weddings

'My dream wedding cost less than $2000 and started at 6:30am. Yep, 6:30am.'

Queenslander Stacey McBride Wilson wanted to include two things on her wedding day – the beach and breakfast.

“I love being a little bit different and doing the unexpected,” she said.

She organised a sunrise wedding at Mooloolaba beach; with the ceremony at 6.30am, followed by a reception breakfast with 170 guests.

“We had a few people who were not impressed with the time but at the end of the ceremony they were saying it was the best way to start their day. It was at that crazy time but they really loved it,” she said.

“We invited people to grab a picnic rug, grab some cereal come and sit down. We had some music playing, we hung out, played in rock pools. Everyone hung out there for a couple of hours. From there, we went home had a nap.”

And the best part? The whole thing cost less than $2000.

Here are some moments from Stacey’s breakfast wedding.

"We bought lots of picnic rugs, we hired a few chairs and an arbour, we spent some money on flowers and pretty much the rest on food and drink."

She bought 16 big boxes of cereal at the supermarket and plenty of milk as well as yoghurt and fruit juice. Their wedding cake was a three-tiered sponge cake with berries.

And because it was breakfast time – guests didn’t drink much alcohol.

"When you have to go into debt and are paying it off for year, to me that seems absolutely insane. It’s just one day of your life and yes it is a special day, it’s purpose-filled and worth investing into. For us it was about creating a beautiful atmosphere rather than ‘how much can we spend’," she said.

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What else did she save on?

"My husband’s outfit cost four times mine did. My dress cost $30,’ McBride Wilson said.

"I was looking at something a bit more expensive… I thought why try and spend more money when I don’t need to. I grabbed the dress I loved and it was just perfect on the day."

She also asked friends to gift their skills, instead of presents.

"We had people who gifted us photography or makeup, doing the flower arranging, doing the setup of the wedding, we have this incredible network who came around us and wanted to celebrate with us," she said.

Stacey has no regrets about the amount she spent.

"We just wanted a day that reflected us and who we are. We have a really wide network of friends and people and family and we wanted to make sure they could all share in that," she said.

"We loved every moment I would not change a thing about it."

For more money saving tips, listen to The Pineapple Project podcast.

Do you think having a breakfast wedding is a good way to save money? Would you do it?

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Top Comments

fightofyourlife 6 years ago

I wouldn't even contemplate attending this wedding, honestly, unless I was extraordinarily close to the couple. It's just too early! And then to only get cereal to eat afterwards? No, thanks. I don't even eat cereal under normal circumstances, because I find it so immensely unsatisfying.

Great that they managed to save so much money but they could have done it at a more civilised time and provided some more filling food and still saved a ton.


Rach 6 years ago

What a beautiful & meaningful wedding. I love everything about it, breakfast as a reception & guests gifting a few services are really lovely ideas. Makes me want to do it again!