Couple saves $100,000 on wedding costs by charging guests to attend

A couple in the US has charged guests to attend their recent wedding to help cover the cost of the event.

Newlyweds Nova and Reemo Styles admit there was initially some pushback following their request.

Bride Nova told ABC 7 they were initially quoted US $150,000 ($227,936) for the wedding.

"That's the number they were starting at," she explained.

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To cut down on costs, Nova suggested they charge their guests to attend.

"And I said, 'People choose to go to Beyoncé concert, because they know that they're gonna have an experience. Let's put the stress on the guests, and let's sell tickets for a wedding,'" Nova said.

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"I was like, 'Babe, people aren't going to come,'" Reemo admits.

The couple decided to charge guests $US333 ($510) each, which earned them a place on a double-decker bus for the reception which took them on a 12-hour adventure in New York City.

The move saved the couple $US70,000 ($106,260).

The did receive pushback from some guests.

"'I would never spend money on tickets.' 'I don't care.' 'Who do you guys think you are? Jay-Z and Beyoncé?'" Nova recalled one invitee saying.

Many of their guests did choose to attend and the couple stand by their choice.

The practice of charging guests to pay to attend weddings has been labelled "tacky" and "ridiculous" on The Wedding Wire forum.

"Talk about TACKY! I would never think of making someone pay to come to my wedding! That is just ridiculous...," one said.

"I absolutely would not pay to come to a wedding, because I'm already paying to go -- gas, time to get ready, a gift, that's money/time I could spend in other ways," another said.

"That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I would imagine many guests RSVP no," added another.

In Australia, the average cost of attending a wedding is now $33,810, according to Easy Weddings, with 22 percent of couples surveyed saying they spent 22 percent more than their original wedding budgets.

Most Aussie couples start with wedding budgets of approximately $27,650.

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