Clark County Clerk, Vegas Wedding Chamber Announce Winners Of “Vegas Marries The Military” Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Daniel and Nissa, Participating in Couple in Vegas Marries the Military 2026.
 (Photo courtesy of Vegas Wedding Chamber)
CLARK COUNTY CLERK, VEGAS WEDDING CHAMBER ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF “VEGAS MARRIES THE MILITARY” CONTEST
Giant Act of Love, Appreciation to Provide Free Wedding Ceremonies, Reception to Deserving Military Personnel Tuesday, Nov. 10
Click Here for Downloadable Photos, Video

LAS VEGAS (October 2026) – The Clark County Clerk and the Vegas Wedding Chamber announce the official winners of “Vegas Marries the Military,” an annual community initiative offering free weddings and vow renewals to U.S. military personnel and veterans. Taking place on Tuesday, Nov. 10 in recognition of Veterans Day, the notable celebration will welcome couples from across the nation to The Wedding Capital of the World.
After submitting their photos, love stories and details of their service, six couples were carefully selected by the Vegas Wedding Chamber to represent various branches of the armed forces. This year’s winners include the contest’s first same-sex couple, a sergeant who helped save six lives during the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas, a couple who married by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic and more. Representing the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, the six couples include active-duty service members, veterans and reservists from Las Vegas, Alaska, the East Coast and Southern California, including a Marine family relocating from Japan.
Adding another meaningful element to this year’s celebration, four of the six ceremonies will feature a distinctive “Couples Marrying Couples” concept, with married officiant couples performing the weddings and vow renewals. The unique arrangement brings together couples celebrating their own enduring relationships with married officiants who share in the joy of helping others mark meaningful milestones in their love stories.
Chloe Hegner and Kiara Cantlin, two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers from the Virginia and Maryland area, will exchange wedding vows, while the other five couples will renew theirs. Marking another milestone for the annual initiative, Chloe and Kiara will also become the first same-sex couple to wed through “Vegas Marries the Military.” Their love story began in an unlikely setting: a haunted attraction in Maryland. Since then, their relationship has grown through the demands of military life, including Kiara’s basic training, with the two supporting one another through the challenges of active-duty service. The couple will wed at Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel at Vegas Weddings.

Couples celebrating their partnership and renewing their vows in Las Vegas will include:

• Markos and Miranda Mendoza of Las Vegas, Nevada, met while attending military culinary school and have since built a life together with their four daughters. Markos is an active-duty U.S. Army first sergeant, while Miranda is an Army veteran. During the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas, Markos left his civilian job to assist victims, ultimately helping save six lives. His actions earned him an Army Commendation Medal for heroism. The hometown couple will renew their vows at Little Church of the West.
• Mary “Mare” and Jules Russell of Anchorage, Alaska, married by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic while living in different states. Jules, an active-duty U.S. Army staff sergeant, and Mare have spent nearly a decade together and are raising six children. After missing out on a traditional wedding ceremony, the couple will finally have the celebration they have waited years to experience. Mare will also have the opportunity to wear the Vera Wang wedding dress she has saved for seven years when they renew their vows at The Grove in northwest Las Vegas.
• Dawson and Heather Castle of Las Vegas, Nevada, married during the COVID-19 pandemic without family and friends present. Dawson is a U.S. Air Force veteran and current reservist, while Heather previously worked as a deputy clerk at the Clark County Marriage Bureau, helping other couples navigate the marriage process. Six years after their original ceremony, Heather will finally have the opportunity to experience her own Las Vegas wedding celebration surrounded by loved ones. The couple will renew their vows at The Wedding Chapel at Vegas Weddings.
• Raul and Jamie Gonzalez of San Diego, California, met in 2009 while both serving on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. Jamie served more than 10 years, reaching the rank of E-6/Yeoman, while Raul is a Chief Warrant Officer 2 now in his 29th year of service. Married in 2014, the couple has nearly four decades of combined military service and is raising three children. They will renew their vows at The Copa Events Center at the Bootlegger Italian Bistro, celebrating their enduring marriage and shared commitment to serving their country.
• Daniel and Nissaguillen “Nissa” Rodriguez, high school sweethearts who have been married for more than 20 years, are preparing for a new chapter in Southern California. Daniel, a U.S. Marine Corps master sergeant with 21 years of service, and Nissa have built a life together that has taken their family around the world, most recently to Iwakuni, Japan. This October, the family is relocating to the Camp Pendleton area in Oceanside, California, for Daniel’s new assignment. After more than two decades of marriage, the couple will finally experience the wedding ceremony they never had with a vow renewal at Signature Event Center in Henderson, Nevada.

Following their ceremonies, these couples, along with their closest family and friends, will come together for a joyous reception at the Vegas Event Center, complete with a buffet dinner, wedding cake, DJ, photographer, videographer and custom decor. The reception will also feature special tributes from notable Nevadans such as Lynn Marie Goya, Clark County Clerk, and other community leaders and dignitaries.  

“Each of these couples has a remarkable story shaped by love, commitment, sacrifice and service,” said Goya. “‘Vegas Marries the Military’ is our community’s way of offering something meaningful back to those who have given so much. It is a powerful reflection of the wedding industry coming together to give these couples the celebrations and memories they deserve.”

The Vegas Wedding Chamber is also seeking additional wedding and hospitality professionals to donate their time, talent and services in support of this year’s celebration. By contributing to “Vegas Marries the Military,” local businesses help create once-in-a-lifetime wedding experiences while demonstrating the generosity and community spirit that make Southern Nevada the Wedding Capital of the World. Vendors may also apply to donate their goods and services here.

ABOUT THE VEGAS WEDDING CHAMBER
As the only 501(c)(6) chamber of commerce in the world solely dedicated to the wedding industry, the Vegas Wedding Chamber stands as a beacon in the wedding industry, promoting the growth and success of Las Vegas as the world’s leading wedding destination. Their commitment to community service and giving back is showcased through initiatives such as “Vegas Marries the Military.”

ABOUT THE OFFICE OF THE CLARK COUNTY CLERK
The Honorable Lynn Marie Goya runs the Office of the Clark County Clerk that has won numerous local, national and international accolades that highlight Goya’s commitment to good government, including garnering awards for innovation, saving tax dollars, environmental stewardship, constituent outreach, efficiency and the transformation of the “Vegas wedding” brand from “The Hangover” to one of fun, stress-free excitement. The office is also responsible for numerous other government services, including passport acceptance, lobbyist registration, fictitious firm name certificates and maintaining the permanent records for the Clark County Commission Boards. For more information on the Office of the Clark County Clerk, visit clarkcountynv.gov.

ABOUT THE WEDDING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD™
For over a century, a “Vegas wedding” has captured public imagination as the ultimate stress-free, fun, glamorous and romantic wedding, whether it is a spur-of-the-moment occasion or an elaborately planned extravaganza for 600 guests. Offering weddings for every budget—including elopements at iconic Las Vegas chapels, elaborate nuptial celebrations at the Strip’s most elegant resorts and everything in between—the destination delivers dream weddings of every description for every budget. The Clark County Marriage License Bureau, overseen by the Honorable Lynn Marie Goya, issued more than 70,000 marriage licenses in 2025, adding to its reputation as a world-recognized premier wedding destination. Marriages are tracked in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that compiles an annual Marriage Rate by State, calculating the number of marriages per thousand population. With more than 5 million weddings and counting, Nevada’s marriage rate is 24.6 as opposed to the national marriage rate of 6.1 per thousand; Hawaii’s rate is 12.5 per thousand and Florida’s 7.0 per thousand. Internationally, marriage rates for countries typically range from 5 to 10 per thousand population. But it isn’t just the numbers. Once known as the “Niagara Falls of the West” with the famous Las Vegas Strip called “Honeymoon Highway,” on Sept. 23, 1953, the London Daily Herald first called Las Vegas the “Wedding Capital of the World.” For more information about the Wedding Capital of the World™ or the Office of the Clark County Clerk, Nevada, visit weddings.vegas. 

MEDIA CONTACTS
Desiree Vontur, Erika Pope
The Vox Agency
desiree@thevoxagency.com, erika@thevoxagency.com
(702) 569-0616, (702) 249-2977

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