WED THE HELL?
‘The bride & groom are cheapskates’ people say after guests are charged £260 to attend their ‘bling’ wedding
Out of the 350 guests who had been invited only 60 showed up
WHEN planning a wedding the expenses can rack up pretty quickly - which is why one couple decided to charge their guests for attending the big day.
The pair, from the US, were looking to tie the knot in New York City, where the venues typically come with a hefty price tag.
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The couple, Nova and Reemo Styles, soon realised they'd need to fork out at least an eye-watering $150,000 - or close to £120,000 - for the venue alone.
Considering the bride and the groom were already planning a rather pricey 12-hour bash for a staggering 350 guests, this was an issue, .
But instead of giving up on their dream of a stunning venue for the romantic ceremony, the couple came up with a solution - selling tickets to the invited guests.
A single ticket would set you back $333 (£260) - however, the bizarre move didn't prove to be a major hit amongst friends and family.
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Out of those who'd received the invitation, a whopping 80 per cent decided to decline it, leaving the bride and the groom with a mere 60 of their total 350 invited guests showing up.
If you were amongst those who'd paid, you got a seat at the pair's nuptials which was held at St Patrick's Cathedral, as well as a spot on their double-decker party bus that took everyone on a tour around the city and its landmarks, such as The Edge at Hudson Yards, for snaps, and got to indulge in a posh steak and lobster dinner at the reception, held at One World Trade Center.
The tickets saved the newlyweds an astronomical $70,000 (£55,000), which has gone towards starting a family, with a possibility of launching a foundation for couples undergoing IVF later down the line.
All chuffed with their wedding - and savings - the couple gave a glimpse into their big day on TikTok, asking in the caption: "Did we really sell tickets to our wedding!?"
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shows clips from the big occasion, including the cathedral ceremony and the double-decker party drive, where outfits consisted of bright neon hues and luxe garments.
But whilst the two may have been happy and will not forget their ceremony, social media users were left divided by their decision to charge guests.
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One person was stunned, writing: "What a joke! These people are cheapskates!
''They want the bling, but are too cheap to pay for it.
''They expect their friends to pay for their wedding! I would sever my friendship with anyone who tried this!"
Another chimed in: "Only 60 guests out of 350. That says a lot.
''I would be totally offended being asked to spend $333 per guest. If you can't afford it don't do it."
Why it’s time to ditch wedding favours once and for all
By Josie Griffiths, Deputy Digital Fabulous Editor and bride-to-be
Josie Griffiths said: When was the last time you spotted something in a shop window or browsed past it online and thought “that would be the perfect gift for 120 of my closest friends, work colleagues, relatives and boyfriend’s mate’s partners I barely know”?
I’ll tell you when, never, because there is NO universal gift everyone is going to love - unless you want to bankrupt yourself buying Rolexes and Tiffany jewellery, and even then they wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste.
So why do brides still pile the stress (and expense) of wedding favours on top of everything else we have to organise?
I’ve been to dozens of weddings over the past five years so when I got engaged, I already had a mental list of dos and don’ts for my own big day, and ditching wedding favours was firmly on it.
The cost of buying an individual present for everyone coming is huge, meaning many couples try and keep it in the under-a-fiver category.
But the reality is no-one wants a cheap, ill-thought-out keepsake - they’d probably rather one more free drink from the bar.
It’s not only that, wedding handbags are notoriously small, with no room to stuff an unexpected gift in, and catering waiters have a bad habit of whisking away the wedding favours when they’re clearing the coffee mug off the tables.
I bet none of my guests will even notice the lack of random gift on their dining table.
If you really hate the idea of not buying something for your guests, charity donations are always a nice gesture.
But the last thing your friends and family need is more random tat cluttering up their homes - so it’s time to save them the guilt of binning your Etsy-bought keyring.
However, some people appeared to be on the couple's side.
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"That's actually quite smart. Those that mattered didn't mind paying to celebrate," a fan wrote.
"Love you all have your own style," a viewer penned.
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