Is it easier to get married in Vegas, or is it just more exciting?

Las Vegas is as well-known for its weddings as it is for its casinos: there are Elvis-themed ceremonies, drive-thru hitches, and even marriages within casinos. The list of celebrities who’ve famously had a Las Vegas wedding is long, ranging from Elizabeth Taylor to Kourtney Kardashian. Nick Cage has even married there twice!

With this in mind, we at PlayStar wanted to find out whether Nevada is really the most sought-after location to get married in, or whether it’s all hype. Getting married is one of the most romantic things to do in Las Vegas, but US citizens aren’t only getting married in Vegas and there are some other very popular destinations for both proposals and weddings.

So, what are the most romantic cities in the US? We’ll discover which states and cities are the most popular for the ultimate act of love.

Marriage rates across US states

Nevada is the most popular US state for marriages, with a marriage rate that’s 19.3 points higher than the national average of 6.8 (per 1,000). In second place was Hawaii, which was 6.7 points above the national average, showing that air travel doesn’t stop couples from securing the location of their dreams!

On the less popular end of the scale, Louisiana and New Jersey were minus 1.8 and minus 1.7 points below average. Whether this is due to costs or lack of resources, we will attempt to find out!

See all of the highest and lowest rates across the US below.

Why is Vegas so popular for weddings?

Las Vegas is famous for its extravagant and unique wedding venues and ceremonies. So, how much of the city’s popularity is down to marriage tourists who are after the experience of getting married in Vegas?

We found that Clark County marriages accounted for 82.82% of all marriages in Nevada. Out of the 65,898 marriages that took place there in 2020, 45,644 were between residents and 20,254 were between tourists. An impressive 30.74% of the weddings that took place were between people who had traveled specifically to get hitched in Vegas!

Though, we don’t yet know whether these marriage tourists were more likely to come for the dressed-up ministers or the decadent casino backdrops.

Where do people really want to get married?

Planning a wedding is often a full-time occupation for those who are engaged. Often hailed as the most important day in someone’s life, the pressure is on to find a venue and location that will be special enough for the occasion, but still personal to the soon-to-be-spouses.

We looked at the cities that are most-searched for when it comes to both proposing and hosting a wedding. The most popular cities were Burlington, Vermont, Nevada, Las Vegas, and Honolulu. If anything, this shows that there are more planned weddings in Vegas than spontaneous ones!

Meanwhile, the lower numbers of searches per 1,000 residents were for Salt Lake City, Utah, Jacksonville, Florida, and Little Rock, Arkansas, as seen here.

Are some states more marriage-friendly?

There are 13.84 wedding venues per 100,000 residents in Vermont, which beats Hawaii, Montana, and Colorado by over 7 venues. This makes sense for the most searched-for setting!

Although they have a lower percentage of venues per population, Colorado and Florida have the most venues in total - The Sunshine State has over 700! Surprisingly, Nevada only has 136 venues in total, which equates to 4.38 per 100,000 residents. When considering the number of tourists who visit to get married, this may come as a surprise!

When it comes to cities, the most venues could be found in Colorado, shortly followed by Miami and Salt Lake City. The least venues were found in Maui, Hawaii. Las Vegas had 108 venues, sitting right in the middle of the chart.

The cost of weddings across the US

In our study, Nevada was also in-between extremes when it came to wedding costs. It had an average cost of around $20,500 per wedding, though it may take into account some impulsive weddings which didn’t include more than a marriage license, as well as more extravagant casino-based weddings in which spouses splash their cash to make it a night to remember.

The most expensive states for weddings were Hawaii, Florida and Vermont. They averaged from $26,800 to $32,700 per wedding. Arkansas, Utah, and Montana were the cheaper states to get married in, with average costs between $17,200 and $18,500.