We had FOUR weddings to celebrate our nuptials, it only cost us $16k
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Meet the couple who had four weddings to celebrate their nuptials at a cost of $16,000, and say that it was “not excessive” and that they plan to renew their vows every few years.
Ashley Miller, 38, is originally from Los Angeles, California, USA, while her partner, Larry Lansing, 41, grew up 2,824 miles away in Troy, New York, USA.
With their friends and family spread across the US, the couple decided that instead of doing one big thing, they would opt for four smaller celebrations.
They decided to go see their friends and family, rather than have their guests come to them, and were married in four separate weddings that cost $16,098 in total.
Ashley Miller, 38, is originally from Los Angeles, California, USA, she had four weddings to celebrate her nuptials to Larry Lansing, 41.
Ashley, who works in event production, from Los Gatos, California, USA, said: “Ultimately, the four different celebrations ended up happening largely because of covid being such a thing.”
‘After the last few years and considering the fact that my husband and I have families living on opposite ends of the country, we decided to have these four different ceremonies.
‘Most of my family lives on the West Coast of the United States and all of his family lives on the East Coast.
“Recognizing that we have older relatives, and that it was very important for us to share this day with us, instead of asking them to go somewhere, we brought them the party.
With their friends and family spread across the US, the couple decided that instead of doing one big thing, they would opt for four smaller celebrations.
Their last wedding saw them invite 38 of their closest friends to celebrate in Las Vegas in July of last year.
‘People loved it and thought it was a great thing to do.
“Our budget wasn’t much higher than if we were able to fit so many people in one place, as it would have increased everything.”
For their first wedding, a legal ceremony, at the Yolo, California, USA courthouse on December 28, 2021, the couple donned jeans and sweaters.
Their union was witnessed by two friends, with one friend, Warren Venice, performing the ceremony while they had a license to marry.
Surrounded by their four friends, the wedding was a last-minute event after driving home through a storm.
Ashley said: ‘It was us deciding that we were going to get married anyway.
‘One of the friends we were with, as it happens, is a minister who could legally perform the ceremony and the other was our witness.
It was just the four of us, laughing out loud in jeans and sweaters.
‘A very informal affair that led us to want to throw the biggest parties for our families.
“We wanted to celebrate with them more than on a phone call or a video call.
We didn’t think it was excessive as we wanted the whole family to be able to celebrate with us.
“We plan to renew our vows every few years starting in 2024 and celebrate another week for all of our family and friends.
After telling their families, they had mixed reactions to the news that they had tied the knot.
Ashley said: “There was joy and congratulations, but with my dad, there was a touch of disappointment that he couldn’t be there.”
Ashley said the beauty of having four weddings was that each one looked and felt so different.
“My dad is more traditional, there was some sadness to him, but in the same way, he was completely in character, so it didn’t really surprise anyone.”
Their second wedding was at a location in Troy, New York, USA, with members of Larry’s family in attendance on May 21, 2022.
Ashley said: ‘This ceremony was for my husband’s family. It was in a very sweet place. What I did was focus on packages where most of it was being handled directly by the venue.
‘All the places we got married, all the places we celebrated, we had never been, we had never seen before we got there.
The third celebration was for Ashley’s family in Oregon, Portland, USA on June 11, 2022, and she described the venue as “very personal.”
The couple said that during their third event, they were focused on being able to talk to everyone who was there at the time.
‘Everything was done with a lot of faith and trust with everyone who was working on it.
“It was very sweet, it was a moment for me to meet so many of his extended family that I had never met before.
“I met several of his childhood friends that I had heard stories about, it was probably the quietest of all the events, a little more talking than dancing.”
The third celebration was for Ashley’s family in Oregon, Portland, USA on June 11, 2022.
“There were about 30 to 35 of my family members there, which was another point in terms of making it very personalized,” Ashley said.
For their fourth celebration, the couple tied the knot in an Elvis Presley-themed chapel surrounded by 38 of their friends.
After the ceremony with Elvis, the couple went to the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas to celebrate with friends
By the fourth wedding, she explained that she and her partner were at that level of goofy and playful that the idea of doing a wedding with Elvis was “a total treat.”
“We did it a lot so we could talk to everyone who was there at the time.
‘To smile and laugh, beyond the formal photos that usually happen at weddings.’
And her fourth and final big day was at Little Vegas Chapel in July 2022, with 38 of her closest friends.
The couple tied the knot in an Elvis Presley-themed chapel surrounded by 38 of their friends and headed to the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas to celebrate.
Ashley said, “We live in California, but Las Vegas is a great option for people to travel to.”
Ashley said the beauty of having four weddings was that each one looked and felt so different.
“Honestly, my partner and I are at that level of silly and playful that the idea of doing a wedding with Elvis is an absolute delight, it was a complete blast.
“I highly recommend to anyone else in life to do the things you love, do the things that make you smile.”
Ashley said the beauty of having four weddings was that each one looked and felt so different.
She said: ‘I used something different for each of them.
“My husband for the New York and Portland events, he wore a beautiful linen suit, but for Vegas he went way over the top in a shiny black and blue suit.
“I got to wear three different lovely outfits for everything, they matched our venues and we were able to sit down and make our custom playlists.”
‘I work in the world of entertainment: MC’d all my events and chose the music for everyone.’
Ashley said that she and Larry, a software engineer, wanted to use weddings as an opportunity to bring people together after Covid-19.
Ashley said: “It was an opportunity for us to see people ranging from children who have been growing up for the last few years to seeing the elderly in our family.”