March 12-18 is Milwaukee in Las Vegas Week on OnMilwaukee.com. Last month, Funjet Vacations sent our editorial team to Vegas, where we sought out connections between Brew City and Sin City. These are our stories…

Not every couple dreams of having a typical church wedding or the classic reception featuring the Chicken Dance, spoons clinking water glasses and a tipsy maid of honor toasting the smooched-out newlyweds. Instead, thousands of lovebirds -- approximately 130,000 couples every year -- choose the slightly more alternative route and express their undying love in the heart of Sin City.

Vegas is one of the easiest places in the world to get hitched. For only $55 (the cost of the marriage license), a couple can legally tie the knot, and neither a blood test nor a waiting period is required. The law insists that a witness is present, but most chapels can provide one if the couple is alone.

Plus, for an added fee, the betrothed can wed in a variety of breathtaking, fun or kitschy settings without leaving The Strip, such as at the "Eiffel Tower," in a "Venetian" gondola, on a pirate ship, by the cast of Star Trek or in the presence of The King, himself.

When Milwaukeeans Lindsey Baldewicz and Chris Pretti decided to get married a few years ago, Vegas was the ideal locale.

"We're not the traditional type, so we needed something unusual, out-of-the-ordinary, funky, and fun," says Baldewicz. "Vegas appealed to us because it seemed easy enough to plan -- no months of planning hell; no arguing with family about how to do things."
 
The couple, who met 18 years ago at the Locust Street Festival, chose the "Pink Cadillac Package" at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, 1205 Las Vegas Boulevard South.

Instead of walking down the aisle, "Elvis" drove them to the altar in a pink, convertible Caddy.

"We try to kick it old school, so when we think of Vegas, of course we think of Elvis," says Baldewicz.

Viva Las Vegas offers a variety of themed wedding packages. Baldewicz says the couple that got married right after them had a disco theme with "John Travolta ala 'Saturday Night Fever'" presiding. Someday, Baldewicz and Pretti hope to return to Vegas to renew their vows with a "Hawaiian Elvis."

Like many Vegas weddings, The Baldewicz/Pretti wedding was broadcast live on the Internet, and was on the Viva Las Vegas Web site for three months following the event.

"I cannot tell you what an absolute blast we had," says Baldewicz.

Renee and Joe Vizi, also from Milwaukee, chose a royal theme for their Vegas wedding, which took place 10 years ago at the medieval-themed Excalibur, 3850 Las Vegas Boulevard South.

"We dressed in the costumes they provided as king and queen," she says.

The couple chose Vegas because Renee had been married before, and she wanted her husband-to-be to indulge in the wedding he wanted. It was also a way to gently avoid non-supportive family members who thought Joe was too old for Renee. (He is 10 years her senior.)

The lucky-in-love couple also got lucky at the casino, winning about $800 during their weekend wedding visit to Vegas. Now with three boys ranging in age from 7 to 10 years old, the Vizis hope to return to Las Vegas to renew their vows someday.

"We are planning on going back there to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. We just have to find the right time with the boys' school schedule," she says. "Vegas is a fun place to go to and they make it very simple to plan a wedding, vow renewal, or quick get-away vacation."

After five years of dating, Steve Kolb and Kristen Wotruba-Kolb got married at the Mandalay Bay Chapel, 3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South.

"We chose Mandalay Bay because the wedding chapel was in a secluded, private area and because it was beautiful," says Wotruba-Kolb.

The couple originally chose Vegas to be the setting for their wedding ceremony because they wanted something small and intimate. The couples' parents, siblings and a couple of close friends attended the wedding, and the Riverwest couple had a reception party the following month in Green Bay to celebrate with the rest of their friends and family.

Wotruba-Kolb says they also picked Las Vegas because neither of them felt comfortable getting married in a church.

"I have not found a church that is in sync with my beliefs. Too many churches are more in the business of condemning people and practices that they do not agree with," she says.

After the wedding, which Wotruba-Kolb describes as "very beautiful and elegant," the couple -- which now has a 3-year-old daughter -- saw The Blue Man Group. They stayed in Vegas a total of five days, and say it was a fabulous experience.

"I'm happy with our choice and I have absolutely no regrets about our wedding," says Wotruba-Kolb.