LV, Valentine vows: It’s knotty by nature

Feb. 14 falling on Friday makes for nuptials boon

AS Valentine’s Day ushered in a three-day weekend this year, Clark County’s Marriage License Bureau drew longer lines of lovebirds Friday.

While 200 licenses are issued each day on average, 316 had been issued as of 6 p.m. Friday, according to the county. The

figure included 23 issued at Mccarran International Airport, where the county has temporarily operated a pop-up marriage license office since 2018.

“It’s the most consistent day,” County Clerk Lynn Goya said. “When it falls on a weekend, it’s a great time for us.”

Over the past three days, the county issued at least 877 licenses to couples seeking to get hitched in the “wedding capital of the world,” officials said. The number is likely to grow because the bureau is open until midnight.

In three previous years, no more than 855 licenses were issued over the same period: the two days preceding Valentine’s Day and then Valentine’s Day itself.

The number of marriages performed in the county on Valentine’s Day has remained steady over the past three years, hovering in the low to high 500s. It will be 10 days before officials know how many ceremonies occurred Friday.

Couples who entered the county office were given special keepsake licenses with a February 2020 logo and “Be Mine” candy hearts, officials said. That logo was also printed on envelopes that held their paperwork.

Although couples continue to be drawn to Las Vegas for a Valentine’s Day wedding, Goya said the Feb. 14 time frame seems less popular than it used to be. Instead, the period around Halloween has become more en vogue because of typically pleasant weather.

Whatever the day, people tend to enjoy having their wedding be part of something bigger, Goya said.

“I think one of the reasons that couples come on Valentine’s Day or any big days is they like that group experience,” she said.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @SHEA_LVRJ on Twitter.

Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-journal @Erik_verduzco Richard Raney and Laura Eshelman, of Overland Park, Kan., share a kiss at the Pop-up Valentine’s Day Wedding Marathon at Cactus Joe’s in Las Vegas on Friday.

Richard Raney and Laura Eshelman mark their Valentine’s Day wedding by popping the cork on a bottle of sparkling wine.

Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-journal @bizutesfaye Nebraskans Marylyn Barnett and Trevor Pennock head the line of people waiting to get their marriage license Friday at the Marriage License Bureau in Las Vegas. Clark County officials expected long lines on Valentine’s Day.

John Zhong and Catherine Li, of Los Angeles, pose for a selfie as they wait in line to get their marriage license Friday.