Friday, August 20, 1999
Couple seeks sponsors to cover wedding cost
BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Charles and Natasha Allen, with daughter Alani.
(Gary Landers photo)
| ZOOM |
|
MOUNT HEALTHY — Strapped for money, Natasha and Charles Allen were married almost a year ago in a courtroom at the Hamilton County Courthouse.
They did it without the company of family and friends, without the wedding gown, the cake or any of the trappings of matrimonial tradition.
So this Oct. 16, on their first anniversary, they want to do it up right — a traditional ceremony to renew their vows, a reception hall, wedding cake, tuxedo and wedding gown, family and friends.
The problem is they still can't afford it. It would cost several thousand dollars for the hall, a guest list of 200, a gown, invitations and a photographer.
So the couple has taken out a classified ad in The Enquirer and Cincinnati Post, as well as the Trading Post. The ad reads:
“Couple willing to sell sponsorship for wedding expenses. 200 guests will see your logo on invitations, programs, thank-you's, etc.”
They see it as a logical extension of a corporate-sponsored car race, golf tournament or other sporting event. All done in good taste.
“I want it to be tasteful,” said Mrs. Allen. “I mean, I don't want coupons falling out of the program.”
They were married, both explained, because they didn't want to wait until they were flush enough to pay for a more traditional event.
“We realized it was going to be awhile before we could come up with the money for the ceremony we both wanted,” Mrs. Allen said. “We didn't want to be living together, we really wanted to be married. And also because I was pregnant. We had planned to get married before I got pregnant. So we just went ahead.”
The couple figured they would eventually have a more traditional ceremony. But now, as they approach their first anniversary, they're still not in the position financially to do it. So they turned to a nontraditional approach.
The ads began appearing Tuesday. So far, there has been no response.
They got the idea from a Glenside, Pa., couple who asked for sponsors for their wedding ceremony and received $30,000 in goods and services from businesses in return for an acknowledgement on wedding invitations, thank-you notes and an oral acknowledgement during the toast.
Mrs. Allen, 21, is an investment specialist with Charles Schwab & Co. Mr. Allen, 24, attends school at night, en route to earning an associate degree in electronic engineering and then continuing his education at a flight school.
The Allens' daughter is 7 months old. They wear thin gold wedding bands that they exchanged during the courthouse ceremony.
The lack of a traditional wedding disappointed some family members, as well as the couple.
“It's very important to us,” Mr. Allen said. “We want family and friends to celebrate with us. We were too poor to afford it.”
If the sponsorships don't work out, they will wait for a wedding. They will have to. They want to renew their vows on the same day they were married, Oct. 16. But Mrs. Allen has checked, and the next time Oct. 16 occurs on a Saturday is 2004.
“We're going to do it someday,” Mrs. Allen said. “I never got to wear the dress.”
Internet's racial divide narrowing
Microsoft vows to fix e-mail bug today
Driver in worst DUI set to be released
Mugger shot by intended victim
Conceled weapon permit requires test
New DUI law would assume guilt for refusing breath exam
Price Hill mourns loss of 'neighbors'
Life's a beach, Buffett rules
Local colleges among top rated
Miami freshman class hits record
UC hears from excavators in Turkey: We're fine
Boaters cautious in wake of deaths
Couple seeks sponsors to cover wedding cost
Livestock collide with development
Blind rafters enjoy Little Miami adventure
6 file for school board spots
Middletown will elect new leaders
No candidates for 9 posts in Warren
Seven running for Mason council
Family reflects on blessings after crash
GET TO IT
Homework is for parents, too
What parents say about getting involved
Park benches with pizazz
Other Artworks programs
Storyteller performances open Taft exhibit season
County finally hears voters
Food banks Y2K-ready
How to help earthquake victims
Hundreds on ballot in Hamilton County
Judge sets strict rules in porn trial
Man dies from apparent electrocution
Marilyn Sheppard's body to be exhumed
N.Ky. leaders boost workers' training center
New roof shields fairgoers
New system speeds fingerprint IDs in Ohio
Shooting death stuns family
Teachers union sues schools
TRISTATE DIGEST
Truck driver in fatal crash likely to post bond
Woodlawn rights case referred
