A New York couple determined to tie the knot in style lost 80 percent of their guests when they decided to charge $333 per person.
Nova and Reemo Styles had set out to tie the knot at the city’s iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but discovered the venue alone would cost them $150,000.
Sixty guests were brave enough to shell out money for the experience that included a double-decker bus tour of New York City and a steak and lobster dinner, but the move horrified traditionalists.
“How tacky!” wrote one. “I would never think of making someone pay to come to my wedding! That’s just ridiculous.”
Nova and Reemo Styles lost 80% of their guests when they decided to charge them $333 each
But the couple had their hearts set on New York’s iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was listed for $150,000.
Nova, 30, told ABC7 they had to think creatively after finding out how much their dream wedding would cost and started thinking about it in terms of entertainment.
“And I said, ‘People choose to go to the Beyoncé concert because they know they’re going to have an experience,'” the lifestyle influencer told the station.
“Let the guests stress out and sell tickets to a wedding.”
Reemo warned him that the idea risked turning a triumph into a disaster.
“I thought, ‘Honey, people aren’t going to come,'” she said.
And indeed, the couple experienced an instant reaction when they told their loved ones to take out their wallets.
“I would never spend money on tickets,” one told them.
—Who do they think they are? Jay-Z and Beyoncé? —another asked.
The annual Knot Real Weddings study found that the cost of the average U.S. wedding will rise by $5,000 in 2023 to a whopping $35,000.
And no state was more expensive than New York, where the average cost of a wedding is now $49,000.
“The highest price is usually the location, accounting for about 37 percent of the total cost,” said the website’s deputy editor, Esther Lee.
Sixty guests were brave enough to shell out money for the experience, which included a 12-hour double-decker bus tour of New York City and a lavish steak and lobster dinner.
The couple saved a whopping $70,000 which they plan to use to start a family.
The Styles’ unusual approach allowed them to land the venue of their dreams and enough guests to fill their bus for a spectacular tour of New York City.
It also saved them a whopping $70,000 which they plan to use to start a family.
The couple tied the knot in June 2023, but news of how they funded the occasion began to spread in May of this year when the couple posted the wedding videos on TikTok with the caption, “Did we actually sell tickets to our wedding?”
The reaction was swift from many who thought the couple had already had their wedding cake and eaten it.
“What a joke!” wrote one. “These people are cheap! They want the jewelry but are too cheap to pay for it. They expect their friends to pay for their wedding!”
‘I would break my friendship with anyone who tried this!’
“Only 60 guests out of 350,” wrote another. “That says a lot. I would be extremely offended if I was asked to spend $333 per guest. If you can’t afford it, don’t do it.”
“I wouldn’t pay at all to go to a wedding, because I’m already paying to go: gas, time to get ready, a gift, it’s money/time I could spend on other things,” added a third.
“This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” wrote another. “I imagine many guests will say no.”
“I said, ‘People choose to go to the Beyoncé concert because they know they’re going to have an experience,'” Nova told ABC7.
But some were quite impressed by the novel idea in the face of skyrocketing wedding expenses.
“This wedding was EPIC!” wrote one. “The love, care, dedication and creativity that went into planning it is incredible!”
“You really cared about making this an unforgettable and memorable experience! Well done!”
“That’s actually pretty clever,” wrote another. “Those who mattered didn’t mind paying to celebrate.”
