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Using face masks and sanitizer, couples say ‘I do’ in Vegas

The bride wore a white beaded dress and a white cloth face mask that said “Mrs.” in curly black letters. Her new husband, dressed in black, wore one that said “Mr.”

Newlyweds Vaughan Chambers and Alicia Funk put the face coverings on shortly after they exchanged vows and kissed in front of a neon-lit sign in a Las Vegas wedding chapel and posed for photos with an Elvis impersonator who officiated at their wedding.

The Chicago couple had put their wedding plans on hold in March because of the coronavirus. But when they realized it would be a long time until they could gather friends and family for a celebration, they decided to go ahead and get married. 

In early May, they invited a handful of close friends who live near Las Vegas _ the self-proclaimed “Wedding Capital of the World” _  and bought cheeky face masks for the nuptials. 

“It’s really nice to have something good in the middle of all of this bad," Funk said.

For couples getting married in Sin City’s famous chapels, the vows they make to love each other “in sickness and in health”  take on fresh meaning in the time of the coronavirus.

Michael Ramirez, left, and Andrea Ramirez walk on the sidewalk after their wedding at A Little White Wedding Chapel, May 15, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Brides and grooms sanitize their hands and get their temperature checked before walking down the aisle. Guests are rare and typically don face masks. And drive-thru weddings are more popular than ever. 

The few guests who can attend ceremonies keep their distance. Other loved ones who can’t attend sometimes watch the proceedings from afar, via videoconferencing.  

Funk and Chambers are among more than 1,500 couples who have been issued marriage licenses in Las Vegas since the county clerk’s office reopened on April 27 after closing for nearly six weeks to slow the spread of the virus. 

“We’re seeing a lot of the kind of traditional, old school elopements with just the couple,” said Melody Williams, executive director of chapel operator Vegas Weddings. “They’ll get back to their big to-do at a later time.

LaTahja Frazier, left, and Laborskie Frazier pose for their wedding photographer after getting married at The Little Neon Chapel, May 10, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

With new safety protocols calling for masks and social distancing at weddings, the clerk's office is issuing about 72 marriage licences a day _ well below the 200 typically issued every day before the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Many of those newlyweds prefer drive-thru ceremonies _ a speedier service that some Las Vegas chapels were offering long before the coronavirus emerged and businesses began moving transactions outside to keep customers safe in their cars.  

Williams said her 15-minute drive-thru service is the easiest option for couples that want to marry quickly.

"It’s contactless,” she said. “We still try to make it a nice, elegant ceremony as best we can.”

Couples can work in personalized vows or a scripture reading and get a video recording of the service, and chapel staff hand out a long-stemmed rose to the bride. 

Vaughan Chambers wears a mask after marrying Alicia Funk at A Little Wedding Chapel, May 12, 2020, in Las Vegas. The couple, from Chicago, originally planned to get married in April, but disruptions from the coronavirus caused them to move the wedding to May with only a few guests. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Many couples have been scrambling to find rental gowns or tuxedos because the clothes they initially planned to wear may have been stuck in transit or at a shuttered alterations shop.

That's what happened to Jennifer Escobar and Luz Sigman of San Francisco, who decided to pick replacement wedding outfits from their closets. 

They initially planned to marry on May 8 _ a date they had engraved on their wedding bands and hoped to keep. But when they couldn't find a county clerk's office closer to the Bay Area that would issue a wedding license, they decided to make the 11-hour drive to Las Vegas to get hitched. 

Escobar’s sister and niece who live in Las Vegas joined them for the impromptu ceremony, wearing face masks as they watched the special moment. 

“Everything got canceled but at least we still got to do this,” Escobar said, referring to the many virus-related shutdowns.

Escobar said she and her new wife hope to have a reception in October with more family and friends. They're considering making it a masquerade party.

“People could still wear masks,” she joked.

Kristin de Cuba, right, kisses her new husband Dieter de Cuba after their wedding, May 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. "We're trying to adapt with everything going on," said Dieter de Cuba after the two had to change their wedding plans due to the coronavirus. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Haillie Bernal holds flowers while walking with Angel Martinez after getting married at Vegas Weddings, May 8, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Andrea Ramirez takes a picture while visiting the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign along the Strip after marrying Michael Ramirez, May 15, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Owner Charolette Richards, left, watches as Elvis impersonator Michael Conti waits before performing a wedding at A Little White Wedding Chapel, May 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kristin de Cuba blows a kiss to family remotely watching her wedding to Dieter de Cuba at A Little White Wedding Chapel, May 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. The two originally planned to marry in Amsterdam, but closures due to the coronavirus forced them to change to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Cynthia Sanchez takes video and pictures as her sister Jennifer Escobar, right, and Luz Sigman kissing during their wedding ceremony at Vegas Weddings, May 8, 2020, in Las Vegas. The couple, from San Francisco, couldn't find a county clerk's office that would issue a wedding license closer to the Bay Area so they decided to make the 11-hour drive to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Madison Thomas waits in a chapel before getting married to Seth Thomas at the Graceland Wedding Chapel, May 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. "Neither of us thought we would get married in Las Vegas," said Madison Thomas. The two kept their original wedding date but because of restrictions due to the coronavirus changed from a wedding with friends and family in Nashville, Tenn., to one with just them and an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Madison Thomas, left, and Seth Thomas both wipe away tears after their wedding at the Graceland Wedding Chapel, May 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kerri Sims, left, and Christopher McCall of Las Vegas lean in to kiss each other while wearing masks at their drive-thru wedding at A Little White Wedding Chapel, May 15, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kerri Sims, left, and Christopher McCall of Las Vegas lean in to kiss each other while wearing masks at their drive-thru wedding at A Little White Wedding Chapel, May 15, 2020, in Las Vegas. "This is definitely not how we planned to get married, but what can you do?" said Sims. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Michael Ramirez, left, and Andrea Ramirez kiss at their wedding at A Little White Wedding Chapel, May 15, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

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Text from AP News story Using face masks and sanitizer, couples say ‘I do’ in Vegas by John Locher.

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Photos by John Locher.

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Photos by John Locher