New Company Sells Canceled Weddings on the Cheap - US News and World Report
New Company Sells Canceled Weddings on the Cheap - US News and World Report
As if heartbreak weren’t enough, couples that call off their weddings have to deal with the awkwardness of informing would-be guests that plans have changed, not to mention being saddled with the thousands of dollars lost in catering and flower bills. But one new company is looking to help ease some of that financial pain.
Bridal Brokerage sells canceled weddings to couples looking to throw their parties for less money. The company connects buyers and sellers, helping couples looking to buy the trappings of a wedding — photographer, venue, DJ — already put together by another couple.
“I got a lot of pushback in the beginning about, ‘Who would want to buy someone else’s wedding?’” says CEO Lauren Byrne, who is also an MBA student at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. As it turns out, there are plenty of people hoping to buy a pre-planned wedding. Byrne says the company currently has over 500 couples seeking to purchase a wedding, which far outweighs the number of weddings the Charlottesville, Va.-based company has to sell.
“We’ve got eight or nine in the wheelhouse right now, which is pretty exciting for us, having been launched in late May,” says Byrne.
The concept is simple: a couple that wants to sell a wedding tells the company the basics — the wedding’s date, cost, guest capacity, and components — and the company matches it to a couple eager to buy. For example, the company may be able to find a desirable wedding for a couple that is willing to get married on a specified weekend, within 250 miles of their home, and with 150 guests. That new couple then takes over any outstanding bills for the wedding they’ve purchased.