Weird weddings: Viva Love Vegas

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Mar 3, 2002 | by LUCY BROADBENT

"I'd heard about Drive Thru Cheeseburgers and Drive Thru Cokes. I'd never heard of a Drive Thru wedding," squeals Pamela, dressed in a white and air-force blue evening gown bought to match Alvin's uniform. "When we heard the Little White Chapel offered it as a possible theme, I just thought it'd be cool. Vegas is such a romantic place. It's the town to come to if you are going to get married. There are wedding chapels everywhere you look. Tonight we'll probably go gambling and dancing on The Strip. My family are a bit disappointed that they're not here and I'm a little sad too," she adds quietly. "But it's expensive for them all to fly and this is what I want. I know I want to marry Alvin. He tells me I'm beautiful every day. He treats me so well, so respectful. Believe me, guys aren't like this in Iowa. He proposed three months back and of course I said yes." She squeals again as Charolette congratulates her and kisses her through the Drive Thru window. They pose for photographs and revel in their new marital status.

On Valentine's Day The Little White Chapel will have as many as 2,500 weddings. Roughly half of the Chapel's clients are couples who have made an impulsive decision to marry - and half have been married before.

But Charolette prides herself on being able to spot couples that are really in love - apparently not all of them are. She is also convinced a no-frills ceremony means a greater commitment. "I think the commitment is often stronger because it is a no-fuss wedding. They've chosen to do this, whereas, if you're a member of a church you feel pressurised to get married. But there have been couples to walk down this aisle that I've wanted to stop - people who see the whole thing as a flippant affair. I remember stopping one Elvis wedding. When I said to the bride, 'Will you take this man to be your husband?' she said 'No, I'd rather have him', meaning Elvis. I had to say 'Let's stop this right here'. She apologised and we carried on, but if their marriage lasted the day it was a miracle."

At the Banzai Banzai Water Chute in the Wet 'N' Wild theme park, Jimi and Lori are about to perform their own miracle. Their only concessions to tradition are Lori's roses and the fact she's humming the wedding march as she skips up to a water ride made for two... in a bikini top and mini-skirt.

"We wanted to do something wild because we're wild and crazy people," says Jimi, 32, who works for a furniture removal company and lives in Los Angeles. "I'd never have a traditional church wedding because of the formality. This increases the excitement for us - and then we get to spend the rest of the day in the Wet 'N' Wild theme park." The couple met through work and have been dating for three months. Lori fell for Jimi when he helped her get off drugs and took her to Narcotics Anonymous. "I love him so much," says Lori as she jumps up and down on top of the water chute.

Charolette smiles tolerantly as she waits for the couple's high spirits to wane a little. She insists it is not necessary for her to go down the chute as well. "I pronounce you man and wife," she says for the fifteenth time today. "You may now take the plunge." With that the couple dive. The roses go flying.