Clark County Marriage Bureau
201 Clark Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89155-1603
Dear Sir or Madam:
I recently learned that in order to save money, you will be closing your marriage license office between midnight and 8 in the morning. Vegas has, of course, long been famous as the place to go to get married cheaply in the middle of the night. I use the term “cheap” here to refer only to the low cost and not to suggest anything about the marriages themselves.
I am writing to suggest that rather than save a bit of money by limiting your service, you ought to instead be promoting the service and reminding that it is part of what makes Vegas great!
Some may speculate that folks fall into matrimony impulsively, and often while drunk, when the option is so easily available to them. I would counter this first by saying that plenty of people make poor decisions about getting married during the cold light of day and while sober as a judge. Also, as Malcolm Gladwell points out in his popular book Blink, not all quick decisions are bad ones. When we follow our first instinctual choice, we’re often correct.
I believe you might be able to get the government to sponsor a campaign to attract a resurgence of interest in your all-night wedding service. For some reason the feds just love weddings, and they are already spending a good deal on selling folks on the idea. You just need to ride this wave.
My suggestion to kick off the new era of Vegas weddings is to call upon all couples who are already engaged and can hie themselves to Vegas, and stage a midnight wedding that will break the record for the most Vegas weddings in one night. What is the record for this, anyway?
I do hope you will consider my suggestions. Don’t give up on what makes your city legendary!
Truly,
Liz Mann
