After some very heady glory days, Reno's iconic wedding chapel business is at a low point. The longtime Chapel of the Bells just closed for good...and only 2 standalones remain. Walking through the once-bustling but now museum-like Chapel of the Bells, manager Margaret Flint pauses to look at some old photos on the wall of the wedding chapel’s first days in business. After a moment, she said "When my parents first brought us here in 1962, I was only 5.”
For Margaret, this was her life. At one time, her family business did 300 to 400 weddings a week. But now, the “Permanently Closed” sign is on the door, and inside the giggles and kisses are gone for good. The rooms where thousands of unions began…are now cold and dark. Margaret says the property owner is going to tear the building down. As she told me, "Where have all the lovebirds gone. I wish I knew, I really wish I knew, because they're not coming to Nevada anymore. It's not just Reno and Washoe County that's suffering. Vegas's numbers are down.”
It's hard to find an industry harder hit than the wedding chapel business. Once the ultimate joy ride for Reno tourists in love, today the neon independents are well past their glory days. Margaret says same sex ceremonies could have saved her business, “But the state waited too long. The day that it finally became legal in Nevada, we were hoping that we'd have a line outside. But there was nothing."
Across town, Arch of Reno Wedding Chapel owner Kathy Marino just moved to a bigger space on Virginia Street, now double the size. In the 70's Reno had 18 standalone wedding chapels. Today, only 2 remain. But even with less competition, she tells me business is just ok. As she puts it, "Northern Nevada just hasn't kept up, I think, with what they're doing."
Kathy is the lone example of the next generation of private wedding chapel owners, and is trying hard with weddings priced as low as $90…including a free limo ride. Arch of Reno may prove that in this business too, only the strong survive. But no one can match the memories. As Kathy remembers, "It was amazing to walk down downtown Reno and see brides and grooms walking around in their tuxes and dresses. It’s a whole lot different than what we see today."
And the memories at Reno's now shuttered, Chapel of the Bells, where Margaret told me, "When we were kids we used to sit outside and sell 'Just Married' kits and decorate people's cars while they were getting married. It was almost...hard to drive in this morning and see the closed signs on the door, and...it’s pretty bittersweet."
