Would you pay to go to a stranger’s wedding? A new site is growing in Europe with precisely this proposal. There was already ‘wedding’ in Porto with unknown guests thanks to Invitin.
Many complain about excessive wedding invitations-because-but there are those who are willing to pay to see the knot. For the 48 -year -old German bride Jennifer Reinfrank, receiving money in exchange for some more guests is nothing stupid: it came in handy.
Among the 100 guests of his party were many single heterosexual friends and few men available to animate the dance floor. The solution came from the French site: the guest list closed with five strangers willing to pay to participate in the celebration.
“Before the party, I received the profile of the candidates and ended up approved all. There were a couple and three single men,” the German told the BBC. The party took place in August, on the outskirts of Paris. In exchange for 180 euros, each guest was entitled to watch the entire ceremony and enjoy the appetizers, drinks and food.
“We greeted ourselves at the beginning of the event, but we didn’t spend much time with them, as our focus was to be with family and friends. Everyone was very friendly and polite. The couple even offered us a card and a bottle of champagne,” recalls the German.
How did the idea come
The inspiration for the site came from an informal conversation. When renting his home in southern France for guests who were going to attend a wedding, Kátia Lekarski heard from her daughter the question that aroused an idea: Why can’t we attend these parties too?
This is how the French entrepreneur decided to create a platform that connects couples – with interests ranging from varying the profile of guests to raise some extra money to cover part of the celebration costs – to people who want to pay to live the experience of participating in the party of a stranger.
“Weddings are beautiful and very exciting parties. People produce for the event and the places where celebrations are made are often very pleasant. I thought that gathering grooms who want some money to help pay for party costs with people who would love to go to a wedding was a great idea,” the Frenchman justifies to BBC.
There was already ‘wedding’ in Porto with unknown guests
The startup was launched in April and already has more than two thousand users, including hosts and possible guest candidates. So far, six weddings with invitin guests have been held, in France, Spain, Russia and even Portugal.
The Portuguese Marta Fernandes learned of the site through an online group and decided to try – for living many years abroad, says she likes to meet new people. A few weeks ago, participated in a party at Porto.
“I had never seen such a thing, go to a party where the bride and groom don’t know who’s going. At first I even thought they might not have enough guests and so they needed more people, but I quickly realized the concept,” explains the 36 -year -old optometist.
Marta and a friend, from the Ivory Coast, paid 25 euros per person to the cocktail and the mass – but when they arrived at the party, they were invited to stay all night.
“The experience was very good. I took a memory, I introduced myself to the bride and groom and, as some people eventually uncheck on time, they said we could stay for the whole party,” recalls the Portuguese, who is open to other weddings in this way.
Marta says she spoke to several people and even took the opportunity to do some networking (social interaction for professional purposes) during the party. “I delivered several cards from my optics. The funniest thing was when people wanted to know if I was a friend of the groom or bride,” he recalls, between laughs.
How it works
Those who provide tickets for your wedding can choose the age and profile of the guests. It is also necessary to explain where the ceremony will be, what the party will be, what the costume code, the value of the ticket and to which the paying guests and drinks will be entitled.
Already the “candidates”, besides having to answer some questions about age, sex and profession, have their social networks verified by the site. Only after that is the profile approved.
Invitin is responsible for making the match (combination of compatible profiles) among those interested, and has 15% of the amount paid by the people who go to the parties. A contract is generated in which guests are committed to arriving in hours, respecting the clothing code and maintaining good behavior – without exaggerating alcohol consumption, for example.
People from any country can use the site, which is available only in French and English. “This is also a different way of traveling and meeting other people and traditions, literally an immersion in other cultures,” argues the entrepreneur.
Currently, four people work on the startup, which aims to expand available languages and launch an application – so the project is looking for investors.
One of the first brides to use the service, Jennifer Reinfran approved the experience.
“Our event was a lot of fun. Both my husband and we liked the experience of having these extra guests. I saw that single men who came to talk a lot with my friends, but we don’t know if there was any real match that night. If something more later happened, we didn’t know,” he jokes.
