If there is one place in Las Vegas that is as iconic as any of the Casinos it is this tiny little wedding chapel. Such is its fame it has been featured in many movies and has been the chapel of choice for a good many personalities to get married in.
For over 70 years the chapel has stood proudly amongst all the other parts of Las Vegas that have grown around it.
The chapel was originally built as a house in 1927 by Scottish settlers who were looking for the American dream. In 1947 the marriage laws in Las Vegas were relaxed, and the front part of the house was converted into a chapel. This was at the same time as Bugsy Siegel re-opened the famed Flamingo Hotel.
Crying in the Chapel
With the first wedding conducted the chapel was named at that time Gretna Green after a place just across the English and Scottish border that was also famed for marriage ceremonies. 20 years after the first wedding ceremony was performed there was a knock at the door that would change the history of the chapel. Elvis had paid a visit for a quick tour of the place.
That was the day history was fixed in place for the chapel. A few years later when Elvis died, the chapel changed its name to Graceland in commemoration of the Kings visit.
Since that day both the number of ceremonies and the fame of the tiny chapel has grown beyond all comprehension.
The chapel might not be one of the leading attractions in Las Vegas, and a tour is not going to take up a full day or even half a day.
What it will do though is kill an hour or two for you to visit a little piece of history, and history that is not all glitz and glam like the casinos. The Graceland chapel is history as it should be. A real fairytale story if there ever was one.
So many parts of the old Las Vegas have been demolished to make way for new buildings. If it had not been for a quick visit by Elvis, maybe the chapel would have gone the same way. Who knows?