By Julia Train
Planning a wedding often takes several months or years to plan and costs tens of thousands of dollars. You need to decide on a venue for the ceremony and reception, find a dress, pick a cake and find entertainment, and that’s just scratching the surface.
Atlantic City’s first Las Vegas-style wedding chapel is opening up for lovers who wish to get married or renew their vows in a unique way without the expenses or hassle.
Located in Tropicana Casino Hotel’s decades-themed club, Boogie Nights, the Atlantic City Chapel of Love is a pop-up experience equipped with anything you may need to have your dream wedding: a venue for the ceremony and after-party, music, drinks, a dance floor, decorations and more.
Complete with light-up arches on the stage, a light-up dance floor, a giant video wall, a disco ball, effects like bubbles or snow coming from the ceiling, a state-of-the-art lighting and sound system, and celebrity impersonators, the chapel does all the work for you.
With a starting price of $999, couples can tailor their experience to be as elaborate as they wish.
Couples will be placed with a designated wedding curator who will help them fine-tune every detail.
Pairs can customize their officiant, whether it be a world-famous Elvis impersonator or a loved one, the altar where they will share their first kiss as newlyweds and specialty details such as signature cocktails served in souvenir disco cups, and performances from the iconic Boogie Nights characters.
Because Boogie Nights has been around for quite some time, the business has connections to celebrities in Hollywood, which offers guests the chance to even have a real celebrity there, based on their availability, either virtually or physically.
“It’s exciting because it’s essentially like producing an event with a couple and we love to hear their ideas, thoughts and visions,” said David Peña, owner and creator of Boogie Nights and the Atlantic City Chapel of Love.
He also mentioned that they’ll help coordinate bachelor or bachelorette parties within the casino for guests because Tropicana has everything they may need under one roof, including gaming, hotel suites, 20 dining options, bars and nightclubs, pools, spas and more.
While most weddings need to be planned months in advance, it’s a relatively quick process at the Chapel of Love. After obtaining a marriage license, which is a three-day process in New Jersey, you’re set.
The idea for a Vegas-style chapel came to Peña after spending a lot of time in Las Vegas and has been occupying his mind for over five years.
“I’ve always been obsessed with wedding chapels in Las Vegas and I thought, ‘that’s something we don’t have in Atlantic City.’ And so I decided, let’s make it happen in Atlantic City,” said Peña. “It’s something new. It’s something exciting.”
After being in the works for one year, his vision is coming to life.
