A New York couple determined to get married in style lost 80 percent of their guests when they decided to charge them $333 per person.
Nova and Reemo Styles had their sights set on a wedding at the city’s famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but discovered that the venue alone would cost them $150,000.
Sixty guests bit the bullet and paid a lot of money for the experience, which included a double-decker bus tour of New York City and a steak and lobster dinner. Traditionalists, however, were appalled by the move.
“This is in bad taste!” wrote one. “I would never think of making someone pay to attend my wedding! This is ridiculous.”
Nova and Reemo Styles lost 80% of their guests when they decided to charge them $333 each
But the couple had lost their hearts to the iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York for $150,000
Nova, 30, told ABC7 that after figuring out how much their dream wedding would cost, they had to think creatively and began looking at it from an entertainment perspective.
“And I said, ‘People go to a Beyoncé concert voluntarily because they know they’re going to have an experience,'” the lifestyle influencer told the broadcaster.
“Let’s put pressure on guests and sell tickets to a wedding.”
Reemo warned them that the idea carried the risk of turning a triumph into a disaster.
“I just thought, ‘Honey, people aren’t going to come,'” he said.
And indeed, the couple immediately faced a huge outcry when they told their loved ones to pull out their wallets.
“I would never spend money on tickets,” one of them told them.
“Who do you think you are? Jay-Z and Beyoncé?” another asked.
The annual Knot Real Weddings Study found that the cost of an average wedding in the U.S. will increase by $5,000 to a whopping $35,000 in 2023.
And no state was more expensive than New York, where the cost of a wedding ceremony currently averages $49,000.
“The biggest cost is usually the venue, which accounts for about 37 percent of the total cost,” says Esther Lee, deputy editor of the website.
Sixty guests gritted their teeth and paid for the experience, which included a 12-hour double-decker bus tour of New York City and a luxurious steak and lobster dinner.
The couple has saved a whopping $70,000, which they plan to use to start a family
Thanks to their unusual approach, the Styles were able to secure their dream location and attract enough guests to fill their bus for a spectacular trip through New York City.
They also saved a whopping $70,000, which they plan to use to start a family.
The couple married in June 2023, but news of how they financed the event first broke in May of this year when the couple posted the wedding videos on TikTok with the caption, “Did we really sell tickets to our wedding?!”
Many reacted quickly and thought the couple had already eaten the wedding cake.
“What a joke!” wrote one. “These people are cheapskates! They want all the bling but are too cheap to pay for it. They expect their friends to pay for their wedding!”
“I would end my friendship with anyone who tried that!”
“Only 60 out of 350 guests,” wrote another. “That says a lot. I would be totally insulted if I was asked to spend $333 per guest. If you can’t afford it, don’t do it.”
“I would definitely not pay to go to a wedding because I’m already paying to attend: gas, time to prepare, a gift. That’s money/time I could spend elsewhere,” added a third.
“This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” wrote another. “I would imagine many guests would answer ‘no.'”
“I said, ‘People go to a Beyoncé concert because they know they’re going to have an experience,'” Nova told ABC7.
But given the skyrocketing cost of weddings, some were quite impressed by the novel idea.
“This wedding was EPIC!” wrote one. “The love, care and creativity that went into planning it is incredible!”
“It was really important to you to make this an unforgettable, memorable experience! Well done!”
“That’s actually pretty smart,” wrote another. “Those who mattered didn’t mind paying for the party.”
