A COUPLE managed to have their dream white wedding complete with a full church ceremony, dinner and flowers for just £1,000 – thanks to an army of volunteers.
Beth and Lee Southern tied the knot in front of friends and family for a fraction of the cost of an average wedding.
The Southern’s, from Norwich, were the first couple to take advantage of the Grand Wedding package, offered by Reverend Mike Smith, in a bid to tackle the decline in church weddings.
Rev Smith, from St John’s Church in Hartford, Cheshire, devised the traditional wedding package for a cool thousand pounds, which includes a full church ceremony, flowers, a reception with wine, a two-course meal and photos.
Beth told Mail Online: “I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
“The wedding was perfect.”
Beth, 25, a team leader in a care home, and Lee, an apprentice engineer, 26, have been engaged for four years after being together since they were 16.
But costs had delayed their wedding, with the pair trying to save up to buy a house.
The couple said they’ve been “overwhelmed by kindness”, after dozens of volunteers pitched in to finally make their big day happen.
A teacher stepped in to become a wedding planner, an amateur photographer took snaps of the happy couple and a local grandmother arranged the flowers.
And the organist offered to play for free, while a local firm donated a luxury car for the day.
While the dress wasn’t included in the package, Beth managed to pick up a frock for £800, and a church member, Audrey Kerr-Taylor, who is also a seamstress, altered it for free.
Beth added: “Because weddings are so expensive we thought we’d have to wait.
“Then we spotted this offer and it meant we could do both at the same time.”
Rev Smith, 49, decided to offer the Grand Wedding deal – hosting three a year – in response to a decline in traditional church weddings.
He said that costs shouldn’t be a barrier to marriage, calling it “a gift”.
In 2016 just under a quarter of wedding – 60,000 – were religious ceremonies, down from around half in the early nineties.
The church waives it usual fees for couples who take advantage of the Grand Wedding offer.
Of the £1,000 price-tag, £250 goes on non-negotiable diocesan fees, around £650 goes on food and drink for a reception for 30 guests, and the remainder is spent on invitations, a cake, flowers and a framed photo for the couple.
And here’s the love story of Kate Middleton and Prince William in photos as the couple celebrate their wedding anniversary.
While this bride got married in a white bikini on the back of a pick-up truck.
Plus people thought this bride wore a ‘strip show’ wedding dress which exposed her ‘bottom cleavage’.
