PAYING for your wedding can be expensive, but one bride-to-be shared how she got creative when it came to buying her dress.
Jennifer Cannon revealed how she started a side hustle selling tuna sandwiches to raise the money for her gown, and it didn’t take long to achieve her goal.
Jennifer met her Navy husband Paul online in January 2001, and after a whirlwind romance, they got engaged in April of that year.
The bride-to-be, who was working as a transaction coordinator at the time, set about finding wedding dresses, and it wasn’t long before she stumbled upon her dream gown.
The couple only had a small budget for the wedding, and so when Jennifer saw the $700 (£562) price tag, she knew she’d have to get creative.
Speaking to Business Insider, she said: “It might not sound like a lot, but for me, at the time, it might as well have been $7,000 (£5,627).
“I had a mortgage and had recently changed jobs. Money was tight, but I knew I’d figure it out.”
A colleague gave her the idea of selling tuna wraps at work to raise money for her dream dress.
Her tasty sandwiches had been a huge hit when she brought them in one day, thanks to her special recipe.
This consisted of a “fresh twist on tuna salad”, including albacore tuna, mayonnaise, scallions, toasted slivered almonds, cilantro, romaine lettuce, a drizzle of cilantro and pepita salad dressing, wrapped in a flour tortilla.
Jennifer was working for a “big-name agency” at the time with over 100 agents in the office, so there were plenty of customers to sell at lunch.
After she got the “green light” to flog her sandwiches at work, she decided to bring them in every Thursday.
She added: “Before I knew it, there was a buzz around the office about ‘Jen’s Tasty Tuna Wraps.’
“Agents began calling or coming by my desk days in advance to order.”
She charged £4.82 per sandwich and had a deadline of the orders being in by the end of Wednesdays.
I had a mortgage and had recently changed jobs. Money was tight, but I knew I’d figure it out
Jennifer Cannon
Soon the orders started flying in.
In order to keep up with demand, Jennifer had to get up at 5.30am – three hours before work – to prepare the ingredients.
Jennifer added: “In a few short months, I had the money I needed for the dress, plus extra to put toward my husband’s wedding band.”
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