$80 Weddings – Beginning of a New Trend? (40-40-40 Wedding Event)

40 couples in Atlanta got married in a span of 40 hours and each bride and groom had to pay just $40 for a first class wedding ceremony and full wedding reception.

Furthermore it was all for a good cause as the money went towards supporting the Atlanta Children’s Shelter. Guests of the bride and groom were encouraged to donate a monetary gift or gently used household items to help out the families at the children’s shelter.

This charity event was the first of its kind and has earned national attention (see below). We think it’s such a smart and needed idea that we expect to see more organizations follow suit with their own charitable wedding events.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if more people and organizations became super creative like the Atlanta Children’s Shelter and wedding planner Sylvia Wayfer-Clark (working for Weddings by Stephanie Marie) so that couples could easily have a beautiful wedding and reception for just a couple hundred dollars if that was all they could afford?

We hope this is the beginning of a new trend among charitable organizations so that couples have more options.

We understand that this is not for everyone — not everyone is willing to get married at 2 in the morning! But it really feels good to see people getting creative and figuring out ways to help one another get married without going into debt.

For a powerful guide to getting married within your means we encourage you to download our wedding planner ‘Wedding Planning on a Budget’.

You can learn more about the 40-40-40 wedding event at their website and by watching the video clips below:

Media buzz before the event:

Media buzz after the event: