Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Are Returning to the Vegas Chapel Where They Eloped, 28 Years Later (Exclusive)

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos walk down memory lane.

Almost 28 years after they tied the knot, the couple will revisit the Chapel of the Bells, the Las Vegas wedding venue where they eloped a year after meeting on set All My Children.

Everything will happen when Living with Kelly and Mark goes to Sin City to record a week of shows.

“We’re definitely going back there,” Consuelos, 52, tells PEOPLE exclusively, calling the famed venue “a very special place” for him and his wife. “We always try to take a ride when we’re in town, but this time we’re going to take viewers inside, where it all happened.”

The parents of three — who share sons Michael, 26, Joaquin, 21, and daughter Lola, 22 — tied the knot on May 1, 1996. The wedding, including airfare, cost them $179 (thanks to the miles they accumulated).

“It was really romantic, though. It was really sweet,” says Ripa, 53. “We cherish those memories, to this day. It’s been 28 years and we can still remember every minute of that wedding. And I mean, they were really minutes. It was like two minutes!”

“We were very present,” she adds.

Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa at their wedding in 1996. Courtesy of Kelly Ripa Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Relationship Timeline

As they’ve explained in the past, Ripa and Consuelos decided to elope because they had two days off in a row — a rarity for them at the time — and knew they didn’t want to plan a big wedding. They chose Vegas because it’s the winter of ’96. was “endless”, and the weather that day in the City Hall was still “cold and miserable”.

“It was like, ‘Let’s go to Vegas and get married and it’s going to be fun,'” Ripa recalled in one episode Live in August 2022. “It’s really such an efficient way to get married. And it was fun. We said, ‘Now, this one is gambling! Soup!’ ”

The choice of the bell chapel happened on a whim, Ripa and Consuelos tell PEOPLE.

“We checked into the hotel and I remember we went through Yellow Pagesbecause they had Yellow Pages then,” Consuelos recalls. “I looked up ‘Wedding Chapels,’ and Bell Chapel had the biggest, biggest ad. It was one of the first ads and it was exactly in the right place on the page.”

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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC on April 29, 2023.

Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos spent $179 on their Las Vegas getaway in 1996 — including airfare

Consuelos was told that the Bell Chapel had two slots available that day: one at 12pm local time and one at 2pm.

“The funniest thing was… I was like, ‘Hey, which one do you want to do?’ ” Consuelos remembers. “She’s like, ‘2!’ I’m like, ‘Noon. We want noon.’ Because I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t catch a cold.”

“You didn’t make sure you didn’t catch a cold?” Ripa asks Consuelos.

“I wanted to make sure she I haven’t cooled down,” Consuelos teases him.

Ripa had another reason to wait. “I just wanted to shave my legs and maybe, I don’t know, put on mascara before I get married!” she jokes.

“‘No, let’s go now,'” Consuelos repeats. “In the next 45 minutes, we’re going to do this!” ”

Living with Kelly and Mark episodes will be taped on February 26th and 27th at the BleauLive Theater at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The hotel is known for its luxurious rooms, congress space, collection of world-class restaurants and shops, excellent swimming pools, vibrant nightlife and spa and wellness offer.

“We haven’t been to the theater yet and we can’t wait because it’s obviously beautiful and impressive, just like the hotel itself,” says Ripa. “We’re going to give our viewers a behind-the-scenes tour of the VIP suite and see what the movie stars stay there. We’re going to go to the spa. And we’re going to taste what we’re told is great food – for which, whenever they can order anything from room service and eat it in my robe, I’m a happy camper.”

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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment

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Fans looking to join the fun can visit Fontainebleaulv.me/kellyandmark for a hotel room package at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which includes a special room rate and two free tickets to the show. Fans can also get free tickets by visiting the show’s official website.

Guests include Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary School), Howie Mandel (American talent), comedian Jim Gaffigan and American Idol judge and Grammy winner Lionel Richie.

Performances for the week of performances come from Rogue, REO Speedwagon, Carrot Top and DJ Steve Aoki with rapper Lil Jon. DJ Pauly D will also perform.

Living with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays on ABC (check local listings).

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Source: HIS Education