Fewer people getting married in Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Traffic through the wedding chapels of Las Vegas was down in 2007 for the third year in a row.

Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas, issued less than 107,000 marriage licenses during the year, the lowest number in more than a decade and a 5 percent drop from 2006, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Marriage license applications have dropped 15 percent from 2004, when there were a record of almost 126,000.

Joni Moss, a wedding consultant and member of the board of the Nevada Wedding Association, remains optimistic about the industry's future, even if more people are getting married abroad, postponing marriage or skipping it entirely.

"Let's not forget renewals of vows and commitment ceremonies," she told the newspaper. "That's big business ... but we can't call anyone and get a number for those."

Ron DeCar, owner of Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, said that almost half his business now comes from couples renewing vows.