How much does a Las Vegas wedding actually cost?
The one fixed cost: the license
Every Vegas wedding starts at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau. The license runs about a hundred dollars, the bureau is open every day of the year, and Nevada has no waiting period and no blood test — you can get licensed and married the same afternoon. Verify the current fee on the Clark County site before you go; it's the one number in this guide that's set by the county, not the market.
Ceremony: chapel, resort, or offbeat
The classic downtown chapels are the honest budget play: simple packages start in the low hundreds, and even the famous ones with an Elvis officiant usually land under $1,000 before photos. Strip resort wedding packages start around $2,500 and climb fast — you're paying for the venue name and a coordinator, and the add-ons (photography rights, extra guests, flowers) are where the bill doubles.
The offbeat options — drive-through ceremonies, helicopter weddings over the Strip, Valley of Fire or dry-lake-bed ceremonies — price all over the map, so treat any package quote as a starting point and ask what photography and transport actually cost.
The reception line items nobody prices honestly
If you host any kind of reception, the line items are the same as anywhere — food, DJ, photographer, rentals — but Vegas pricing swings wildly depending on whether you book through a resort or go direct to local operators.
A concrete example: photo booth rental. Booked through a resort or national broker you'll commonly see $600–$1,200 for a few hours. Local Vegas operators charge flat hourly rates — Liquid Gold Photobooth Rentals runs $99 per hour with open-air and 360 booth options — so a three-hour reception booth is a few hundred dollars, not four figures. The same direct-vs-broker gap shows up in DJs and florists.
Whatever vendor category you're pricing, get the direct-booking number before you accept the package number. The links below are worth a read even if you book someone else — they break down what booth setups actually cost in this town and what works in Vegas venues.
When to book what
Vegas runs on conventions and holiday spikes, and wedding vendors book against that same calendar. Spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) Saturdays go first; New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day are their own market. Chapels can absorb a same-week booking almost any time, but photographers, DJs and booth operators for a Saturday in peak season are realistically a 2–6 month advance book.
If your date is flexible, a weekday wedding is the single biggest lever on every vendor's price at once.
Keeping it under $2,000 all-in
It's genuinely doable: license (~$100), a downtown chapel package with photos (under $800), dinner for a small group at a good off-Strip restaurant instead of a banquet room, and one or two direct-booked extras like a booth or a few hours of photography. The couples who blow the budget are almost always the ones who priced everything through a single resort package and never got a second quote.
Related
Independent Las Vegas visitor guide — not affiliated with any hotel, casino, show, or the city. Prices, fees, shows, and hours change constantly; verify current details before you book.