Her business, which opened in 1946, offers drive-through service in its "Tunnel of Love." Britney Spears and Joan Collins also have had weddings at her chapel.
Marriage in general has been on the decline as more people postpone weddings to put educational and career advancement first, or opt to live together without the formalities. U.S. Census Bureau data show 54.1 percent of adults were married in 2010, a decline from 57.3 percent in 2000. The median age of first marriages has risen to 28 for men and 26 for women in 2009 from 23 and 20, respectively, in 1950, according to the bureau.
Economics Role
"Economics have always played a role in people marrying," said Sharon Sassler, a demographer at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
"Because it is harder to attain a stable middle-class status, people are deferring marriage or deciding to live together without marrying," Sassler, who studies families, said in a telephone interview.
Cliff Evarts, founder and chief executive officer of chapel operator Vegas Weddings, said the economy has had a significant effect on the city's matrimonial business in the past few years.
"Gas prices, airplane ticket prices, all those things impact people's ability or desire to come to Vegas," Evarts said. The desert city sits about 270 miles (430 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles and about 2,500 miles west of New York.
Gasoline futures have climbed as much as 83 percent since the end of June 2009, the last month of the longest recession since the Great Depression. Contracts for August delivery rose 3.21 cents yesterday to settle at almost $3.15 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Tourism Peak
About 37.3 million people visited Las Vegas last year, compared with a peak of 39.2 million in 2007, according to the city's Convention and Visitors Authority. The recession began in December of that year.