This couple really is scrappy.
Melissa Drabble, 40, and husband Mark, 41, from England, were able to save thousands of dollars on their wedding after they sourced items from their own scrapyard and scrap metal dealing business.
The pair estimated that the entire bash ended up costing them a total £6k – about $7,400 in USD. They had originally believed that the gathering would come in at nearly £30k, around $37,300
Drabble and her husband receive tons of items that are donated to their metal yard, Tin Man Scrap, and reclamation yard, for them to melt down – but they found that some of the items they were getting were just too good to pass up.
They ended up using some of these for their wedding – sourcing tables, chairs, decorations, and even their engagement rings.
“To have a wedding that was different was always my aim,” Drabble told South West News Service. “I love to stand out from the crowd.
“I felt it was my challenge to make our wedding from things we could reuse and recycle.”
Drabble and her husband met in 1999, when they were only teenagers. Within just three years of dating, they had two children together: Chloe, who is 21, and Nathan, who is 20.
The two started their business together after Mark had started “meddling in bits of scrap.” They transformed their garden shed into a small waste metal yard, where patrons would bring their scrap metal to Mark for it to be weighed in and valued. Melissa would then recycle the items.
However, the couple soon realized that they were getting so many different items that were too cool or too nice to be melted down, so they decided to open a reclamation yard called Derbyshire Reclamation in 2012, where they sell some of these items, according to SWNS.
Many of these items became a source of decoration for their September wedding. With the help from friends, they were able to paint some of the items, giving them a full makeover.
“Sometimes weddings can be so big that it kind of feels like the emotion doesn’t exist,” Drabble explained to the outlet. “But because of the nature of our jobs, I knew that I wanted everything to be handmade and personal!”
“I also really wanted to do things that could be kept and cherished for years to come.”
Some of the secondhand decorations they found through their own business included chairs, cake stands, goblets, disco balls, and a real phone booth. They were able to get all of their tables for free, too – they were from a local pub that was shutting down.
The pair, who hosted the event in their garden, borrowed their plates and glasses from a friend at no extra cost, and also found unique items like a 1920’s merry-go-round, vintage bumper car, and elephant playground set to add some more spunk to the wedding – restoring them to sell again later on.
And, not to mention, Drabble’s engagement ring was made from scrap gold.
“It was a lot of pressure to get everything done but it went to plan on the day and looked even better than I hoped,” Drabble said.
They also sourced items from platforms like Facebook Marketplace – which is where they found their $1,800 marquee there and was able to sell it for same price just a few months later.
“The wedding wasn’t intentionally a money saving challenge,” Drabble maintained.
“Ultimately a wedding is about the marriage and we wanted to make sure it stayed the focal point.”
Now, it’s been a little bit over a year since they got married, and so far, they are loving life together as husband and wife.
“I love nostalgic things with a history – I wouldn’t dream of buying something too modern,” she said.
“With a bit of TLC, you can make something completely new and totally unique.”