A budget-savvy bride who was determined to keep her wedding budget beneath $500 has revealed how she managed to pull off an incredibly frugal celebration by wearing a $47 dress for the big day and asking guests to pay for their own meals.
After Joel Brokenbrough, from Los Angeles, proposed to Kiara in December last year, the couple vowed to keep their wedding day ‘as minimal as possible.’
After trying on a variety of $1,500 dresses in a wedding shop, the bride ended up snapping up a $47 gown from budget-friendly fashion brand Shein, which she later opened up about in a now-viral TikTok video.
Speaking on Good Morning America, the newlywed went into further detail about her cost-cutting hacks, explaining how guests paid for their own meals and gifted the couple flowers and a cake for the big day, revealing: ‘You have a wedding, with witnesses there to witness you, vowing to your spouse, vowing to God that you guys are going to stay together for life.
Kiara and Joel Brokenbrough, from Los Angeles, were determined to keep their wedding budget beneath $500 (pictured, the couple on the big day)
After getting engaged in December, the couple found a makeshift location by the side of a highway (left) for the ceremony, while Kiara ended up wearing a $47 dress from budget online retailer Shein (right)
‘And then you celebrate with food, drinks and dance. And that’s exactly what we did.’
The couple got engaged in December last year, and ended up planning the budget day in just two months.
Posting on her Instagram page, Kiara said: ‘Was this the wedding of my dreams? No.
‘Did I make the best of the resources we had? HEAVENS YEAH. I wasn’t going into debt or prolonging this day to save up to pay for strangers and people who know nothing about our relationship to dine and drink on our dime.
‘We weren’t trying to impress anybody but honor God.’
The then-bride-to-be is seen at a fitting, before she decided on her budget-friendly gown
She continued: ‘I believe this is what the origin of what a wedding ceremony is—you, your partner, witnesses and God.’
Kiara explained the couple had never been set on throwing themselves the grandest wedding they could.
Speaking on Good Morning America, she said: ‘Our goal was to just be as minimal as possible and to spend the least amount of money as possible.
‘A lot of people gifted us things, my god-mom gifted us flowers, my sister gifted us a runner, my god-sister gifted us a cake.’
The bride first went shopping for her wedding dress in January, and tried on several gowns costing up to $1,500. However she quickly found she wanted to keep budgets low-cost.
The bride also explained how she ended up finding a ceremony in a location just off a freeway with a stunning view (pictured)
Following the wedding, the couple celebrated with their friends and family – but not before snapping a newlywed selfie
She ended up finding a gown on digital fashion retailer Shein’s website for only $47.
Later, she posted her dress-shopping experience on TikTok, comparing elegant gowns in the shop with her budget gown.
She explained: ‘I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a dress because I had the mindset I’m gonna wear this one time for a few hours.’
Meanwhile, the bride revealed how she ended up finding a ceremony in a location just off a freeway, and guests generously provided the flowers and runner as a gift.
Later, at the reception, the guests paid for their own meals.
She said: ‘The guests we had there really understood the assignment, they understood the things we were trying to do and they really supported us.’
Posting on her Instagram page, Kiara admitted the big day ‘wasn’t the wedding of her dreams’ but said they ‘were trying to honor God’ with the humble ceremony
Posting on Instagram, she wrote: ‘After our wedding ceremony we all migrated to Mistys Lounge to celebrate! We ate, drank and danced (just how they did back in biblical days).’
The bride continued: ‘It felt so good to be around people who genuinely supported us and weren’t looking to be entertained.
‘We wouldn’t have been able to pull this off if it wasn’t for the contributions of our families and close friends!
‘It took a village and our village showed up!’
Source: dailynet.co.uk
