If there’s one thing that any bride knows about a wedding, it’s the fact that it is expensive. In recent years, there has been a trend toward spending more and more on the big day, with some weddings costing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Then again, there are also those who understand the benefits of saving money. They want to have a nice wedding, but they do so on a budget.
Madison Mulkey is just such a bride. She was having a wedding in Savannah, Georgia, and she decided to save money on the catering.
Rather than spending $75 per plate, which is the national average, she took a less expensive route. She went to the Tex-Mex restaurant, Chili’s, and asked them to cater the event.
Madison welcomed 99 guests to the wedding, which would have cost an estimated $7,500 just to feed them. She spent $1,950 and then posted a video of the event on TikTok.
The video went viral with more than 2 million views.
Mulkey spoke about the price point, saying they loved it and it is unbeatable.
Although she did save money on the event by going with a Chili’s catered meal, there were some unexpected costs. This includes the time and energy associated with coordinating the event and picking up the food.
The food had to be picked up early because they didn’t want to pay the delivery fees, which went hand-in-hand with the frugal atmosphere surrounding the event.
In other words, Mulkey was standing at Chili’s at 11 in the morning on her wedding day. She did have a crew that helped her make sure the food was hot and ready and placed out appropriately for such an event.
@brideisapersonality So happy we did this!! #greenscreen #bride #bridetok #weddingtok #bridal #wedding #2023bride #2024bride #2023wedding #weddingwardrobe #weddingideas #weddingplanning #bridalcontentcreator #brideisapersonality #chilis #weddingfood #weddingcaterer #budgetbride
@brideisapersonality Replying to @Cas It was just a typical wedding buffet! #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen
Mulkey admitted that it was more work than they had anticipated, and it did place some added pressure on the venue.
In a follow-up video, Mulkey defended herself and added some clarification as there were some people expressing concern that extra work was put on the workers.
@brideisapersonality Replying to @reputationbestalbumstan Of course we tipped! 😊
The kitchen staff at Chili’s was tipped $300 and they paid the venue staff hourly, including any extra time associated with preparation.