Episode 7: Burning Man to Vegas

You have to hand it to Las Vegas: over decades, it has established itself as an adult playground where virtually anything goes. If you want the chance to revel in excess and not feel like you have to make any excuses for your choices or behavior, Vegas is the place. Sure, the shops and shows and spectacle and helicopter rides and Hoover Dam lend the city a patina of respectability, but everyone knows its pure decadence is really the draw. 

For people who think Las Vegas has too many rules that get in the way of the good time they really want to have, Burning Man is a quantum leap forward. Founded in 1986 as an annual weeklong gathering that celebrates radical self-expression (among other principles), Burning Man has more than doubled in size over the past 15 years. Each August, an entire city is created in the desert, with art installations and attractions. The week culminates in the immolation of a wooden structure—the Man. An unadulterated feast for the senses fueled by lots of people living in the moment in every way imaginable, the fun you can have is limited only by your ability to withstand the pace for seven days amid dust storms. 

For debauchery, it would be difficult to top these two destinations. So why not plan a wedding in Las Vegas to cap off the week? For Bren and Sally, who hail from Dublin and Leeds, respectively, the whole endeavor gave them a window into a side of America most of us haven’t experienced—and provides us an indelible tale that careens from hope and anticipation to despair before a superhero named Dale saves the day.