Graceland’s new chapel set for first wedding
They met in a hotel lobby, he back in his hometown on business and she attending her first Elvis Week.
A spark between them quickly flamed into burning love as he offered her a tour of iconic Elvis locations around Memphis. Now, Marc Caudel and Julie Guardado will take their next step in a wedding made at Graceland.
The couple, who met during Elvis Week 2015, will become the first to marry in a new chapel on the Graceland grounds. Their ceremony will inaugurate the Chapel in the Woods on Aug. 13, along with a renewal of vows by 10 couples who met at Graceland or during Elvis Week.
“That is the power of Elvis, of Elvis Week,” Guardado, 46, said of her immediate connection with Caudel, 47.
Caudel is a native Memphian — he grew up in Raleigh and attended Craigmont High School — who moved to California. Both he and Guardado are living in Memphis, however, where they will continue to live after the wedding.
“This profound love for Elvis brings people together,” Guardado said.
Guardado was in Memphis in 2015 to do interviews for a book she wrote about Elvis – “Conducting the King” – as a tribute to her father, a die-hard Elvis fan.
“He (Caudel) gave me a tour of downtown, and we ended up at the Elvis statue at Beale and Main,” Guardado said. “After Elvis week was over, we kept in touch from there.”
Theirs isn’t the first love story borne of a mutual love of Elvis. In fact, their ceremony at the new wedding chapel, adjacent to the new The Guest House at Graceland, will mark the 2,000th wedding, dedication or vow renewal.
Previous events were held in the old chapel, behind the mansion. Future uses for the 18-year-old chapel have not been determined, said Graceland spokeswoman Ashleigh Gallant.
“It (the old chapel) is nice because it’s within walking distance of the mansion,” Gallant said, “but this new chapel will be great because it’s within walking distance of the hotel. So for people who want to do a nice reception, it’ll be a little easier.”
The new chapel will seat 75. It features a grand ceiling and windows that will show off the woods surrounding Graceland as a backdrop.
Reservations for the new chapel are being accepted for dates beginning Aug. 14.