Advertisement

Couple charges guests $250 to attend wedding

Weddings are expensive. In fact, some estimates claim the average wedding cost in Australia is up to $65,000. So, is it all that bad to ask for a little financial input from your guests?

RELATED: Six guests wear the SAME dress to Aussie wedding
RELATED: World's most outrageous wedding cakes

One groom didn’t think so. When he realised that he was unable to afford his dream wedding with his girlfriend of six years, British man Ben Farina came up with a business model for his big day.

He asked each of his guests to contribute $250 towards the event, which will be held in June next year. This would include a three-night stay at the venue in Derbyshire as well as food and drink.

"We've told guests it costs this much if you want to come," he told the Derby Telegraph.

Ben and his fiancée Clare are charging their nearest and dearest to be part of their big day. Photo: Facebook
Ben and his fiancée Clare are charging their nearest and dearest to be part of their big day. Photo: Facebook

Calling it “an all-inclusive holiday” for the guests, Ben told the BBC that the idea had “gone down well” with all 60 adults already paying deposits to attend.

“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?” he said.

“I sold it to them a bit like an all-inclusive holiday, so all the food and drinks will be incorporated in that cost.”

“The venue also has a spa, an indoor swimming pool, a games room, it’s very close to local amenities, there’s a lake, so it is like a little holiday resort.”

Guests are paying to stay at cottages in Derbyshire. Photo: www.cottages.com
Guests are paying to stay at cottages in Derbyshire. Photo: www.cottages.com

He came up with the idea after realising that guests would normally pay around $250 to attend a wedding anyway.

His business model has managed to cover the majority of the wedding costs with the 60 adult guests contributing $15,100 in total and the 20 children (whose parents are being charged $85) coming to an extra $1680.

Ben and his fiancée Clare Moran, who already have a three-year-old daughter, are spending $3360 of their own money to cover everything from bridesmaid dresses to stocking up the bar.

Ben sold the idea to his guests as all 'all inclusive holiday'. Photo: www.cottages.com
Ben sold the idea to his guests as all 'all inclusive holiday'. Photo: www.cottages.com

“I had it all mapped out before I proposed,” he added. “I knew her reaction would be ‘we can’t afford to get married’ so I started showing her how we could.”

“I never thought we would be able to have a wedding like this,” agreed Clare.

“We had spoken about marriage because we’ve got a little girl together and I always said we wouldn’t be able to afford to do it, or it would have to be a registry office wedding, not a big wedding."

“This is a brilliant way to do it and I can’t wait. He has put a lot of thought into it.”

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, Ben said, "We are not charging our guests to come and pay for our wedding – we are telling them to pay for their accommodation."

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.