© 2024 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

On this palindrome day, many are getting married

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: By the powers vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you - help me, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Husband and wife.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas is very busy today.

JOSE ALONZO: This is the biggest day, at least in our history. In our 62 years of being here, it's the biggest day.

CHANG: And that is because today is a very rare day, says Jose Alonzo, the director of sales. It's 2-22-22, a palindrome thought to bring luck, making it the perfect day for a wedding.

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

And Chapel of the Flowers isn't the only Vegas wedding venue seeing a surge in weddings. It's the entire city. The uptick has led Las Vegas to declare this February wedding month. Valentine's Day is always popular, but this year also brought 2-2-22 and 2-22-22. All those twos have kept County Clerk Lynn Marie Goya on her toes.

LYNN MARIE GOYA: Yeah. I think our whole team has felt like we're on a marathon sprint, where it doesn't seem to end.

CHANG: In more than nine years at Chapel of the Flowers, Alonzo says he has never seen anything like this. And it's not just today that's special. It turns out a particular hour is also in high demand.

ALONZO: The most coveted time was 2 p.m. at Tuesday. It's also a Tuesday, which is another two.

RASCOE: All those couples in love with the number two have helped propel Clark County, the county Las Vegas sits in, to reach a new milestone - 5 million weddings since the county was established in the early 1900s. Here's county clerk Goya again.

GOYA: The 5 million love stories is based on the 5 million couples that came here before, right? And so they're part of our legacy. They're part of our history. They're part of what made Las Vegas the wedding capital and the entertainment capital of the world.

CHANG: Now, many couples will have to answer one of the most important questions of their lives today when they take their vows. But Goya has spent a lot of time talking with many of those couples this month, and she's interested in more than whether they want to get married.

GOYA: We ask two questions. You know, where are you from, and why Vegas? And then you get the whole love story.

RASCOE: Clark County and the Las Vegas wedding industry are having a lot of fun with this 5 million milestone and collecting couples' stories as a part of the celebration.

GOYA: Everyone has a wonderful story. Everyone is excited about being here. And it's just fun for everyone.

CHANG: The last time Clark County saw a major wedding surge was on July 7, 2007 - that is 7-7-07 - with more than 4,000 weddings. The numbers for this month are not yet in, but if today is any indication, it might be another record breaker.

(SOUNDBITE OF LITTLE COMETS SONG, "JENNIFER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.