Watch out, Las Vegas: New York City wants to become the new No. 1 place to tie the knot.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given City Hall's famously gritty marriage bureau a gleaming makeover, with fewer lines, more space to take photographs, video screens to monitor wait times and wedding chapels with gauzy curtains and walls painted in muted tones.

And in case the newlyweds-to-be forget any essentials, the space features a small shop that sells fresh flowers, disposable cameras, tissues, hairspray and sparkly fake diamond rings for $9 each.

The sleek 24,000-square-foot space officially opens Monday, replacing a grubby, cramped, poorly lit office. It is designed to put some glamour into City Hall weddings while bringing more tourism dollars to the city. "We want to be the wedding destination of the world," said Deputy Mayor Patti Harris.

Couples seeking to say their vows before the city clerk in New York will now do so in an ornate lower Manhattan building that dates to 1929 and still retains some of its original features like grandiose columns and marble floors.

The result is a gleaming ground-level space with soft lighting, cushioned seating and computerized kiosks for online application processing. There are also large restrooms with vanities and full-length mirrors, giving brides more room to primp for the big moment. Couples can also bring iPods to play their own music during ceremonies.

New York state law requires brides and grooms to wait 24 hours after getting a marriage license before they can have the ceremony.

Those from out of the country need only to have valid passports, according to the city clerk. Marriage licenses cost $35, and there is a $25 fee to hold a ceremony at the new facility, although the city says those amounts might increase.

http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/marriage_bureau.shtml
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