Viral
Bride Spends Only $500 For Wedding And Makes Her Guests Pay Their Own Meals
“It took a village, and our village showed up!”
Los Angeles couple Kiara and Joel Brokenbrough had just tied the knot at only $500. The bride shared that she wore a Shein dress for the occasion, which cost her only $47. The cake and flowers were gifts, and while it wasn’t her dream wedding, she was extremely satisfied with it.
Kiara’s revelation went viral on TikTok with just 50k views short of reaching the 1 million count. Thousands came to the comment section to ask how she did it and if the dress was included.
The frugal bride became the talk of the town after the viral clip landed them an interview with Good Morning America.
She spoke at the show, “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.”
The religious couple added, “And then you celebrate with food, drinks, and dance. And that’s exactly what we did.”
On her Instagram page, she admitted that this wasn’t “the wedding of my dreams.” But it still brings a smile to her face for a different reason.
“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. I believe this is what the origin of what a wedding ceremony is—you, your partner, witnesses, and God.”
They were engaged for only two months before settling on this budget-friendly celebration. She shared, “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.”
After shopping through a number of renowned bridal shops, she realized that the $1,500 spent on a wedding dress wasn’t something she wanted to do. She opted for looking for the dress online, and that was how she landed on the $47 Shein dress she wore for the occasion.
“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.”
The venue they chose was a spot off a freeway, which automatically gave them the perfect backdrop for the pictures they took. The small number of guests invited had also brought their own gifts, from flowers to a runner.
“The guests we had there really understood the assignment, they understood the things we were trying to do, and they really supported us,” she added.
“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),” she shared on the after-party bits.
“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!”
Followers have been complimenting her money-saving method of keeping it simple but delightful, particularly in the dress department. One viewer wrote, “I be tryna tell yall cost of things don’t matter. It’s how you put it together and wear it. AND BABYYYYY YOU PUT IT TOGETHER AND WORE IT.”
“The days of getting wedding dresses in the 1,000’s are OVERRR,” wrote another.
Another user wrote, “I love that people are realizing paying the price of a car for a dress you’ll wear once doesn’t make any damn sense.”
Stand-up comedian Jazmyn W also shared the same frugal spirit and got her wedding dress at $75 from ASOS as well.
She’s truly all about enjoying the day and not spending on what she truly doesn’t want to.
@kiarabrk Reply to @maalikaelise dress included! $47 on @SHEIN 🤩🤩 #weddingtiktok #weddingdress #cheapwedding #blackbride ♬ audio credit is rennyxaudios – 70s80s90s00s
