US couple turn to corporate sponsorship to fund their nuptials

The couple plan to don logos on their wedding dress and tuxedo, as well as every T-shirt they wear during their 11-day honeymoon in Thailand. -- PHOTO: SPONSOROURWEDDING.COM
The couple plan to don logos on their wedding dress and tuxedo, as well as every T-shirt they wear during their 11-day honeymoon in Thailand. -- PHOTO: SPONSOROURWEDDING.COM
Courtney McKenzie and fiance Jamil plan to get companies to pay to put their corporate logos and brands on her white wedding gown and his tuxedo, among other things, in order to raise US$30,000 (S$37,000) for a honeymoon and wedding in Thailand. They say part of the proceeds will also go to charity. -- PHOTO: SPONSOROURWEDDING.COM

A couple in the United States stunned by the costs involved in organising a wedding have turned to corporate sponsorship as a solution.

Courtney McKenzie and fiance Jamil plan to get companies to pay to put their corporate logos and brands on her white wedding gown and his tuxedo, among other things, in order to raise US$30,000 (S$37,000) for a honeymoon and wedding in Thailand, according to a report on BuzzFeed.

The couple say part of the proceeds from their "Wedding With A Cause" will also go to charity.

Said Ms McKenzie, who works in marketing and social media and who has a following of about 30,000 on all platforms combined: "When we first got engaged we knew we didn't want to have a big wedding. After we put it down on paper we knew we couldn't afford to, either."

But the couple didn't want to lose sight of what's most important to them: travel and adventure.

"We take a vacation every year, but we'd never been to Thailand so we decided to go to Thailand together for the wedding without any other guests," she told BuzzFeed.

After the Bangkok ceremony, the couple are planning to spend 11 days travelling in South East Asia, going scuba diving, bamboo river rafting, and elephant trekking.

But their fund-raising still has a way to go as a major brand has yet to sign on.

"We have a few Fortune 500 companies who have reached out to us which is exactly what we wanted, as well as smaller companies like GlamHotlist, who are sponsoring my entire wedding and honeymoon wardrobe," Ms McKenzie told BuzzFeed.

The couple also have a wedding ring sponsor who is providing free rings for the ceremony.

"A lot of companies have been contacting us and we're just excited to go through them all," said Ms McKenzie, adding that no Fortune 500 company had signed on to sponsor the wedding yet.

The couple's nuptial announcement last week has already garnered more than 40,000 likes on Facebook, said BuzzFeed.

"We will be hashtagging, tweeting and instagramming our way through Thailand," said Ms McKenzie.

Not to mention, the couple are planning to don logos on their wedding dress and tuxedo, as well as every T-shirt they wear during their 11-day honeymoon.

"Our friends, family, and social networks will all see these pictures of us wearing brands' logos," she added.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.