Elvis?
Why not, indeed?
I researched the many choices of venues in Las Vegas who do this sort of thing and settled on the Graceland Chapel. They have several "packages" with various features and we settled on the "Viva Las Vegas" package. They were so easy to work with.
If you're "really" getting married, they provide a minister to perform the ceremony with Elvis providing entertainment. But if you're renewing your vows, you can ask that Elvis perform the ceremony. Our choice? Are you kidding me?
Our anniversary is November 5th but the available travel packages we could afford forced us to go ten days early.
Tuesday, October 25th, 2016
Delta took us straight to Las Vegas and a taxi took us to the hotel. We would have used Uber but finding where they picked up at the airport turned out to be too challenging.
We had a great room at the Bellagio:
.. overlooking their fantastic fountain. Great view and music synchronized with the fountain -- day and night.
We walked to an old haunt from a prior trip and had drinks and chips @ Diablo's Cantina on the strip.
We had dinner at Javier's in the Aria Resort with Four Freshmen friend, drummer and bass singer Bob Ferreira and his significant other Melanie:
Wednesday, October 26th, 2016
We walked (and walked) around the strip:
In the park next to the hotel New York are nine benches. Seated on each is a man made entirely of Legos. Really.
To continue with our anniversary celebration we had a terrific dinner at Andrea's in the Encore Hotel (part of Steve Wynn's collection of hotels). It was delicious and romantic. For sure..
They even brought us complimentary cake pops for our anniversary:
Thursday, October 27th, 2016 -- the BIG DAY!
We reprised our lunch at Diablo's (we really like that place) and relaxed until time for our ceremony at 5:30p. At 5:00p, with us dressed to the nines, Roberto picked us up in the limousine (an extra-cost option in the package) and delivered us to the Graceland Chapel.
Now, our expectations were low; we were in it for the fun no matter what. But we were pleasantly surprised with the place and the staff. Paperwork took a few minutes to complete and then we were greeted by Elvis and the photographer:
Clearly these folks have done this before. They told us that they average twenty weddings a day -- and they've been doing so for decades. Hey, the sign out front says Jon Bon Jovi had his wedding here; so there!
Elvis had planned to walk Gael down the aisle but she demurred; she wanted me to do that. So, as I've learned over the last fifty years, doing it her way is best for EVERYONE.
Elvis sang two songs (with the next most expensive package, he sings three) and we joined in.
(If you're wondering about the Graceland watermarks, these are proofs; too cheap to buy the whole package.)
The whole thing was really sweet. We were happily surprised at how seriously everyone took the event. They said they don't have too many Golden Anniversary vow renewals. Glad we did it.
Roberto took us back to the Bellagio where we were scheduled to have a $$$$ dinner at Prime Steakhouse. We canceled that reservation and saved the money for a "just the two of us" dinner on our actual anniversary at our favorite place back home, Maya Steak and Seafood in Sandy Springs.
Next morning:
.. Uber took us to McCarran Field and Delta brought us home. We had the best time!
More photos; enjoy!
And on our "real" anniversary at
Maya Steak and Seafood. Just SWMBO, Me and Kosta Browne:
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