Wedding chapel opening at the Container Park in Las Vegas

Most of downtown Las Vegas' famed wedding chapels are clustered around the Regional Justice Center or along Las Vegas Boulevard.

But Henry and Rachel Sneed, owners of Lucky Little Chapel, are trying something new in a competitive industry amid a drop in the number of marriage licenses in Clark County.

The couple is opening a second Lucky Little Chapel in Downtown Container Park on East Fremont Street on New Year's Eve. In March, the Sneeds opened their first chapel about a five-minute car ride away at 321 S. Casino Center Blvd.

Rachel Sneed said she wanted to open a second chapel at Container Park after visiting there during the summer and "loved the vibe" of the 707 Fremont St. outdoor retail hub built by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project, a $350 million redevelopment initiative for the East Fremont corridor.

The Sneeds have invested $20,000-$30,000 to launch their Container Park site on the third floor, where they rent a 350-square-foot chapel with capacity for 35-40 guests and adorned with a chandelier, stone wall and bamboo chairs. The business also includes a 270-square-foot check-in retail space where people can rent wedding dresses and suits and buy rings.

Two-year-old Container Park has 38 tenants, which are mostly small retailers, restaurants and bars housed in repurposed shipping containers. The small businesses come and go on the top level where the Sneeds are opening their chapel, but they are marketing the cozy wedding ceremony nook as a destination.

"We're not dependent solely on retail foot traffic," Rachel Sneed said. She noted many bookings will be made online.

Lucky Little Chapel charges $250-$1,000 depending on the package deal. The Sneeds started with about 40 weddings in March and did 260 in November. They do not have financial projections for the Container Park site. They do renewal ceremonies, too.

The Sneeds also work as associate pastors for The Church LV, a contemporary nondenominational church in Henderson. The couple gives 10 percent of their wedding chapel revenues to local charities.

The Sneeds have worked for one of Las Vegas' most well-known chapel owners, Charlotte Richards, who owns Little White Wedding Chapel. Richards owned as many as five chapels in Las Vegas at one time and estimated there are at least 30 chapels competing in the downtown nuptials business.

Richards said Container Park is an unusual place for a chapel and wished the couple luck, though she would have advised against using "Lucky" in their chapel's name.

"Whatever they do, I hope they do it well," Richards said. "Everything they know, I taught them."

Henry Sneed said "Lucky" taps into Las Vegas' gambling reputation and said they have not received any negative comments about the "Lucky" term.

Rachel Sneed said she was not aware of other wedding chapels in the immediate Container Park neighborhood and hopes her wedding chapel can cross-promote with other Container Park businesses such as the restaurants and bars.

"I hope our presence will help everyone here," Rachel Sneed said. "The first thing people say after they get married is, 'Let's go celebrate.' "

Denny's restaurant at the Fremont Street Experience opened a wedding chapel in April 2013. But most are strung along Las Vegas Boulevard to the south or in the courthouse area.

The wedding chapel competition is stiff in Las Vegas because the number of couples getting married in Clark County is dropping. The county issued nearly 130,000 marriage licenses in 2004, compared to nearly 81,000 in 2014. For 2015, there have been 75,239 marriage licenses through November.

Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com Find on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel