Weddings and Elvis Presley impersonators go together with Las Vegas like cake and ice cream. But all of that is about to change.
The licensing company that controls the name and image of "The King" is ordering the city's chapel operators to stop using Elvis in themed ceremonies, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels. The company threatened legal action against any "infringing chapel" that does not comply with their terms, according to the newspaper.
With Elvis so closely tied to Vegas' wedding industry, some say the move could kill their business.
"Most of us are small businesses, and we're up against a superpower with a lot of money. It could kill us in lawyer fees to fight this," Melody Willis-Williams, president of Vegas Weddings and Viva Las Vegas Weddings, told the Review-Journal.
Clark County Clerk Lynn Goya, who led a marketing campaign promoting Las Vegas as a wedding destination, said the order couldn't come at a worse time -- especially as the city's 50+ wedding chapels continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
"It might destroy a portion of our wedding industry. A number of people might lose their livelihood," she told the newspaper.
The city's wedding industry generates $2 billion a year, and officials say Elvis-themed weddings represent "a significant number" of the ceremonies performed.
"Elvis weddings are synonymous with Las Vegas," Willis-Williams said. "We keep Elvis alive."
Jesse Garon, a full-time Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, told KLAS-TV that this is basically a death sentence for him and others in the industry.
"You would see one more person in the unemployment line," he said. "I have the best job in the world. We marry people and are part of their best day of their life."
According to the Associated Press, the cease-and-desist letter orders chapels to 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 informed that "Elvis," "Elvis Presley," and "The King of Rock and Roll" are protected trademarks.
Authentic Brands Group has not commented on the situation.
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