Dee Dee Duffy, owner of historic Graceland Wedding Chapel
Editor’s Note: After a glorious nearly month-long family vacation in the Italian and Sicilian countryside, Robin Leach is back and resuming his new daily columns today with the celebrity spotlight focused on super-sexy blonde bombshell Charlotte McKinney’s weekend 23rd birthday bash.
We’ll continue guest columnists in August while Robin works from the cooler climes of La Jolla near San Diego in advance of our newly designed website launching soon.
Last week, Robin exclusively reported on DOWNTON ABBEY star Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham) renewing his marriage vows at Graceland Wedding Chapel. Robin was there, too, not for marriage but to serve as best man in Fox News chief correspondent Rick Leventhal’s recent wedding to poker princes Beth Shak.
Dee Dee Duffy is owner of the chapel that’s seen many celebrity weddings and vow renewals over the more than 50 years it has stood on the same Strip spot. Here’s Dee Dee:
By Dee Dee Duffy
Who would have thought a little Kentucky girl like me would end up in Las Vegas owning her own wedding chapel? And not just any chapel, the one that “The King” Elvis Presley made famous: Graceland Wedding Chapel! I certainly didn’t think so when I first arrived here more than 20 years ago, even though owning a chapel was always my dream.
And for an Elvis fan like myself, buying Graceland Wedding Chapel was not necessarily always on my mind, but it still has me all shook up. How I happened to acquire the chapel is a really good story for a future article (hint, hint, Mr. Leach). But I truly do feel fortunate that I have chiseled a career out of this little wedding chapel dream of mine.
I often get asked if the wedding business is fun and if Las Vegas is still the Wedding Capital of the World. My answer: a resounding yes! And, thankfully, Elvis is as big today in Las Vegas as he’s ever been. You would not believe how many couples visit us each day from all over the world specifically to be married by an Elvis impersonator.
It also helps that Graceland Wedding Chapel has a large following, as well as significant name recognition, having been featured in films like FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and FOOLS RUSH IN.
Every day I walk past our wall of celebrities, the framed photos remind of all the famous couples who have wed or renewed their vows at Graceland, which include my favorite singer, Jon Bon Jovi. Feel free to stop by and take a look. And, I honestly forget they’re there, until something jogs my memory.
Imagine my recent surprise when I was flipping through the channels on television and came across a new show on CMT titled STILL THE KING featuring another love of mine, Billy Ray Cyrus – yes, Miley’s dad – playing a character named Burnin’ Vernon, a former country music star turned Elvis impersonator who on the show pretends to be a new minister in town.
It took less than a nanosecond to register that Billy Ray, a fellow Kentuckian (he’s from Flatwoods, and I’m from Pike County) came in to Graceland a little over a decade ago to renew his wedding vows with his lovely wife, Tish. Brendan Paul, co-owner and our most recognized Elvis impersonator, was part of that special renewal.
I sat there on the couch watching the episode thinking how eerily familiar it was. How Billy Ray, several years earlier, visited us and exchanged renewal vows, and now, coming full circle, he is playing an Elvis impersonator and minister on television. So I reached out to Billy Ray and asked him about his admiration for Elvis.
“For me, Elvis is beyond the music. His ability to entertain people and reinvent his creative expression is what influenced me the most.”
For all of us suspicious minds here at Graceland Wedding Chapel, we also like to believe that we also, in some small way, provided Billy Ray with at least a little inspiration for his new role. But if we didn’t, it won’t achy break our hearts.
Be sure to check out our other guest columnist today, Heather Marianna and her beauty tips to deal with the blistering summer heat and its assault on the skin. Robin also has the celebrity spotlight in focus at super-sexy blonde bombshell Charlotte McKinney’s 23rd birthday bash.
