Groom asks guests to help pay for wedding

Ben Farina and Clare Moran have been together for almost six years and have a three-year-old daughter

A couple unable to afford their dream wedding have asked guests to contribute up to £150 each to attend, under a "business model" devised by the groom.

Ben Farina said his wedding to Clare Moran in June will be "like an all-inclusive holiday" for those attending.

The charge includes a three-night stay at a venue in Derbyshire, which has a pool and spa.

The groom, who lives in Rotherham, denied being "tight" and insisted the idea had "gone down well" with guests.

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Mr Farina said: "I had it all mapped out before I proposed.

"I knew her reaction would be 'we can't afford to get married' so I started showing her how we could."

He said that if his guests did not support the idea, they would have a simpler and smaller wedding.

But all of their 60 adult guests, with 20 children, have confirmed they are attending and paid deposits.

The wedding 'business model'

• The wedding venue, Knockerdown Cottages in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, is charging £10,000

• There will be 60 adult guests and guests are paying £150 each - a total of £9,000

• Parents will pay £50 for each of the 20 children attending - a total of £1,000

• The groom's mother is paying £750 for a hog roast on the day of the wedding. His father is also giving £500

• The couple are spending about £2,000 of their own money, which will cover alcohol, food, the wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses and cheap suits for the groom and best men

• The couple are buying alcohol from a supermarket for the wedding day itself, and guests can bring along their own alcohol to drink over the weekend

• Mr Farina's stepfather, who works as a chef, is cooking a Sunday roast for guests the day after the wedding and a family friend has offered to be the wedding singer

Ben Farina said the venue is "like a little holiday resort" for their guests

Mr Farina, who is originally from Leicester, said: "People always pay a large amount of money to go to a wedding anyway, so why not have it paying towards the actual wedding rather than just to a business owner?

"I sold it to them a bit like an all-inclusive holiday, so all the food and drinks will be incorporated in that cost.

"The venue also has a spa, an indoor swimming pool, a games room, it's very close to local amenities, there's a lake, so it is like a little holiday resort."

Mr Farina said he and his partner paid £550 to go to a friend's wedding in Greece and spent £1,200 while they were there.

He argued that a hotel stay for a wedding would normally cost £100 and guests might spend £50 at the bar.

Miss Moran said her husband-to-be had "put a lot of thought into it"

Miss Moran said: "I never thought we would be able to have a wedding like this.

"We had spoken about marriage because we've got a little girl together and I always said we wouldn't be able to afford to do it, or it would have to be a registry office wedding, not a big wedding.

"This is a brilliant way to do it and I can't wait. He has put a lot of thought into it."