A bride and groom decided to wear T-shirts and jeans when tying the knot, and are sharing photos to show weddings don’t need to cost loads of money to be magical. Rebecca Maxwell, 26, and Glen Maxwell, 30, wore jeans, personalised ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ T-shirts and trainers for both their ceremony and reception.

The newlyweds bought similar personalised tops for the bridal party, best man and mother and father of the bride and asked their 40 guests to wear jeans and t-shirts too. Rebecca and Glen got engaged back in August 2016, and quickly started planning a massive white wedding. The more they planned, the more they realised a posh wedding just wasn’t right for them.

Totting up the costs of the occasion only caused the couple stress and they were fed up of agonising over a budget instead of being excited about the romance. One evening Glen told Rebecca: ‘We could get married in jeans and T-shirts and I’d still love you.’ The couple saved thousands by scaling down their big day. Cute, right? They chose to take that idea to its natural conclusion and have a casual wedding that was all about their relationship, not spending loads of money.

They’re sharing their story to encourage other people to ditch the pressures of a big wedding and focus on having a day that’s special to them. Rebecca, of Blyth, Northumberland, said: ‘When we were planning our wedding, we started doing everything to please other people. ‘Our guest list was getting out of hand. You feel like you have to invite people because you don’t want to upset them rather than because you want them there. We had spent hours looking through Pinterest at all the dresses, cakes and decorations and you do get sucked in.'

‘But at the end of the day me and Glen just really weren’t bothered about all of that. ‘I had even bought a wedding dress but after having [my daughter] Eleanor I went to try it on again and I ended up crying. It just was not what I wanted at all.’ The couple’s original wedding was planned to take place at a farm at Christmas time, set to cost them £14,000. Instead they said their vows at the town hall in Darlington on 26 April with 40 of their closest friends and family.

The ceremony cost just £250. After doing the official wedding bit, Rebecca and Glen took their guests to Center Parcs Whinfell Forest in the Lake District for a carvery dinner costing £400. Instead of a pricey wedding cake, they spent £35 on a selection of Morrisons cupcakes and a sheet cake with a photo of the couple printed on top. With T-shirts and jeans for the wedding party coming in at £150, £200 spent on flowers and £70 for Rebecca’s hair and makeup, the couple’s big day cost just £1,105 in total.

Guests and the wedding party were invited to dress down as well. Saving so much on their wedding meant Rebecca and Glen were left with £6,000 savings, which they used to treat their wedding party to a weekend at Center Parcs. Rebecca and Glen say the lowkey day was perfect for them, as they ‘just like simple things’, preferring a night in to a posh holiday away. ‘We just love each other’s company,’ said Rebecca. ‘What was special was that we were going to join together and I was going to have the same surname as my little girl. ‘A big dress or fancy day, that all paled into insignificance.

‘I want to show other brides that if they don’t have a big budget, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to spend a fortune or put all that pressure on themselves. ‘As long as you marry the person you love, surrounded by people you love, your day will be special. ‘Me and my husband are still married just like all those people who are in £20,000 debt.

‘I do really believe that so many people lose sight of the real reasons to get married. ‘It becomes like a big expensive show, a production for everyone else and the real reasons are lost in all that. ‘It should be about how in love you are. I don’t know anyone who gets married just because they think their partner is alright.’

SOURCE: https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/11/couple-get-married-jeans-t-shirts-show-weddings-dont-expensive-10720871/

Then what is money for

It can't happen in Nigeria.

Nigerians will say its because they couldn't afford a proper wedding

cute

Oyinbo life no hard at all na we Africans dey borrow money do wedding..

we overdo our own thing.Some even borrow/buy diz and dat on credit to out do Mr/Mrs Olokodana own.

do am for 9ja if dem born u wella

I love non-conformists

If I happen to get married, mine will be night wears, boxers and singlet cos that's mostly how we will spend most of our days together or better still....

Nice one... Life is full of choice(s)

a simple white dress is not that expensive
even doesn't have to be from a bridal shop

We are gradually coming back to our senses.

We go get sense las las for this hypocritic country

I love this .

Everyone with his/her onions, it is nobody's business if someone spends 20 million dollars or naira for wedding, even if they borrow to have a lavish wedding, they didn't ask you to pay back so its no one's business, business men borrow to fund their businesses, hell Buhari is borrowing for y'all to pay and y"all have started paying e.g VAT increment so face that,

They even did asoebi sef mtcheww

I knew they would be whites.

I'd like to have something simple and classy and quiet too. Hate the idea of crying, going mad, running up and down that day, cuz of some people who must eat and still make mockery of you.

Something simple yet classy, no too much noise! With only few people who care, who are not salty and over sassy.

Private, brief, peaceful, yeah we dont want too many comments.

That would be nice.

purples25:
I'd like to have something simple and classy and quiet too. Hate the idea of crying, going mad, running up and down that day, cuz of some people who must eat and still make mockery of you.

Something simple yet classy, no too much noise! With only few people who care, who are not salty and over sassy.

Private, brief, peaceful, yeah we dont want too many comments.

That would be nice.

My kinda girl.

My prayer nah make God gimme wife wey get sense as i dey pray... because nah very simple wedding i want, 100 guest on a cool evening, pastor come around join us, find him way dey go back...

I no be fan of big wedding at all , no be say poor man something.

.

Breaststroke:


Me too, they rock the boat and change the status quo

Yea yea

anayolity:
My prayer nah make God gimme wife wey get sense as i dey pray... because nah very simple wedding i want, 100 guest on a cool evening, pastor come around join us, find him way dey go back...

I no be fan of big wedding at all , no be say poor man something.

100 guests is a simple wedding to you?

missjo:

100 guests is a simple wedding to you?

50 from my side and 50 from hers....mine fit no reach 50 and hers fit no reach too..... Africans too get plenty relatives

anayolity:


50 from my side and 50 from hers....mine fit no reach 50 and hers fit no reach too..... Africans too get plenty relatives

Lol,fair enough.

I like. Simplicity at its best.

anayolity:

My kinda girl.

e no day be say e no day. if the cash day dem for do am big.

Celebrities get married with glitz and glamour and after a few months or years, the marriage packs up.
A lot of money wasted for nothing.
Don't put so much focus on the wedding at the expense of your marriage.
The wedding is just for a day.
But the marriage is for a lifetime.

purples25:
I'd like to have something simple and classy and quiet too. Hate the idea of crying, going mad, running up and down that day, cuz of some people who must eat and still make mockery of you.

Something simple yet classy, no too much noise! With only few people who care, who are not salty and over sassy.

Private, brief, peaceful, yeah we dont want too many comments.

That would be nice.

Exactly the event I fancy. No crowd just love ones. But how possible is that in 9ja. When your family each go invite their fiends mama Papa go invite their own siblings etc.

The only way to achieve that is laying a strict rule to the family involve that this is the number of guest I need no more no less..

Justbeingreal:
Exactly the event I fancy. No crowd just love ones. But how possible is that in 9ja. When your family each go invite their fiends mama Papa go invite their own siblings etc.

The only way to achieve that is laying a strict rule to the family involve that this is the number of guest I need no more no less..

People would be vexing that you didn't invite the whole neighborhood to eat. Some people will still invite themselves.....naija wedding.

Only hope is if truly you can put your foot down, be a no nonsense person. Then they may listen, things will go your way because you don't care who gets annoyed.

purples25:


People would be vexing that you didn't invite the whole neighborhood to eat. Some people will still invite themselves.....naija wedding.

Only hope is if truly you can put your foot down, be a no nonsense person. Then they may listen, things will go your way because you don't care who gets annoyed.

Exactly. You don't reason like the average 9ja woman tho. What region of 9ja are u from.