Graceland Wedding Chapel owner’s ties to Jon Bon Jovi
When Jon Bon Jovi arrives on the Strip for Thursday’s “Power of Love Gala” to entertain Keep Memory Alive guests at the 21st annual fundraiser for The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, don’t be surprised if he takes time out to visit Graceland Wedding Chapel where he was married in 1989.
Be sure to read the special insert in today’s RJ that explains the importance of the gala, which this year also features Gwen Stefani, Steve Aoki, Andre Agassi and Siegfried Fischbacher of Siegfried & Roy.
Graceland is one of our city’s oldest marriage chapels. Jon took a secret trip to Las Vegas on April 29, 1989, while on a “New Jersey Syndicate Tour” stop in Los Angeles. The wedding to his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, helped change the life of current chapel owner Dee Dee Duffy forever.
Her story begins in a small Kentucky town. “Marrowbone Creek has a population of 217. In this small coal-mining town, no one ever leaves,” she told me. Dee Dee continued: “Growing up, MTV was my only insight as to how the real world lived.
“This is where I learned about fashion, music and big cities. And of course as a teenage girl in the ’80s, my heartthrob was none other than Jon Bon Jovi. But no musicians or bands ever came to Marrowbone Creek.
“On March 21, 1987, I saved enough money to drive three hours to Lexington to see my first concert. You guessed it: Bon Jovi! My seats were so far away from the stage that my back touched the back wall. It was the best concert of my life.
“In 1988 after a devastating personal loss, I applied for and secured a position as a flight attendant with Delta Air Lines. My life was about to change forever. Later while traveling through Atlanta International Airport with my flight crew, I passed a bar.
“In that bar, I saw the back of a man’s hair that was totally recognizable to me. I stopped immediately and knew that the man I was staring at from behind was Jon Bon Jovi. My crew laughed at me. ‘It’s just the back of a guy’s head,’ they said. But I knew. I just knew. I’d been watching that head on MTV for years.
“Risking my job, I removed my wings and uniform jacket, then carefully entered the airport bar, which was strictly prohibited, and took the seat next to him. Yes, it was my rock star, Jon Bon Jovi. I told him that I adored him (exact words), and he smiled, extended his hand and formally introduced himself.
“When I told him my name and that I was a Delta flight attendant and that I removed my wings just to enter the bar to meet him, he smiled and said, ‘That’s kinda like a priest taking off his collar.’
“He found me amusing. I stayed for just a few minutes, and before leaving, he asked if I wanted an autograph (long before cell phones and selfies). I shook my head no. I had all that I wanted: Five uninterrupted minutes with my rock star.
“Fast forward to August 1995 while visiting my fiance, Brendan Paul, a local Elvis impersonator, in Las Vegas, we were deciding what to do that day. Me being such a big fan of Jon Bon Jovi, I suggested that we go visit and tour Graceland Wedding Chapel, where Jon and his high school sweetheart wife, Dorothea, were secretly married in 1989.
“We walked into the chapel, and Brendan, looking like a young Elvis, was offered a job on the spot. He started work at Graceland Wedding Chapel immediately. On October 2002, almost seven years later, we were given the opportunity to purchase the chapel.
“We were a young married couple with two small children, and the agreed purchase price was way above our means. The previous owners believed in us and agreed to do financing for us. It’s been 15 years now, and no one has any regrets. Over the years, Jon has stopped by the chapel on several occasions, including a performance for 75 couples in the chapel’s parking lot in 2001.
“On another occasion in 2007, he was in town performing a show at MGM Grand and decided to stop by unannounced with his wife and kids to show them where they were married. He was immediately recognized and was gracious enough to pose for many photos.
“But the most interesting visit was in 2013. Jon surprised Branka Delic, a super fan from Australia who was getting married at Graceland and had conducted a social media campaign to get Jon to walk her down the aisle. Just before the wedding started, Jon walked through the doors not only surprising the bride but everyone else, as well.
“Owning Graceland Wedding Chapel is a dream come true. However, the true dream started more than 30 years ago in my living room watching MTV and longing for a life that I wasn’t even sure existed anyplace other than my imagination.
“I would love to be able to whisper into every other little girl’s heart who’s dreaming of something bigger for her life, like I did, that anything is possible. Dream big, really big, and someday your dreams may come true, too, and hopefully your rock star will be right smack dab in the center of your life just like mine.
“Thank you to my rock star, Jon Bon Jovi, for guiding me on my journey.”
