Wedding bell blues

George Flint has seen a wedding or two in his time more than 100,000, he estimates.

Flint, 76, founded Chapel of the Bells on West Fourth Street in 1962 at age 27 and is closing in on five decades of performing quick and inexpensive weddings.

But the wedding business for Reno's small chapels once as much a cornerstone of the tourism industry as slot machines has undergone a widespread decline in recent years. Several chapels and some businesses related to the weddings sector were unable to weather the contraction.

"The wedding chapel industry is at an all-time low in Reno," Flint says. "It isn't in much better shape in Las Vegas, but they have bigger pool to draw from."

Through Oct. 31, there have been 8,852 marriage licenses issued in Washoe County, down about 10 to 12 percent from 2008, says Nancy Parent, Washoe County chief deputy clerk. License fees increased 10 bucks to $60 on July 1.

Historically, 1978 remains the best year on record for weddings in Washoe County, Parent says. That year, the County Clerk's office issued 36,794 marriage licenses. In 1979 there were 36,265 licenses issued.

In recent years Reno's Park Wedding Chapel, the Candlelight Wedding Chapel, the Adventure Inn Wedding Chapel and White Lace and Promises have closed their doors.

"The decline has been dramatic in the last three or four years, "Flint says. "It isn't just 100 percent the economy, but that is a lot of it."

Roberta Monroe, owner of Heart of Reno Chapel at 243 S. Sierra St., says her business is off about 50 percent from 2008 which also was a down year. She's been trying for two years to sell the 2,000-square-foot building across from the county courthouse.

Monroe blames much of the decline on the recession and subsequent drop-off in tourism.

"Nevada is a parasite of California, and in California, when people lose their jobs and homes, the last thing they want to do is get married," she says.

Beverly Van Dusseldorp, owner of Antique Angel Wedding Chapel at 15 N. Virginia St., says the wedding business benefits the entire city because the most visitors to wedding chapels are from California, Oregon, Washington and Utah.

"When a wedding comes to town, it is not just coming to the chapel those people are buying gasoline, eating in restaurants, going to hotels or motels for rooms. It does have an impact on the economy, especially downtown Reno because of close proximity to the chapels," Van Dusseldorp says.

Monroe estimates it could take as much as a decade before wedding volume returns to higher levels. She typically performs about a dozen weddings a week, but in flush times that number exceeded several hundred. Weddings at Heart of Reno average $100.

"All I can do is hope for a miracle," Monroe says.

Flint, who also works as a lobbyist for the Nevada Brothel Association, says in a typical week he performs around 50 weddings but in the late 70s that number was almost 600 per week. He says his record of 94 weddings in a single day might also be a statewide record for any chapel owner or justice of the peace.

The profit margin on weddings is slim. Chapels generate more money from selling flowers, digital photos and other boutique items but that revenue stream also has shrunk as newlyweds have friends and family take their photos and skip the extras.

"The biggest phenomenon, besides the falloff, is that with digital photography everyone is a professional," Flint says. "Those sales almost have come to screeching halt. People don't buy photos anymore."

Chapel of the Bells employs seven, mostly family members. Weddings start around $150. The chapel also offers Reno's only drive-through marriage service. Flint performs two or three drive-through weddings each week. He says many people who use the service are either disabled or noticeably pregnant, and some just want to do something different.

Parent with the Washoe County Clerk's office says one reason for the decline in quick-and-easy weddings is that neighboring states have relaxed the requirements to receive a marriage license.

"We are no longer the easy place to go get married," she says.

Some ancillary businesses, such as florists, have struggled with the decline Riverside Florist on West Second Street recently closed. But Laurie Acton, owner of St. Ives Florist on Wells Avenue, says she's seen a 22 percent increase in business this year.

"Weddings are the strongest portion of business right now. God bless my brides," Acton says.

She attributes some of the increase to reality TV shows such as "Bridezilla's," which glorify extravagant weddings.

"My brides don't cut back," Acton says. "All those TV shows seem to be geared to the big, opulent dream day, and that kind of enables brides to think what a wedding should be."

Flint says the wedding chapel business is a good barometer of the region's overall tourist economy.

"Church weddings cost a lot of money, and for the most part people are looking for the cheapest thing they can get right now," he says. "I believe it will bounce back and be an important part of our tourist economy, but right now it is in the doldrums."