Latest news with #SteveLarsen
NZ Herald
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
American couple raises $222k for charity by selling wedding tickets
The snippet of the couple's ceremony uploaded to TikTok. Video / TikTok/antoniahachem Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. An American couple charged guests for the privilege of attending their wedding, raising US$132,000 ($222,123) for charity. Frustrated by extravagant wedding industry costs, Marley Jaxx and Steve Larsen opted to sell tickets to their upcoming nuptials. The pair told The New York Post the decision was intended to be 'disruptive'. About 270 guests attended the three-day affair, which the Boise natives opened up to their combined social media following of 192,000. Of these attendees, 30 purchased VIP tickets valued at US$1000 ($1680), earning them the right to enjoy a variety of special festivities.
News.com.au
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
We charged $1500 to attend our wedding. Hundreds paid, but haters called it a scam
When it came to 'for richer or poorer', Marley Jaxx and Steve Larsen definitely chose the former. Ahead of saying 'I do' on August 1, the digital entrepreneurs, based in the American state Idaho, sold $US1,000 ($A1,500) tickets to their $US50,000 ($A76,600) wedding weekend extravaganza, making room for a whopping 270 guests. Most of them were strangers from the internet. But turning their holy matrimony into a money-making display wasn't just about pocketing a tidy profit, the happy honeys insisted, as The New York Post reports. Instead, it was an effort to 'disrupt' the multi-billion dollar wedding industry and, in their view, make the world a better place. 'We broke even and raised $US132,000 ($A202,300) for charity,' Jaxx, 34, told The New York Post, explaining that she'd first casually pitched the idea of selling tickets to her wedding as a joke to her 21,000 Instagram followers. Now, she's laughing. 'Weddings are so expensive, and selling tickets to one is disruptive,' continued Jaxx, who, alongside her new hubby, donated the excess funds from their wedding to Village Impact, an organisation dedicated to building schools in Africa. 'We wanted to [sell tickets] from a place of heart and purpose,' added the millennial. 'Not scammy.' While planning their unusual fete in their hometown of Boise, she and Larsen, 37, were shocked by the 'crazy' costs, such as a $US650 ($A995) 'cake-cutting' fee, at local wedding venues. So, rather than blow the budget, the social media-savvy sweethearts invited their combined 192,000 Instagram and YouTube followers to pay for an in-person seat at their not-so-exclusive soirée. Roughly 30 high rollers purchased $US997 ($A1,527) 'VIP' vouchers, which Jaxx and Larsen ultimately rounded up to $US1,000 ($A1,500), for their marriage celebration marathon. Besides the usual rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception, the price permitted deep-pocketed participants to partake in a range of unusual offerings — from romance counselling sessions led by experts to a Saturday morning 'Biohacking Brunch'. There, party-exhausted attendees enjoyed red-light therapy care, breath work tutorials and a $US20,000 ($A30,645) bio-charger energy rehabilitation. 'Our social media audiences actually came up with the price point,' said Larsen with a laugh. 'We asked them what they'd expect to pay for [these special experiences] and they said, 'A grand!'' The pair's family and friends were granted full, VIP-level access to their three-day fete. More budget-minded fans from cyberspace were given the option of paying a smaller fee for admission to the Friday afternoon ceremony and reception, or $US97 ($A148) to attend both the Thursday night rehearsal dinner and the wedding. Approximately 100 guests opted for those options. But not everyone saw the value in the duo's funky fundraiser. Virtual vultures pecked mercilessly at Jaxx and Larsen for the uncommon move — accusing the twosome of making a 'mockery' of marriage, and labelling them 'nuts'. However, charging a cover at the wedding chapel doors is trending as a unique way to save a few bucks on the big day. Nova and Reemo Styles, of the Bronx in New York, hawked tickets to their swank union at St Patrick's Cathedral. The newlyweds previously told New York Post that charging $US333 ($A510) per person kept their costs low and bank accounts stacked high. Meanwhile, Jaxx and Larsen said they were thrilled to have also recovered the expenses they laid out for their splashy to-do — topped off with live performances by dancing trombonist Jonathan Arons, music from Team Ragoza and DJ Dynamix, and sweets from Stella's Ice Cream, confectioner Michelle Sohan and Mama's Secrets cookies. But the darlings are even more excited for a July 2026 trip to Kenya, where they'll erect classrooms for kids in need, using the excess money raised from their wedding. 'It costs $US15,000 ($A22,980) to build a classroom with Village Impact,' said Jaxx. 'We went with them to Africa two years ago and it was the most beautiful, life-changing experience.' 'As we shared that at our wedding reception, several people donated the full $US15,000 ($A22,980),' she said. 'I had people approach me saying, 'I have no idea who you are, but I'm at your wedding and it's awesome.' 'They came to the wedding as strangers, left as friends and now we're all going on this life-changing trip to Africa next year.' The helpful funds notwithstanding, Larsen says selling tickets to their special occasion also helped him and Jaxx weed out their true supporters from the phony clout-chasers on their guest list. 'When someone chooses to purchase a ticket to a wedding, they are saying 'Yes,' but it's not out of obligation,' he noted. 'Everyone who was there wanted to be there.'
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
We sold $1K tickets to our wedding — haters called it a scammy cash grab, but hundreds of happy guests paid up
When it came to 'for richer or poorer,' Marley Jaxx and Steve Larsen definitely chose the former. Ahead of saying 'I Do' on Aug. 1, the Idaho-based digital entrepreneurs sold $1,000 tickets to their $50,000 wedding-weekend extravaganza, making room for a whopping 270 guests — most of them strangers from the internet. But turning their holy matrimony into a money-making display wasn't just about pocketing a tidy profit, the happy honeys insisted. Instead, it was an effort toward 'disrupting' the multi-billion-dollar wedding industry — and making the world a better place. 'We broke even and raised $132,000 for charity,' Jaxx, 34, told The Post — explaining that she'd first casually pitched the idea of selling tickets to her wedding as a joke to her 21,000 Instagram followers. Now, she's laughing all the way to the bank. 'Weddings are so expensive, and selling tickets to one is disruptive,' continued Jaxx, who, alongside her new hubby, donated the excess funds from their wedding to Village Impact, an organization dedicated to building schools in Africa. 'We wanted to [sell tickets] from a place of heart and purpose,' added the millennial, 'not scammy.' While planning their unusual fête in their hometown of Boise, she and Larsen, 37, were sticker-shocked by the 'crazy' costs, such as a $650 'cake-cutting' fee, at local wedding venues. So, rather than blowing the budget, the social media-savvy sweethearts invited their combined 192,000 Instagram and YouTube followers to pay for an in-person seat at their not-so-exclusive soirée. Roughly 30 high-rollers purchased $997 'VIP' vouchers — which Jaxx and Larsen ultimately rounded up to $1,000 — for their marriage celebration marathon. Besides the usual rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception, the pretty penny permitted deep-pocketed participants to partake in a range of unusual offerings — from romance counseling sessions led by experts to a Saturday morning 'Biohacking Brunch.' There, party-exhausted attendees enjoyed red-light therapy care, breath work tutorials and a $20,000 bio-charger energy rehabilitation. 'Our social media audiences actually came up with the $1,000 price point,' said Larsen with a laugh. 'We asked them what they'd expect to pay for [these special experiences] and they said, 'A grand!'' The pair's family and friends were granted full, VIP-level access to their three-day fête. More budget-minded fans from cyberspace were given the option of paying either $57 for admission to the Friday afternoon ceremony and reception, or $97 to attend both the Thursday night rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding. Approximately 100 guests opted for those options. But not everyone saw the value in the duo's funky fundraiser. Virtual vultures pecked mercilessly at Jaxx and Larsen for the uncommon move — accusing the twosome of making a 'mockery' of marriage, and labeling them 'nuts.' However, charging a cover at the wedding chapel doors is trending as a unique way to save a few bucks on the big day, which can run lovebirds over $26,000. Nova and Reemo Styles, of the Bronx, hawked tickets to their swank union at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The New York newlyweds previously told The Post that charging $333 per person kept their costs low and bank accounts stacked high. Meanwhile, Jaxx and Larsen said they were thrilled to have also recovered the expenses they laid out for their splashy to-do — topped off with live performances by dancing trombonist Jonathan Arons, music from Team Ragoza and DJ Dynamix, and sweets from Stella's Ice Cream, confectioner Michelle Sohan and Mama's Secrets cookies. But the darlings are even more excited for a July 2026 trip to Kenya, where they'll erect classrooms for kids in need — with the monies raised from their wedding. 'It costs $15,000 to build a classroom with Village Impact,' said Jaxx. 'We went with them to Africa two years ago and it was the most beautiful, life-changing experience.' 'As we shared that at our wedding reception, several people donated the full $15,000,' she said. 'I had people approach me saying, 'I have no idea who you are, but I'm at your wedding and it's awesome.'' 'They came to the wedding as strangers, left as friends and now we're all going on this life-changing trip to Africa next year.' The helpful funds notwithstanding, Larsen says selling tickets to their special occasion also helped him and Jaxx weed out their true supporters from the phony clout-chasers on their guest list. 'When someone chooses to purchase a ticket to a wedding, they are saying 'Yes,' but it's not out of obligation,' he noted. 'Everyone who was there wanted to be there.' Solve the daily Crossword
