Latest news with #SteveJLarsen
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Couple shocked by high cost of wedding decide to charge guests an entry fee... and end up bringing in $50,000
A couple who was shocked by the sky-high cost of their wedding decided to charge their guests an entry fee... and ended up bringing in $50,000 in ticket sales. When Marley Jaxx, 34, and Steve J Larsen, 37, from Boise, Idaho, were gearing up to tie the knot, they quickly realized just how expensive weddings could be. They were baffled by the idea that most couples end up in tens of thousands of dollars in debt just from throwing their dream wedding. Both coming from entrepreneurial backgrounds, it then dawned on them: what if they treated their big day like a business event and sold tickets as a way to cut down costs? 'We started venue hunting… and saw a $650 cake-cutting fee - not including the cake, just to cut it!' Marley explained during an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail. 'The current system often sets [couples] up for failure. Most couples start their marriage tens of thousands of dollars in debt… over one day. That feels backwards.' Marley and Steve offered two ticket options to their guess - a $57 'general admission ticket' and a $997 'VIP weekend pass.' The first 'got you access to the full wedding day: the ceremony, dinner, dancing, entertainment, and all the magic.' 'This was just for the wedding day itself. Like, "Cover your plate and come party with us,"' explained Marley. 'The $57 ticket was less than the cost of a typical wedding gift, but instead of buying us a toaster, you bought a seat at the table.' The second came with a full 'three-day experience' for two guests, which included everything from the first ticket plus multiple other perks like access to a pre-ceremony hangout and reserved seating at the nuptials. In addition, VIP ticket holders got to attend a 'full event with bestselling authors, relationship experts, panels, and transformative sessions' the day before the wedding, as well as a rehearsal dinner, where they held a live auction for charity and offered a slew of special performances. It also gave them entry to the 'biohacking brunch' the morning after the wedding, which came complete with 'red light therapy, PEMF mats, breathwork, and tech you'd normally see in billionaires' basements.' 'The $997 VIP pass was designed like a conference or retreat package stacked with value that would normally cost way more,' shared Marley. They ultimately sold 100 of the regular tickets and roughly 30 VIP tickets, bringing in just about $50,000 - which covered their entire costs of the wedding. Marley admitted that not everyone loved the idea of having to pay for a seat at the wedding. 'One friend told me it felt like we were turning something sacred into a circus,' Marley recalled. She also faced immense backlash online after opening up about the endeavor. 'Sure, some people online said, "I'd never buy a ticket to a wedding." That's fine! Some people would never buy a ticket to a baseball game either,' she said. 'But clearly, there are stadiums full of people who would. Same goes here. Would everyone buy a wedding ticket? Nope. 'But would someone pay for a night out with dinner and entertainment to support a couple they love? Maybe! 'Just like anything else in the world, it comes down to fit. Not every offer is for everyone and that's okay.' According to the bride, there were a slew of benefits that came with charging wedding guests an entry fee. She said it made for a better time since everyone who was there actually wanted to be there and removed the 'pressure' people feel to get the right gift. 'Sometimes people go to weddings out of obligation. They feel guilted into it,' she dished. 'But no one was forced or pressured to attend ours. So the energy was completely different. 'It was full of people who were genuinely excited to celebrate with us and many people said it was the best wedding they've ever been to.' Marley insisted that it was never about 'making money' to them, explaining, 'Our heart behind this was to bring people together and create an experience. 'It made the experience collaborative instead of transactional. And it started conversations that really matter. 'While we didn't need the money for ourselves, we thought, "What if couples could actually make money from their wedding to put toward a down payment on a home, or a honeymoon, or starting their life with less stress?" 'That's what I hope to help other couples do through the case study we're building.' Over the entire weekend they raised an additional $132,550, which they have donated to a charity called Village Impact, who will be use the money to 'fund classrooms for kids in Kenya.' 'What we created wasn't traditional but it was extraordinary. And the value we provided far surpassed the price tag,' Marley gushed. 'Every ticket sold, every donation, every moment… it all added up to something way bigger than just a wedding. 'We didn't do this to profit. The entire vision was: let's create an unforgettable experience, avoid the financial stress most couples face, and use it as a way to do something good in the world. And that's exactly what happened.' In the end, Marley hopes that others will start doing this too, and that in the long run, they can help stop couples from getting in debt because of their weddings. 'I'm excited to teach this model to future couples. Disruptive ideas always sound crazy the first time,' she concluded. 'It's crazy to the same level that staying in a stranger's house sounded crazy before Airbnb. Or trusting an unlicensed driver before Uber.
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Couple Charges Guests Nearly $1K for Wedding Weekend Admission, Aiming to Revolutionize Trends and Avoid Debt (Exclusive)
After the couple broke even, they donated the rest of their proceeds — totaling more than $100,000 — to Village ImpactNEED TO KNOW Entrepreneurs Marley Jaxx and Steve J. Larsen sold tickets to their wedding weekend in Idaho as a case study, a proof-of-concept that weddings can be funded, not financed Guests could buy a basic $57 ticket for admission into the wedding day, or a three-day experience for two tickets valued at $997 that allowed access to the wedding day, plus the pre- and post-wedding events After the couple broke even, they donated their remaining $132,550 proceeds to Village ImpactA bride and groom are trying to revolutionize the wedding industry, and they started by charging admission to their own nuptials. Entrepreneurs Marley Jaxx, 34, and Steve J. Larsen, 37, were "baffled" by the "overpriced" traditional wedding planning model that often breaks the bank due to the "outrageous cost attached to the smallest things." Consequently, the pair decided to create a case study on their wedding by selling tickets to prove that weddings can be funded so that marriages start without financial strain. "Weddings are this multi-billion-dollar industry where couples often go into debt for a single day and I wanted to challenge that," Jaxx tells PEOPLE. There were two ticket tiers. A basic ticket, valued at $57 per person, covered admission to the wedding ceremony and reception on Friday, Aug. 1, at Honalee Farm in Eagle, Idaho. Those wanting to "make a full weekend of the event" would purchase the second option, valued at $997 for two tickets, which additionally included access to the rehearsal dinner on Thursday, July 31, and the "biohacking brunch and recovery lounge" on Saturday, Aug. 2. Plus, the VIP guests would get priority reserved seating and have their brand profile spotlighted in the wedding programs. "I know this idea is new. It's disruptive," Jaxx says. "Some people might call it tacky or a money grab. But to me, a cash grab is something done purely for profit with little regard for value or integrity. That's not what this is. We're creating an experience to celebrate our wedding with people who want to be part of it, and the contributions go directly toward making that possible without going into debt, while also supporting one of our favorite causes." Before the couple got engaged at an ice skating rink on New Year's Day, they joked about selling wedding tickets. But once the duo, who have both previously been married, actually started planning their wedding, their joke turned into a reality. "We run businesses and do events all the time, so we'd say things like, 'Wouldn't it be funny if our wedding was a main event and we sold tickets to it?' Totally a joke at first," Jaxx says. "But then we got engaged, and when we started looking at venues and saw the quote for one, there was a $650 cake-cutting fee. Like… just to cut the cake. Not the cake itself. Just to cut it." Jaxx asked her thousands of followers if the financial investment and expectations attached to weddings added pressure to spend more than anticipated to meet the traditional standards. Her comments were "flooded" with couples sharing similar experiences of "wild wedding markups." "So then I made another post and said, 'People should just sell tickets to their weddings at this point,' " Jaxx explains. She took a poll within her social community about turning her wedding into a proof-of-concept, and was "shocked" by people's openness to buying tickets and the high figures they'd hypothetically be willing to spend. "Eventually, we landed on this idea that felt really good to us: don't buy us a gift, just cover your meal and come party with us," Larsen says. "It took the pressure off gifts, helped us manage the guest count, and made the whole thing feel a lot more fun and collaborative." Although there were a lot of positive responses, some people weren't happy. The couple's family and closest friends didn't need to buy tickets and were just sent wedding invitations. Everyone else, however, had to decide whether or not they wanted to pay to attend the wedding when they saw the concept online. One man "didn't hold back" in telling the bride that he was against the idea, and even challenged her to a Facebook Live debate. Jaxx accepted the debate because she thought if she "really believed in this idea, [she] had to be willing to defend it." "I wanted to bring weddings back to this idea that it takes a village, and to show that there could be a different model where couples don't have to go into debt," Jaxx says, with Larsen adding, "It wasn't about making money, it was about covering the cost of their meal and creating a really cool experience." Jaxx continues: "For couples who do want to bring together a big community, the current system often sets them up for failure. I mean, financial conflict is the number one cause of strain in marriage. So the idea that you should start your life together by going tens of thousands of dollars into debt over one day feels backwards." Jaxx and Larsen, who met through the online marketing world and have been in a relationship for five years, tell PEOPLE that they sold approximately 100 basic tickets and 30 VIP tickets. The couple determined their basic ticket pricing on the typical per-head cost of a wedding guest. "Most people would spend more than that on dinner, a concert ticket, or a random night out, so asking $57 to cover your meal and be part of an experience like this felt reasonable," Larsen says. "It also made it easy to take the pressure off gifts entirely." At the "over-the-top" wedding — which was planned by Lisa Ball — guests enjoyed smoked salted caramel ice cream from Stella's Ice Cream, wedding cake from luxury cake artist Michelle Sohan and cookies from Mama's Secrets. Musical performances included dancing trombonist Jonathan Arons, husband-wife DJ duo Team Ragoza, and DJ Dynamix. Marley Jaxx and Steve J. Larsen's Wedding The VIP ticket was all about "upgrading the experience." VIP guests enjoyed a three-day celebration featuring brand exposure and exclusive experiences such as sessions from relationship and health experts. At the biohacking brunch after the wedding, guests were treated to breathwork, brain optimization tools, vibration plates, PEMF mats and red light therapy. "We hit break-even. That was the goal," Larsen says. "We weren't trying to profit off our wedding, we just didn't want to go into debt for it. And everything beyond that now goes toward the charity piece, which is the part we're most excited about." Proceeds beyond breaking even on the actual wedding itself are being donated to Village Impact to help build a school and "support initiatives like access to clean water and menstrual products." The nonprofit organization partners with communities in Kenya to create "access to quality education where it's needed most," according to its website. "We went home on our wedding night with 96,200 reasons to be grateful because we were able to write a check for that amount to Village Impact," Jaxx says. "And then the next morning, during our biohacking brunch, we raised even more, bringing our total to $132,550." The funds came from the ticket sales, silent auction items and different donation tiers throughout the weekend. "That money is going to build classrooms in Kenya, support clean water initiatives, and provide essential resources for kids who need them most," Jaxx explains. "In July 2026, we're heading to Kenya with a crew of people to help build the very project we funded." The newlyweds hope that couples will use their step-by-step wedding blueprint to turn their wedding into a celebration that funds itself instead of draining savings. They're teaching the model to other couples through The goal is to help couples fund their weddings creatively, whether that's through selling tickets, collaborating with local businesses, trading services, getting sponsors, or earning affiliate revenue through content. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I pray that what we just experienced becomes a blueprint for others and that this disrupts the way people think weddings have to be done," Jaxx says. "That other couples see this as an invitation to step into more freedom: financially, emotionally and relationally. Weddings don't need to be a source of debt or pressure. They can be something radically different that is generous, sacred and shared." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
