Couple hold lavish 2nd wedding after guests had to pay to attend their 1st




A penny-pinching bride said an extravagant thank you to her guests who she made pay for their own food on her big day.

Gail Reynolds, 43, and her husband Brian, 44, from Worcester were so hard up that when they decided to get married in May 2003 everyone who wanted to come had to contribute money for the wedding breakfast.



Gail and Brian at their first budget wedding (PA Real Life)

“Every spare penny we had went on our wedding fund. Our clothes came from charity shops and we never went out or even had takeaway,” she said.

Gail, mum to son Ashleigh, now 24, and daughter Libby, 17, began selling Avon products in her spare time to try and raise extra cash. There still wasn’t enough money to pay for the whole reception though, so she and Brian came up with a cheeky plan.

“We honestly didn’t have any choice, we couldn’t really afford to feed our guests,” Gail said. “It felt rude but when we asked if they would mind contributing £10 each everyone was more than happy.”



The happy couple with some of their guests who paid for their own dinner (PA Real Life)

In fact, realising how hard up they were, the couple’s friends and family started offering to help in all sorts of ways.

“My old boss said we could honeymoon in his Spanish villa, a friend did the flowers and Brian’s sister made our wedding cake,” Gail said. “Their generosity meant so much to us. We had dinner in a local hotel. Although it wasn’t fancy, we had a lovely day.”

After the wedding Gail continued selling Avon products and had so much success it became both her and Brian’s full time jobs. In 2005 the couple sold £1 million worth of products, and that year she gave birth to Rosie, now nine.




Brian and Gail with Ashleigh and Libby at their first wedding (PA Real Life)

“It was a true rags to riches tale,” Gail said. “One minute we could barely afford to buy a burger, the next we could buy the shop!”

Now they were better off, Gail and Brian decided to renew their wedding vows – and say thank you to all those who had attended their first big day.

“One day Brian just handed me a glossy brochure, it was for luxury wedding venues,” Gail said, who now boasts a £7.5 million turnover. “He suggested having our dream wedding – now that we could afford it.”



The couple and their family at their second much more lavish wedding (PA Real Life)

They invited everyone who had attended their first do – plus 100 more.

                        Picture : Plus sizs wedding dresses

“No expense was spared. Everyone stayed in the luxury hotel where we had the ceremony. After renewing our vows we had dinner in a room filled with hundreds of white roses and lilies,” she said.

On June 1 last year, Gail got ready in a beautiful bridal suite, she was wearing an £800 gown and they cut a wedding cake that cost £250 and short wedding dress. And of course this time, they splashed out for a lavish dinner for their guests.


Some of their many guests enjoying dinner at their second wedding (PA Real Life)

“It was the wedding of my dreams but our first will always be special to me,” Gail said. “I really found out who our friends were and I feel very lucky to have them in my life.”


See more : wedding dresses Australia Online