Weddings are an expensive business in this day and age. It is estimated that an average American wedding costs about $30,000. However, not everyone has the budget or the willingness to spend that amount.
These two newlyweds knew they would have to make some sacrifices to make sure they start their married life debt free!
A bride and her newly married husband were featured in Good Morning America for throwing one of the most unique weddings in the age of social media. There’s no denying that the wedding industry has grown to become so commoditized these days.
The newlywed couple out of Los Angeles defied the odds of a traditional five to six-figure wedding price tag by saving big and only shelling out a whopping $500 on the entire ceremony.
Bride Kiara Brokenbrough walked down the aisle on her special day in a $47 from SHEIN.
“I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a dress because I had the mindset [that] I’m gonna wear this one time for a few hours,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America.
Kiara and Joel Brokenbrough are such outliers with their budget-friendly approach to planning the wedding. The couple even had their guests pay for their own meals.
Kiara said: “Our goal was to just be as minimal as possible. And to spend the least amount of money as possible.”
One of the ways that the couple was able to save money was by finding a location that they didn’t have to pay for. They held their weddings just off one of California’s freeways.
But as Kiara’s Instagram photos show, just because a venue is free doesn’t mean that it’ll look ugly. Fortunately for Kiara and Joel, they had friends and family who supported their dreams of having a frugal but beautiful wedding.
Kiara said, “You have a wedding, with witnesses there to witness you, vowing to your spouse, vowing to God that you guys are going to stay together for life. And then you celebrate with food, drinks and dance. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Many couples these days look to spend as much money as they can because they want their wedding to symbolize the depth of their love. However, several couples out there feel the pressure to put on lavish weddings because so many of their peers are doing it as well.
But Kiara and Joel never let the pressure get to them. Even when some people found their antics weird, the couple stuck to their philosophy.
Ultimately, Kiara’s goal was to send a message to everyone that the goal for any couple isn’t necessarily to have a lovely wedding; it’s to have a good marriage.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: AWM, DailyMail, Good Morning America
