Las Vegas Weekly

August 26, 2010 · 10:28 AM

Photos: First wedding at Tournament of Kings is a VDLX family affair

By Robin Leach

A Tournament of Kings wedding ceremony at King Arthur's Arena in Excalibur.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

The first marriage ceremony ever held at the Tournament of Kings arena at Excalibur was a real storybook wedding, and Vegas DeLuxe had the full inside story of the unique nuptials because it involved our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue.

One month ago, Tom received a phone call from his son John Roberts in New York saying that his lady in waiting Kysa had agreed to elope in Las Vegas. They asked Tom if he could plan something very unique but still very Las Vegas.

Tom told me: “Whatever I can come up with?! The Nikon wheels in my head started turning. Soon, with the aid of milady Betty, my better half, I had something special in the works. But it took a Round Table of thanks to Luxor and Excalibur executives Felix Rappaport, Jean George, Jill Breslaw and Ivan Caulier to pull off the challenge.”

Kysa, John and their lords and ladies who made up the wedding party of 25, had no clue about the magical event in store. They expected only the dinner show watching Tournament of Kings and then the drive to a downtown chapel to get hitched.

Tom continued his story: “As that amazing show came to a close, some in the group began to suspect that I had some Tom-foolery afoot. I cajoled them all first to go out onto the now-deserted arena for some fun group photos with John and Kysa standing atop the Round Table.

“Suddenly trumpets blared, lights flashed crazily, and the gate to the castle flew open and out paraded four horsemen, plus Merlin, The King, the Jester and the Minister disguised as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Nobody knew what was happening, and the magic from Storybook land had started. The John and Kysa Tournament of Kings wedding ceremony was underway.”

After the ceremony shown here in this glorious and exclusive photo gallery ended, Luxor executive pastry chef Derek Franceshini wheeled out the wedding cake.

“It was not only the most memorable of weddings ever, but it also was an only-in-Las Vegas night,” Tom summed up.

Excalibur executives and Tournament of Kings producers were so thrilled at how it all worked out that they now plan to offer the unique wedding as an attraction for visitors to start their new life of happiness.

Editor’s note: We had planned to post Tom’s amazing photo gallery of his helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon, but because our fearless photog shot an incredible 2,500 images, it’s going to take a few days to edit them down to the best 50. Keep a close watch on Vegas DeLuxe next week for the Grand Canyon collection, as it’s the first time that the American Indians permitted the flight over their sacred grounds for photographs.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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