Mall of America wedding bells will soon fall silent as Chapel of Love goes dark
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For nearly 30 years brides have been walking the aisles at the Mall of America, and not just in stores. Since 1994, couples exchanged vows at the Chapel of Love, the wedding venue and a staple of mall culture.
But the chapel is set to lock its doors at the end of August. Felicia Glass-Wilcox, who bought the place from founder MaryAnne London 18 years ago, is retiring and she says that’ll be a wrap for her hitching hitch, after some 8,400 weddings.
“I’m gonna miss the people,” Glass-Wilcox said. She posted an official notice of the closing on Facebook this weekend.
“I got so many comments from people who were married here and how much they liked it. And that’s hard. Because you know, you feel like you let them down,” she reflected on the impending end of the Chapel of Love.
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Not before an appropriately momentous occasion, of course: One of her final weddings will include the offspring of a couple married at the mall in 1995.
Like the ceremonies themselves, Glass-Wilcox's relationship with the chapel is a little unconventional. She married her husband, Terry, in Las Vegas more than 20 years ago — they didn’t even know about the Mall of America chapel at the time.
But they wanted to own a business, and Glass-Wilcox said she’d done some event planning at her previous employer, an engineering firm, and the chapel seemed like a good fit.
“But it’s really not like that,” she discovered.
Make no mistake: The weddings are real occasions, with licenses and an officiant for the $149 version. A full-on ceremony with guests, consulting and champagne runs about $500, depending on the day and the extras.
“It’s usually from three to 10 a week. This week I have six,” she said.
Some are unions of people who had their first date at the mall. Others come from other states or countries and marry at the mall for the sheer novelty of it. There are also “quick before you ship out” military weddings. But she says most are planned weeks in advance, to get dresses, guests and flowers ready.
“It’s an affordable option for a lot of people,” she said.
Glass-Wilcox said her husband recently retired. They are looking forward to travel and buying a place in Florida. She thought about selling, but a deal could not guarantee a Mall of America lease and location.
“I’m not a money maker. I’m more of a service,” she said. “I didn’t know if anyone could even afford it, so I just decided to close.”
Word of the Chapel of Love’s closing has brought a flurry of interest.
“We’re picking up,” she said, as people get word that the easy matrimonial access, plentiful amenities and low, low prices will not be until-death-do-they-part, but only for a few more weeks. “I think some people are panicking ... I don’t blame them.”