13-05-2025
A Vegas-style wedding chapel is opening in Richmond
Lucky in Love, a Vegas-style wedding chapel, is opening in Richmond next month.
Why it matters: The downtown chapel will offer all-inclusive same-day weddings and elopements, plus planned micro-weddings — all for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding.
The big picture: Chapel co-owner and licensed wedding officiant Tia Ballard is on a mission to give local couples their perfect day, regardless of their budget, she tells Axios.
As a former teacher, Ballard saw firsthand how important strong families were for student success, so she decided to get ordained so she could help create them.
"I wanted to build stronger communities this way — by marrying people," she tells Axios.
That was four years ago. Since then, she's married more than 500 couples and now does it full time. Elopements are her specialty, but she's done " quickies at Common House," microweddings at local breweries and knot-tying in the woods.
Now, with Lucky in Love, she'll "have a home base" and an opportunity to give even more local couples a stress-free, budget-conscious wedding.
State of play: The team — Ballard and co-owners Savannah Manzie, a cosmetic artist, and Kasie Murphy, a wedding planner — is in the process of decking out the chapel at 402 E. Grace St. in red and pink with a vintage flair (think velvet curtains and crystal chandeliers).
Lucky in Love will only handle the ceremony portion. For any festivities involving food and beverages, they recommend walking a few doors down to Wong Gonzalez, Lillie Pearl, Julep's or Rappahannock.
Ballard says she wants to complement the existing businesses, not compete with them.
The chapel has space for around 20 guests, plus the happy couple, who just need to get their marriage license from the courthouse in advance. Lucky in Love will handle the rest.
Zoom in: Couples can choose from three packages:
The "Virginia is for Elopers," which gets you "in and out" and legally married in 30 minutes.
The second tier, "Picture Perfect Couple," includes an hour in the chapel and a photographer, with optional flower add-ons from partners Yarrow or Vogue.
And "The Jackpot" package includes everything, plus a cake from Pearl Bake Shopee and a sparkling cider toast.
By the numbers: Lucky in Love packages start at around $550 for the elopement and top out at $2,500.
That's far less than the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. this year, which, according to The Knot, is around $33,000, Axios' Sami Sparber reports — and couples are bracing for pricier weddings following President Trump's tariffs.
What they're saying: "People are caring less about tradition. [Couples today] are prioritizing home ownership over big weddings," Ballard tells Axios.
What's next: Lucky in Love will open on Friday, June 13.
