Photo Credit: Mirac Sendil @ Pexels.
Continuing on with the marital theme from my recent Book Lists: After I Do: Fictional Marriages on the Rocks and My Favourite Marriages of Convenience, today’s post, What Happens in Vegas… is all about the fictional couples who’ve tied the knot in the Marriage Capital of the World.
Did You Know? Over 70k people get hitched in Las Vegas every year. Wedding-related tourism accounts for nearly $2 billion of the city’s $58 billion tourism industry and has generated 18k jobs (Hustle).
It’s not a new phenomenon either; in fact, the state of Nevada has been a popular destination for shotgun weddings since the early 1900s because unlike other states, Nevada nixed the requirements for blood tests and waiting periods.
If you woke up the morning after and realised you’d made a humungous (most probably, drunken) mistake, you didn’t have to worry because in 1931, Governor Fred B. Balzar signed the Six-Week Divorce Act so as long as you were OK with staying in Nevada for 6 weeks, you could get a quickie divorce. The Divorce Act was “designed to keep Nevada and Reno foremost in the business of serving unsuccessful marriages” (Reno Gazzette Journal).
Given its close proximity to Hollywood, there have been plenty of celebrity weddings in Las Vegas although some of them lasted longer than others…
Probably the most infamous short-lived marriage was between Britney Spears and her childhood friend, Jason Alexander, who got married at the Little White Wedding Chapel in the early hours of 3 January 2004 before getting it annulled after just 55 hours. They aren’t the only ones who quickly had regrets after getting married in Vegas. Nicolas Cage married Erika Koike in Vegas on 23 March 2019 but sought an annulment just 4 days later (27 March) claiming both he and Erika had been drinking “to the point of intoxication” before they wed (USA Today). Another couple who perhaps would have benefitted from a waiting period before tying the knot are Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman, who got married on 14 November 1998 at Chapel of the Flowers only to file for divorce 6 months later with Dennis claiming he was “of unsound mind when he recited his vows” (People).
Of course, not every celebrity marriage which begins in Las Vegas ends in annulment or divorce. Couples who are still together include: Bette Midler & Martin von Haselberg, who married at the Starlight Chapel (Closed) on 16 December 1984 (ET Online); Jon Bon Jovi & Dorothea Hurley, who married at the Graceland Wedding Chapel on 29 April 1989 and; Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos, who married at the Chapel of the Bells on 1 May 1996 (People).
When I wrote ‘My First Half,’ I knew there was only one place for Cate and Kian to have their shotgun wedding and that was Las Vegas.
So without further ado, I now pronounce the following My Favourite (Fictional) Vegas Weddings.
If you’ve got any recommendations, let me know in the comments or by e-mail at louisehallbooks@gmail.com.
P.S. If you’re looking for more Book Lists, you can find links to them all in the Archives.
Happy reading x
*UPDATED 30 NOVEMBER 2023*
(1) My First Half (Cate & Kian #1) (2017)
“I’ve kissed a lot of girls,” Kian said huskily, “but I’ve never felt like that before. There’s something between us, Cate and I can’t explain why or what it is, I just know that ever since we kissed last night, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” “Tell me you’re joking,” Cate said softly, “tell me this is all a wind-up.”
Cate Klein and Kian Warner absolutely shouldn’t be together. He’s a gorgeous Premier League footballer who’s famous in the tabloids for his one-night stands with models and pop princesses. Cate is 18 years old and has never even been kissed. She’s focused on studying for her A Levels and going to university. Boys don’t really notice her; she’s always been overshadowed by her vivacious best friend, Sinead. She doesn’t mind though because none of the boys she goes to college with could live up to her two crushes; Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre and Kian. There’s also the small fact that Kian is best friends with Cate’s older brother, Ben and Sinead, well she’s Kian’s younger sister.
But then on Christmas Eve, a lacy, black dress and a dare from Sinead catapults Cate straight into Kian’s waiting arms and before she can even say “mistletoe,” she’s not the quiet girl who’s never been kissed anymore. In fact the kiss they shared was so blazing hot; it must have burned up all the rule books because suddenly Kian freaking Warner actually seems to fancy quiet Cate Klein.
If their families ever found out, it would start World War 3 so they have to meet up in secret. But when tragedy strikes, Kian turns to Cate for comfort. The consequences of that night mean that they can no longer keep their relationship a secret from their families.
Cate has spent 18 years hiding in the shadows, how will she cope when she’s suddenly thrust into the harsh spotlight? He might be a Premier League footballer but being with Kian Warner definitely isn’t a fairy-tale of spa days and designer shopping trips.
Tags: Brother’s Best Friend – Christmas – A Game of Two Halves – Oopsie Babies – Opposites Attract – Sports Romance (Football)
(2) Accidental Bride (Beaufort Brides #3) by Noelle Adams (2016)
Kelly has spent her life taking care of her grandmother and being responsible, but she decides to have a little fun for one weekend in Vegas. She doesn’t expect to wake up married to her best friend, Peter–and not remember anything about it.
Peter has been in love with Kelly for a long time, but she’s never looked at him as anything but a friend. He’s thrilled when she seems to want him for a husband–until he finds out she didn’t know what she was doing. Not wanting to let her go, he convinces her to stay married to him for a month and a half to appease their traditional families.
Now he has only forty-five days to prove to her that they should stay married for good.
Tags: Favourite Author – Friends to Lovers
(3) Good Time (Vegas Billionaires #2) by Jana Aston (2018)
Marrying a stranger tops the list of things you should never do in Las Vegas, but I did it anyway.
The entire night was my idea. I was the one who suggested a wake-up-with-a-tiger kind of night. Instead, I woke up with a ring on my finger and Vince Rossi in my bed.
Vince, who was nothing like I thought he was and everything I never knew I needed.
Suddenly I was falling head-over-heels in love with my accidental husband and the idea of ending this union was the last thing I wanted.
I wanted forever.
So what if we barely knew each other? Statistically speaking, our odds were as good as anyone’s.
Until the annulment papers landed on my doorstep…
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Book by This Author
(4) Shenanigans (Brooklyn Bruisers #11) by Sarina Bowen (2022)
What I meant to do in Vegas: Let my hair down for once and celebrate winning a medal at my first women’s hockey all-stars competition.
What I actually did: Got senior prom drunk and woke up married to Brooklyn’s star winger, the great Neil Drake.
He’s the heir to a billion dollars, and I barely survived my childhood. Our friendship is based strictly only on hockey, takeout food and smack talk.
And now holy matrimony. Although we both know it can’t last, especially once his evil family gets wind of our Vegas shenanigans…
Contains: Meddling teammates, meddling parents, ugly jewelry and a pretend-kiss that nearly sets the world on fire.
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Series – Sports Romance (Ice Hockey)
(5) Make-Believe Match (Cherry Tree Harbor #3) by Melanie Harlow (2023)
Fall in love with my enemy? No way.
Marry him to save my family’s struggling ski resort? That’s a different story…
Getting hitched is the only way I can inherit Snowberry Lodge, and I’ll do anything to spare my childhood home from the wrecking ball–even wear Devlin Buckley’s ring on my finger.
Sure, he’s charming and handsome, and that no-last-names one night stand we shared ended with a fantastically big bang (I saw stars I hadn’t seen in six months, if you catch my drift).
But I’ll never trust him–he was working for the company trying to bulldoze my life.
Right up until the day he knocked on my door with an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Marry him, and he’ll help me restore my family’s crumbling resort to its former glory–and get revenge on his ex-boss in the process. Once our goals are achieved, we’ll go our separate ways.
It’s temporary. Strictly business. Purely for show.
Until I realize how much I like it when he says “my wife.”
Once we’re sharing a last name–and a bed–our make-believe match starts to feel a little too real.
And if I’m not careful, I could lose everything… my home, my dreams, and my heart.
Tags: Enemies-to-Lovers – Favourite Author – Marriage of Convenience
(6) Sweet Filthy Boy (Wild Seasons #1) by Christina Lauren (2014)
One-night stands are supposed to be with someone convenient, or wickedly persuasive, or regrettable. They aren’t supposed to be with someone like him.
But after a crazy Vegas weekend celebrating her college graduation—and terrified of the future path she knows is a cop-out—Mia Holland makes the wildest decision of her life: follow Ansel Guillaume—her sweet, filthy fling—to France for the summer and just…play.
When feelings begin to develop behind the provocative roles they take on, and their temporary masquerade adventures begin to feel real, Mia will have to decide if she belongs in the life she left because it was all wrong, or in the strange new one that seems worlds away.
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Book by This Author – Favourite Series
(7) Dirty Rowdy Thing (Wild Seasons #2) by Christina Lauren (2014)
Despite their rowdy hook-ups, Harlow and Finn don’t even like each other…which would explain why their marriage lasted only twelve hours.
He needs to be in charge and takes whatever he wants. She lives by the Want-something-done? Do-it-yourself mantra.
Maybe she’s too similar to the rugged fisherman—or just what he needs.
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Series – Opposites Attract
(8) Dark Wild Night (Wild Seasons #3) by Christina Lauren (2015)
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But what didn’t happen in Vegas seems to follow them everywhere.
Lola and Oliver like to congratulate themselves on having the good sense to not consummate their drunken Las Vegas wedding. If they’d doubled-down on that mistake, their Just Friends situation might not be half as great as it is now.
… Or so goes the official line.
In reality, Lola’s wanted Oliver since day one—and over time has only fallen harder for his sexy Aussie accent and easygoing ability to take her as she comes. More at home in her studio than in baring herself to people, Lola’s instinctive comfort around Oliver nearly seems too good to be true. So why ruin a good thing?
Even as geek girls fawn over him, Oliver can’t get his mind off what he didn’t do with Lola when he had the chance. He knows what he wants with her now… and it’s far outside the friend zone. When Lola’s graphic novel starts getting national acclaim—and is then fast-tracked for a major motion picture—Oliver steps up to be there for her whenever she needs him. After all, she’s not the kind of girl who likes all that attention, but maybe she’s the kind who’ll eventually like him.
Sometimes seeing what’s right in front of us takes a great leap of faith. And sometimes a dark wild night in Vegas isn’t just the end of a day, but the beginning of a bright new life…
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Series – Friends to Lovers
(9) Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne & Anthony LeDonne (2023)
Katherine, an ambitious NYC attorney, gets diagnosed with a concussion and must be monitored for 48 hours to make sure it doesn’t get worse. Unfortunately, she forgot to update her emergency contact so the person they call is her ex-husband, Tom.
Unable to be left alone, Katherine reluctantly agrees to travel to Chicago with Tom for the holidays. But thanks to a blizzard, what should have been a quick plane ride turns into an antagonistic overnight misadventure that stirs up old feelings even as Tom prepares to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve.
Tags: Christmas – Favourite Author – Five Star Read – Grumpy Sunshine – Road Trip – Second Chance
(10) Becoming Mrs. Lockwood by K.I. Lynn (2017)
Every girl has dreams of meeting Prince Charming, or at least I know I did.
A fairy tale-like meeting of love at first sight.
Real life and fairy tales are very different.
I’m just a small town Indiana girl that had a chance encounter with one of Hollywood’s golden boys. You may think you know where this story goes—not even close.
Tags: Stage & Screen Romance
(11) The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley #2) by Devney Perry (2017)
She took a dare and fell in love. Truth would have been the smarter choice.
After years of living under her father’s thumb, Emmeline is ready to break free. She’s abandoned her life as a New York socialite to follow her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher in a small, wholesome town. Seeing the man that nearly broke her was absolutely not what she had hoped to find in Prescott, Montana.
Nick hasn’t seen his Emmy in nine years, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten a thing about the woman he loves. After just one blissful night as man and wife, he gave her up, sacrificing his own happiness to keep her safe—far away from him. But the moment she walks back into his lonely life is the moment he decides never to let her go again. He won’t waste his second chance. All he has to do is win back Emmeline’s heart, keep her safe from the shadows in his past and prove to her that taking a wager on him is a sure bet.
Tags: Second Chance
(12) The Marriage Mistake (Marriage to a Billionaire #3) by Jennifer Probst (2012)
Carina Conte has had a crush on her brother Michael’s best friend, Max Gray, since she was a teenager. Now she’s earned her MBA and come to work at Michael’s new venture, America’s fastest-growing bakery empire. But some things never change: her family still treats her like a child. With three drop-dead gorgeous siblings, she’s still the ugly duckling of the bunch. And Max, the company’s new CEO, still barely notices her.
Max knows Carina Conte is strictly off limits. But hot-blooded lust wins out at a conference when the two share a scorching one-night stand—and are busted by her mother! Now, forced by old-world Italian tradition into a marriage he’s not ready for, Max is miserable—and Carina is furious. Her new husband is about to realize that hell hath no fury like a woman transformed….
Tags: Brother’s Best Friend – Favourite Author
(13) The Scandal (Single in Seattle #2) by Kristen Proby (2022)
Who knew that weddings in Vegas were the real deal? I certainly didn’t when I agreed to marry my co-worker while on a bender in Sin City. Now, I need a quick annulment, which means I need an attorney, STAT.
Honestly, with a name like Grayson Sterling, Esquire, I expected an old man in a three-piece suit. But the guy behind the desk is anything but stuffy and old. Tall and sexy with tattoos and striking blue eyes, I simply can’t take my eyes off him, and I have no intention of declining his offer of a date…and more. So much more!
The conversation between us is good, and the man should win awards for his bedroom escapades. I find myself trusting him in ways I never thought I would—until he breaks that trust.
Gray insists he can fix it.
He claims he loves me.
But I don’t know if we can survive this.
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Series
(14) Lick (Stage Dive #1) by Kylie Scott (2013)
Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.
Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.
One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll’s favourite son is sure to be a wild ride.
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Book by This Author – Favourite Series – Fictional Musicians – Top 5 Re-Reads
(15) When I Was Yours by Samantha Towle (2015)
“Marry me.”
“What?” I stared back at him, unblinking.
He moved closer, taking my face in his hands. “I love you, Evie. I look into the future, and the only thing I see clearly is you. Marry me.”
What’s an eighteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend say?
Of course, I said yes.
Twenty-four hours later, I married Adam Gunner at a Vegas chapel to the sounds of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Not the best omen. I get that now.
Then, exactly one week later, I left him. I walked out, leaving behind my wedding ring, annulment papers, and my heart, and he never knew why.
I haven’t seen him since. Not in ten long years.
Now, he’s here, standing before me. Looking at me with nothing but hurt and hatred in his eyes, he wants answers.
Answers I can’t give.
Tags: Favourite Author – Favourite Book by This Author – Second Chance
(16) The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata (2016)
Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.
But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she’s beyond shocked.
For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.
What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?
Tags: Favourite Author – Marriage of Convenience – Sports Romance (American Football)
Louise Hall 
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