Traditionally the bride and groom’s parents would finance their nuptials. Whilst times have changed and most couples foot their own bill, there’s a new way to pay that’s becoming more popular.
According to a Hitched survey, 7% of UK couples would consider charging their wedding guests to attend their big day. This poll was hypothetical, yet asking guests to pay their own way is a trend that’s rising. It may already be common practice in the US and Europe, but the average couple’s quest to achieve wedding day bliss without the financial hangover is making headlines.
In recent years, stories of marrying couples who have dared to send the bill to their guests have been national news, and people have been outraged by them. The question is – would you charge your wedding guests? If your answer is “yes”, here’s some innovative ways to ask for funding without offending attending family and friends.
Make it a ticketed event
A wedding is the ultimate event not just for the bride and groom getting married, but the friends and family that have watched their journey so far. Like any event, weddings incur costs. One cash-strapped couple passed these expenses onto their guests by selling tickets for their wedding. Groom Ben Farina explains more about the thinking behind his and then fiancée Clare’s ‘business’ model:
“People always pay a large amount of money to go to a wedding anyway, so why not have it paying towards the actual wedding rather than just to a business owner? I sold it to them a bit like an all-inclusive holiday, so all the food and drinks will be incorporated in that cost.”
Ben and Clare’s story may have shocked many readers, but it wasn’t met by outrage by their guests. All 80 of the guests invited paid up the £150 per adult or £50 per child to attend, meaning the couple had their dream wedding minus the debt.
Crowdfund your big day
Crowdfunding is used to finance a vast range of (sometimes ridiculous) business ventures, so why shouldn’t the same system be used to finance your wedding day? It’s a theory that’s already been put to the test, with one couple setting up a GoFundMe page to raise £6,000 for their dream destination wedding.
Crowdfunding proved to be less successful than selling tickets as despite the publicity their story enjoyed by going viral, the couple’s page only managed to raise a paltry £55. Their crowdfunding efforts attracted many critics who asked why strangers should foot the bill for the couple’s wedding day. The page was removed from the crowdfunding website just four days later.
Request cash gifts
A more common, and perhaps less offensive, way to obtain a helping hand from guests is to ask for cash gifts instead of traditional wedding presents. Most couples live together for many years before tying the knot, which means they’ve already acquired the classic homeware and appliances that were given as gifts by the wedding guests of yesteryear. With this in mind, cash is a wonderful gift idea.
The cash given to you by guests can be used to recoup some of the money you spent executing your dream wedding day. Alternatively, that cash could come in handy when planning your perfect honeymoon.
