A 1920s Speakeasy Gown Is Hanging in the Airport Right Now, and It Is Basically an Invitation to Enter Your Own Vegas Wedding Dress

The 2025 Vegas Wedding Dress of the Year is on display at Harry Reid International Airport all through 2026, and the contest for next year's winner is already open. Here is how the whole thing works and why it is worth entering.

A Real Wedding Gown Is Living in the Airport Right Now

If you have walked through Terminal 1's second level at Harry Reid International Airport recently, you may have noticed a glass case near the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum holding a strikingly detailed, heavily beaded gown. That is Stephanie Bashall's 2025 Vegas Wedding Dress of the Year winner, a 1920s-inspired Reem Acra piece she wore when she married Britt Chandler Johnson on October 26, 2025. The dress stays on view through the rest of 2026, giving travelers passing through one of the country's busiest airports an unexpected look at what a real Las Vegas wedding gown looks like up close.

Bashall's own path to the dress is part of what makes it a good story. She found the gown second hand at Glamour Closet in Beverly Hills rather than buying new, then paired it with a pair of rhinestone-encrusted heels featuring bright blue soles from Betsey Johnson. She and Johnson, who met years earlier as background actors on HBO's Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire, leaned all the way into that theme with a speakeasy-style ceremony at The Mob Museum downtown.

How the Wedding Capital of the World and Vegas Wedding Chamber Pick a Winner

This is now the second year running for the Vegas Wedding Dress of the Year, organized jointly by Clark County's Wedding Capital of the World program and the Vegas Wedding Chamber. A selection committee made up of county officials and wedding industry panelists reviews each entry on three things, the dress itself, the story behind the couple, and the wedding's location, before choosing a winner.

That mix of criteria is why the winning gown is rarely just the most expensive or elaborate option submitted. Bashall's own description of her choice, that a bride should look for a dress that fits her rather than trying to fit a dress, seems to capture what the committee is actually looking for, a gown that says something true about the couple wearing it.

Here Is How to Enter the 2026 Contest

Submissions for the 2026 Vegas Wedding Dress of the Year are open now through JotForm on the @vegasweddingcapital Instagram page. To qualify, a couple's wedding needs to have taken place in Clark County sometime between January 1 and December 31, 2026, and the entry has to include the bride's full ensemble as actually worn on the wedding day, not a studio shot or a rented sample.

Entrants submit a photo, the bride's Instagram handle, the wedding date and location, and two short write-ups, one telling the wedding story and one explaining how the dress was chosen. Everything needs to stay family friendly, since entries containing vulgarity, nudity or profanity are automatically rejected. The submission window closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, January 3, 2027.

• Wedding must take place in Clark County between January 1 and December 31, 2026
• Entry requires a photo of the full bridal ensemble as worn on the wedding day
• Two 300-word write-ups needed, one on the wedding story and one on the dress choice
• Submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, January 3, 2027

What the Winner Actually Gets

The prize is not cash, it is something arguably more memorable for a Las Vegas bride, a spot in the airport display alongside Bashall's dress. Whoever wins the 2026 contest will be notified by Friday, January 8, 2027, and needs to get the gown delivered to the Clark County Government Center at 500 South Grand Central Parkway by Monday, February 1, 2027. From there it goes on display at Harry Reid International Airport for a full year.

For couples who do not live in Nevada, and plenty of Vegas wedding couples do not, Clark County covers the shipping and insurance costs of getting the dress to the Government Center and back. That detail matters given how much of Las Vegas's wedding business comes from out of town, and it removes one of the more obvious reasons an out-of-state winner might otherwise pass on the honor.

Getting Married in Vegas This Year? Keep This in Your Back Pocket

Whether or not you ever plan to enter a dress into a county contest, Bashall's story is a nice reminder of what makes a Las Vegas wedding gown memorable in the first place, a dress with a real story behind it, worn by a couple who built a day around who they actually are rather than a generic checklist. A secondhand gown and a pair of bold heels turned out to be exactly enough.

If you are planning a wedding in Clark County this year, this contest is a fun bonus to keep in mind once the big day is behind you, and it is exactly the kind of detail we love helping our couples think through as part of planning a Las Vegas wedding that feels like theirs. Come talk to us about your own day, dress and all, and let us help you plan a wedding worth remembering.

What to Know Before Entering the Vegas Wedding Dress of the Year

Thinking about submitting your own gown once the wedding is over? Here is what actually matters to the selection committee.

1. The wedding has to happen in Clark County: Only weddings that take place in Clark County between January 1 and December 31, 2026 are eligible for this year's contest.
2. Submit the dress as actually worn: The full ensemble, including accessories, needs to reflect exactly what the bride wore on the wedding day itself.
3. The story matters as much as the dress: The selection committee weighs the couple's story and wedding location alongside the gown itself, not just how elaborate it looks.
4. Keep it family friendly: Entries with vulgarity, nudity or profanity are automatically disqualified, since the winning dress ends up on public display at an airport.
5. Mark the January 3, 2027 deadline: Submissions close at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on that date, so do not wait until the last week of December to start writing your entry.
6. Shipping is covered if you live out of state: Clark County pays for shipping and insurance for winners who do not live in Nevada, removing a common reason to skip entering.

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