A bride told the internet that the entirety of her wedding day only cost a whopping $500 dollars and the internet did not believe her.
Vlogger Kiara Brokenbrough walked down the aisle on her special day in a $47 from SHEIN. “I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a dress because I had the mindset [that] I’m gonna wear this one time for a few hours,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America.
The Los Angeles-based, now-wife documented her journey and her ceremony via YouTube and TikTok, including showing her dress. Brokenbrough said she didn’t’ want to break the bank to marry her husband, Joel.
“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,” she said on GMA. “And then you celebrate with food, drinks and dance. And that’s exactly what we did.”
On her Instagram page, Brokenbrough said they “weren’t trying to impress anybody but honor God.”
The couple’s ceremony was held off the Angeles Crest Highway with Southern California’s San Gabriel and Sierra Pelona Mountains as a beautiful backdrop.
Avoiding application for a public permit, they limited their guest list to about 30 to 40 relatives and close friends, Brokenbrough said on TikTok.
They only needed to pay for chairs and an arch. The bride and groom rented chairs and relied on support from their loved ones. Flowers were donated by the bride’s godmother and the cake came courtesy of an aunt and a godsister. The couple’s biggest expense was the arch for the background that cost around $200.
As for the reception, that was sheer luck. The newlyweds and their less-50-person wedding party headed to the nearby restaurant. They did not have a reservation but arrived right when the venue opened. Each guest paid for their meals themselves.
“The people we have there, they understood the assignment. They understood the things that we were trying to do, and they really supported us,” Kiara said.
The couple met back in 2016 in Vegas and stayed in contact over social media. In 2018, the two reconnected and quickly started dating. According to ABC’s Good Morning America, the couple said they both connected over their spirituality, and were engaged for one month before getting married on February 12, 2022.