How to Cut Wedding Costs? Win a Contest
Getting married is expensive. The average Canadian wedding costs $32,358, according to weddingbells.ca. Figuring out ways to lower expenses is a frequent pastime of many engaged couples. One unique approach is to participate in a contest.
Lays Canada – Do Us a Flavour Tastes of Canada Contest
Lays Canada announced in February its 2015 Do Us a Flavour Tastes of Canada contest. Participants were asked to name their favorite regional flavor. The one selected will be used to make a new type of potato chip. The winning contestant will take home $50,000 and 1 percent of the product’s future sales. Darryl Francispillia of Mississauga, Ontario, is one of the finalists, and his entry is “butter chicken” flavored chips. Francispillia is getting married in November and, if he wins, plans to use the money to help pay for his wedding. The complete list of finalists is:
- Western Canada: Cowboy BBQ Beans on Lay’s Wavy by Brenda Boghean
- Ontario: Butter Chicken on Lay’s Original by Darryl Francispillia
- Quebec: Montreal Smoked Meat on Lay’s Original by Zdravko Gunjevic
- Atlantic Canada: PEI Scalloped Potatoes on Lay’s Original
There were approximately 950,000 entries submitted. Voting began August 11 and runs through September 30. Canadians are eligible to vote once a day in any of the following ways:
- Visit https://www.dousaflavour.ca/en/
- Text VOTE to 10101
- Tweet one of the following finalist hashtags #VoteCowboyBBQBeans, #VoteButterChicken, #VoteMontrealSmokedMeat and #VotePEIScallopedPotatoes
- Instagram one of the finalist voting hashtags
TODAY Show’s Ultimate Elvis Wedding
Kaycee Satava and Cameron Baker were the winners of the TODAY show’s Ultimate Elvis Wedding. They were married on April 23 in Las Vegas at the new “Elvis Presley’s Graceland Wedding Chapel” at the Westgate Hotel. In its former life, the Westgate was the Las Vegas Hilton where Elvis performed over 830 shows. Satava and Baker were awarded:
- The first ever wedding at Elvis Presley’s Graceland Wedding Chapel
- Wedding reception at the hotel
- Roundtrip airfare
- Suite at the Westgate for two nights
- Private tour of the new Elvis exhibit
- VIP tickets to the opening night show of “Elvis Experience”
- Priscilla Presley, ex-wife of Elvis, as a ceremony witness
Satava has been an Elvis fan since she was a child. Her mom introduced her to Elvis movies when an illness made it necessary for her to spend lots of time in bed.
The Knot Dream Wedding
For the last few years, the website www.theknot.com has run one of the most spectacular wedding contests around. Samantha Carisch and Taylor Sinclair were the 2015 winners, and the couple was married on June 4. In order to be considered, contestants had to submit the following information:
- A picture of themselves
- Three to five sentences sharing their story and describing what makes them unique
- Twitter and Instagram handles
The nuptials were held at the Chateau St. Jean Winery in Sonoma County, California. Readers helped plan the event by voting on:
- Wedding rings
- Wedding dress
- Invitations
- Bridal hairstyle and make-up
- Flowers
- Bridesmaid dresses
- Honeymoon
Bridal Guide Magazine Cut Wedding Costs
Bridal Guide magazine (www.bridalguide.com) is currently running wedding contests with the following prizes:
- $3200 in gifts for the home from JCPenney plus a honeymoon in Verona, Italy, at the Palazzo Victoria, a 14th century villa that has been converted into a luxury hotel.
- Honeymoon in the Bahamas with five nights at the SLS Lux in Nassau, $100 per day food and beverage credit, two spa treatments and two waterfront experiences.
- Jasmine Bridal Gown featured on the cover of the September/October 2015 issue. The dress has a sweetheart neckline, beaded ribbon sash and Tiffany length train, and any bride would love to call it her own.
Winning a contest is a great way to help offset the price of a wedding. While the odds of being triumphant are typically relatively low, it’s certainly worth a shot.
