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This Couple Got Married in Eight Different Countries Instead of Having One Big Ceremony
Why have one wedding when you can have eight?
That’s exactly what Brett and Amelia Irwin did when they got married in 2015. The couple, who is from Johannesburg, South Africa, decided to get married eight different times in eight different countries.
After originally planning a big wedding in South Africa, the couple had a change of heart when Brett Irwin’s brother announced he was getting married that same year. The couple then decided to take a month off and travel to eight different places, having a small ceremony in each place.
The trip started in Amelia Irwin’s hometown in the U.K. and finished in South Africa.
“We invited whoever wanted to come and everyone got the chance to attend a wedding,” Amelia Irwin told BuzzFeed. “We got amazing wedding photos, spent all our wedding money on something just for us. It seemed perfect – the answer to all our problems. No paying for others to eat, drink, party – just spending the wedding money on ourselves and travelling the world! Those who wanted to come could come.”
All together the couple had ceremonies in India, Russia, China, Nepal, Mauritius, Paris, England and South Africa. Throughout all the ceremonies the couple had one constant guest, their 5-year-old son.
“We started in Paris and planned to go to Moscow,” Amelia Irwin explained. “Then I was so keen on doing the Trans-Siberian railway, which includes Irkutsk, Mongolia, and ends in Beijing, which is where the Great Wall of China can be accessed. We both wanted to go to India. We flew over Nepal and stopped there too. We flew from there to Delhi and drove to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, and then flew down to Mumbai where we stayed two nights, before heading to Mauritius.”
Both sets of parents attended several of the ceremonies, with her parents going to England and France, and his going to China, Mauritius, and South Africa.
“They were both really supportive. Although my parents did think we were a bit mad, especially as I lugged eight wedding dresses around the world,” she shared.
The couple spent about £10,000 (around $14,600 USD), which is “less than an average wedding.”
“We live to travel, and I would far rather spend the money on travelling than on a party for a day,” she said.
