Viva Las Vegas! The City's $2 Billion Wedding Industry Is Back

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/24/ [login to see] /las-vegas-2-billion-wedding-industry-back
Branden Paul has got the look. The dyed black pompadour. The bedazzled suit. The sunglasses. He's an Elvis impersonator and, on a recent Wednesday, he's guiding two young women – Jess Sandoval and Alana Stroebel – through some special vows at the Graceland wedding chapel in downtown Las Vegas.

"Jess, I want you to look Alana in the eyes and say, 'I promise to always love you tender and never leave you at the Heartbreak Hotel," Paul said, while laughing.

This is the eighth wedding he has performed today. Las Vegas is in the midst of a wedding boom as the nation's vaccination rates rise and the United States begins to recover from a grueling pandemic. The surge is bittersweet for Paul. He has a tough time singing these days. He contracted COVID-19 last October and has some lingering symptoms.