Charlotte Foster
Money & Banking

Couple charges guests to attend their wedding

A couple have made the divisive decision to charge their loved ones to attend their wedding in order to save money. 

When newlyweds Nova and Reemo Styles, a couple from the US, they were originally quoted $150,000 USD ($227,936 AUD) for their dream nuptials.

"That's the number they were starting at," Nova explained to US news outlet ABC 7.

In order to cut down on costs without cutting out any extravagant extras from their big day, the couple decided to put a price on attendance, and slap their loved ones with a fee. 

"And I said, 'People choose to go to Beyoncé's concert, because they know that they're gonna have an experience’. Let's put the stress on the guests, and let's sell tickets for a wedding,'" Nova admitted.

Her new husband Reemo admitted he wasn’t too keen on the idea, as he recalled telling his wife “Babe, people aren’t going to come.”

The couple decided to charge guests $333 USD ($510 AUD) each, which earned them a place on a double-decker bus for the reception which took them on a 12-hour adventure in New York City.

The controversial move ended up saving the couple $70,000 USD ($106,260 AUD), and their big day went off without a hitch. 

They admitted that they received pushback from some guests, as NOva recalled one invitee saying, "I would never spend money on tickets. I don't care. Who do you guys think you are? Jay-Z and Beyoncé?”

The couple stood by their choice to charge their guests, as many friends and family did fork out the hefty fee. 

Nova and Reemo’s story quickly made it to the ‘wedding shaming’ Reddit group, where social media users were not so sympathetic and were quick to condemn their “tacky” and “ridiculous” choice. 

"Talk about TACKY! I would never think of making someone pay to come to my wedding! That is just ridiculous...," one said.

"I absolutely would not pay to come to a wedding, because I'm already paying to go -- gas, time to get ready, a gift, that's money/time I could spend in other ways," another said.

"That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I would imagine many guests RSVP no," added another.

Another user was quick to point out that if they needed help covering such a huge sum of money, they should’ve chosen to cut back on the extravagant day instead of expecting their loved ones to cover the cost. 

Image credits: ABC 7

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money & banking, wedding, charge, couple