New York couple ditch their $15,000 wedding and splash out on four honeymoons instead

• A couple said they decided to scrap plans for a $15,000 wedding and have four honeymoons instead.
• New Yorker Yulia Thomas explained the decision in a TikTok video.
• Newsweek first reported the story of Thomas’ video, which has garnered over 2 million views.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

A woman from New York said she and her partner decided to scrap their plans for an expensive wedding and spend the money on four honeymoons instead.

Yulia Thomas, a luxury travel advisor based in New York City, discussed her decision via TikTok, explaining how she had initially planned to spend $15,000 on the wedding.

Newsweek first reported the story.

Thomas hailed the decision as their “best ever.” Her video, which she posted under the handle “luxexperiences,” has garnered over 2 million views so far.

“It became so stressful, expensive, our families were pulling us in different directions,” Thomas wrote in the video. “I didn’t want to entertain guests and didn’t care for the wedding dress,” she added.

Then, nine months before their wedding date, she and her then-fiance woke up one morning and decided to abandon their grand plans. Instead they got married that same day, with hardly any guests present.

“We called two of our best friends, I ran to the store and bought a $50 white dress and we were married three hours later,” she said.

The couple took the money they would have otherwise spent on their wedding and paid for four honeymoons instead. They enjoyed trips to Greece, Italy, Hawaii, and Morocco.

In contrast to Thomas, many people are still choosing to splash out on their upcoming weddings, as Insider’s Mary Hanbury reported in August.

Couples that were able to save money at the height of the pandemic are now spending up to $200,000 for their 2022 nuptials, according to a wedding planner. Previously, the planner’s clients spent about $100,000 on average, the report added.