[imagesource: Graceland Chapel Photography, Nate Duke]
Las Vegas’ Elvis Presley chapels of love are fast becoming Heartbreak Hotels thanks to a new law that’s been implemented.
Kitschy-cool weddings with ‘The King of Rock and Roll’ impersonators helping couples tie the knot will no longer be allowed.
To clarify, the kitschy-cool weddings can still go ahead, but anything Elvis-related will have to be done away with.
That’s since a licensing company that controls the rock legend’s name and image is ordering Vegas chapels to stop using Elvis in themed ceremonies.
AP News reported that Authentic Brands Group sent out cease-and-desist letters to multiple chapels, which are expected to be compliant immediately:
In the cease-and-desist letter, the company said it will halt unauthorized use of “Presley’s name, likeness, voice image, and other elements of Elvis Presley’s persona in advertisements, merchandise and otherwise.”
The letter also said “Elvis,” “Elvis Presley,” “and “The King of Rock and Roll” are protected trademarks.
Sin City’s unofficial theme song is an Elvis track from his 1964 movie, Viva Las Vegas, and Presley himself got married in Las Vegas in 1967 to his wife Priscilla.
To suddenly ask that he is dissociated from the Vegas wedding industry is quite a punch in the gut for many.
Kayla Collins, who operates LasVegasElvisWeddingChapel.com and the Little Chapel of Hearts with her husband, says their “family-run business” is now “hanging with the big dogs”.
She explained what a blow it’s been to have their bread and butter yanked from the table like this, especially after business struggled during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The whole industry is feeling the effects of the massive Elvis-shaped hole:
Clark County Clerk Lynn Goya, who led a marketing campaign promoting Las Vegas as a wedding destination, said the order for chapels to stop using Elvis couldn’t have come at a worse time for the sector.
The city’s wedding industry generates $2 billion a year, and officials say Elvis-themed weddings represent a significant number of the ceremonies performed.
“It might destroy a portion of our wedding industry. A number of people might lose their livelihood,” Goya said.
Although, it’s not the absolute end of the world.
Authentic Brands Group mentioned that there is hope as they are “seeking to partner with each of these small businesses to ensure that their use of Elvis’ name, image and likeness are officially licensed and authorized by the estate”.
The licensing company that also protects the estates of big names like Marilyn Monroe and boxer Muhammad Ali acknowledge that “Elvis is embedded into the fabric of Las Vegas history”.
The kitschy-cool Elvis wedding show must go on.
[source:apnews]
