Caterer. DJ. Guest list. Venue. Photographers. Family drama.
Weddings can be a pain in the butt to plan and a pain in the pocketbook to pay for, but a Vancouver company is looking to take the hassle out of the process by staging 20-minute, $1,000 pop-up ceremonies at various public locations around the city.
Popup Weddings B.C. held several flash mob-style ceremonies in Vancouver this week, as more than a dozen couples tied the knot in rapid succession in public spaces around the city. Couples brought their own clothes, secured their marriage licences and invited their friends, then left the rest to Popup Weddings B.C. staff.
“You don’t have to plan anything,” Holly Halter, the company’s co-founder, told CTV Vancouver. “We basically just show up, we throw up some décor, the couple comes in, we get married (and) everybody leaves.”
Halter and business partner Nicole Vanselow say they offer “elopement-style” weddings for people who want to skip the planning hassle and get married on the cheap. Their staff arrange everything, including the photographer and officiant.
Weddings often cost well over $10,000 in the Vancouver area, but Halter and Vanselow say they can get the job done for a fraction of the price.
“People can have the wedding of their dreams, but it shouldn’t cost them an arm and a leg,” Vanselow said.
Of course, there are a few catches. Popup Weddings B.C. does not book locations or buy permits for ceremonies, so couples run the risk of having their wedding interrupted. They also risk a fine if they’re caught on city property.
The company also holds back-to-back ceremonies at the same location, meaning most couples have to share their special day with others.
Vanselow says back-to-back ceremonies help keep the costs down.
“It’s a shared cost and shared timeframe, but there’s still plenty of time to celebrate your love story,” she said.
The company held its first guerilla-style ceremonies last month, and is currently booking couples for another flurry of weddings in August.
With files from CTV Vancouver
