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- In an effort to minimise wedding costs, one couple enlisted the help of their friends and family members.
- The couple spent $600 (R10 318) on their wedding which was attended by 25 guests.
- The bride thrifted her wedding gown for $50 (R859) and asked the bridal party to buy their own outfits.
Due to the rising cost of weddings, couples are trying to find alternative ways to minimise costs. From having a fake wedding cake where sheet cake is served to guests, to having a 'Just Us' wedding, where the bride and groom are the only ones present at the wedding ceremony, couples are finding ways to save some money.
With so much to consider, like décor, photography, entertainment and food, one couple decided to cut costs by asking their friends and guests to help out with the wedding instead of giving gifts.
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North Carolina, US, bride Shelby Phelps (26) tied the knot with her husband Garret Rigby on 11 October 2019, on a mountain in Bryson City.
Determined to have a budget-friendly wedding, the bride thrifted her wedding gown for $50 (R859) from a second hand marketplace. The wedding had a total of 25 guests and the couple spent $600 (R10 318) as they asked their friends and community for assistance with some of the wedding items.
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"We live in a community... and told people we didn't want gifts but if they wanted to show their talent they could take pictures, bake a cake and create the food. One of our friends took the pictures, one made a wedding video, and another friend is insanely good at baking so she made our cake. Anything that was decorated we used wildflowers we found," the bride told Mirror UK.
However, it doesn't end there, the couple asked the bridesmaids and groomsmen to buy their own wedding outfits. However, reducing costs didn't prevent them from enjoying themselves.
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"Everyone had a good time - we didn't need to spend thousands for it to be perfect. It was like God gifted us the most beautiful day humanly possible. There were butterflies everywhere - it was like a dream. Our ceremony took five minutes," they shared.
The couple who met on Tinder in 2017, say their wedding celebration ended up having more guests than they invited because of the location - a common hiking trail. "We ended up having a bonfire celebration and since it was a common trail, we had random hikers coming through and hanging out with us - we danced until dark," they shared.
