A Valentine's Vegas Wedding?

BREAKING NEWS… Marcie & David Tie the Knot … Again… in Las Vegas

I happened to read an article in the local Vegas news about a special Valentine’s Day event at Denny’s in Downtown Las Vegas. Reading further, I discovered that Denny’s flagship diner at the Fremont Street Experience was offering a free wedding or vow renewal ceremony in their wedding chapel on February 14th. What better way to renew our vows and celebrate Valentine’s Day in Las Vegas than at the primo septuagenarian venue… Denny’s. There were several restrictions that applied, but on a lark, I filled out the application and emailed it as instructed.

We never heard back, so we forgot all about it until… David checked emails late Sunday night. An innocuous email confirmed our vow renewal was scheduled for Noon on February 14th and asked that we kindly provide our t-shirt sizes. David, thinking it would make a great Valentine’s Day surprise, never said a word. On Valentine’s morning, I placed a Valentine on his pillow. He opened it, smiled and told me he had a surprise for me and showed me the e-mail.

First of all, we’ve married each other before… a couple of times... a long story with which I needn’t bore you. The first time in 1987, we eloped to Loveland, Colorado, and were married by a Justice of the Peace. But yikes! though this ceremony was originally considered a lark, there was still much to be done to be a respectable bride renewing her marriage vows… even at Denny’s… and it was only a few hours away. Dress? Shoes? Hair? Makeup? Flowers? Improvise, improvise, improvise.

On our morning walk, as I tried to figure out all the unanswered questions, David got down on one knee and asked me to marry him again. Oh, my… even after all these years, I had butterflies. It might be schmaltzy to some, but it warmed my heart. What a romantic gesture to start the day and it boded well for the rest of the day.

Once home, I switched to turbo gear. I had no dress suitable for a wedding… an old sundress with matching sandals would have to do. (Note to self: Buy a decent all-occasion dress for the next time David asks me to marry him.) Hair and makeup… easy enough. Flowers? I snatched some silk daffodils out of a vase in the living room, wrapped the stems in ribbon, added a few sparkly hearts for contrast. Good to go. I was in dire need of a pedi and managed to paint my toenails en route without coloring too much out of the lines or getting any on the Kia interior.

Downtown Vegas Denny’s all decked out in red ballooned Valentine’s Day splendor

We showed up precisely on time, found a free parking spot on Fremont Street, and walked a couple of blocks to Denny’s. There it was, Downtown Vegas Denny’s all decked out in red-ballooned Valentine’s Day splendor. We were greeted at the door with a gift bag and red satin sashes touting Vegas Bride and Vegas Groom which we donned for the ceremony. We were then hustled to makeshift ‘wedding chapel’, a side corridor in the restaurant in view of all the eating patrons. Adora, our curly-haired officiant, was quite pleasant and bubbly, but serious about her officiating duties. After a brief discussion of marriage, we repeated our vows to each other and sealed it with a kiss. Diners in the restaurant applauded. Crazy as it sounds, I got all choked up.

Sealed with a kiss

Champagne was waiting for us when we emerged from the other side of the ‘chapel’ along with white and dark chocolate-covered donut holes… Denny’s version of a wedding cake. We’ve done crazier things (though I can’t think of any at the moment) and will hopefully do more in the future. Spontaneity… that’s what keeps the romance alive… don’t you think?

Next time, we’re back to recounting the road trip… Fort Bowie and The Thing are next up on the agenda.