We had over $4,000 in donations from local businesses that were more than happy to help. Everything from gift certificates to restaurants, spa days, free alcohol, gift baskets, kids toys, and more. Believe it or not, we even had major retail chains donating stuff! Turns out big companies even have a budget for this kind of thing! All you have to do is ask!
And the small companies? They even got a ton of business out of it too! Not only were we raising money for our dream wedding, we were helping local businesses too!
We had nearly 200 people attend the party. Friends of friends of friends showed up. It became a community event that people still talk about to this day. My sister still sends me photos of me getting pied in the face (that one raised over $500 alone!)
The best part wasn't even the money raised that paid for nearly 2/3rds of the wedding. It was the amazing memories (and photos) that came out of it. Our entire family was there, all our friends, work colleagues and more! And as amazing as it was, what was even more special was getting the wedding of our dreams!
The Dress - Paid for.
The Venue - Paid for.
The Photographer - Yup, that too!
The DJ... didn't cost us a dime.
The Flowers - all covered.
We literally saved thousands of dollars, all while getting to celebrate with our family and making memories of a lifetime. And you know what, even though we're still happily married, I'd gladly do it again in a heartbeat!
So when my sister asked if we could help her, we jumped at the chance. And she raised even more than we did!
Then we helped my cousin. Their outcome was similar. They raised $4500 - and even did it last minute. They had the coolest "masquerade" stag & doe I've ever seen! We never even thought of making it themed, but it was such a cool idea!
And since then we've helped almost a dozen other friends and family members do the same. Collectively, they've raised...