Bride and Groom Reveal Trick for Getting Free Stuff at Wedding – Newsweek

A savvy bride has revealed how she and her new husband were able to land a raft of freebies to celebrate their wedding with.

Gillian, who married her long-term partner Sian Shi, at the Singapore Turf Club back in October, originally took to TikTok to reveal how they landed gifts from as many as five of their favorite companies and brands.

Weddings are notoriously expensive affairs. According to The Knot’s annual survey of newlywed couples, in 2022, the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. stood at an eye-watering $30,000 dollars.

That’s a lot of outlay and might go some way to explaining why these occasions can prove so stressful for a bride or groom desperate to ensure nothing goes wrong. Given the average expenditure, it’s little wonder that couples are seeking ways to make savings while maximizing their enjoyment of their big day.

It could be worth them taking a leaf out of Gillian’s book. Ahead of her nuptials last month, she decided to get in touch with a few of their favorite brands and invite them to their wedding.

Gillian told Newsweek they were inspired by a video she saw on social media. “My husband and I actually saw a similar TikTok a few months back of a lady sending her invite to McDonald’s and she got a McNugget bouquet back,” she said. “From there we decided to try it out to see if we can get any response or acknowledgement back.”

She said they chose a selection of brands they use “frequently” and also sent an invite to the newly elected Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who took office in September.

Incredibly, the responses they got back included gifts such as vouchers, cuddly toys, plushies and a free delivery discount on the bulk order of bubble tea they bought for their guests.

In another sweet touch, President Shanmugaratnam wrote them a signed letter congratulating them on their nuptials. Eager to share in the success of their scheme, Gillian posted a video of their spoils to TikTok under the handle gichizzle.

It’s been watched close to a million times, with several soon-to-be-married users keen to follow suit. “We need to do this,” one TikToker commented with another writing: “I’m sending invites to Tesla and HDB.”

There were a couple of dissenting voices among the comments. One user branded it “glorified begging” while another said it was “just a ploy to get freebies.”

However, the vast majority felt it was a fun way to bolster their big day. Gillian was keen to stress the importance of not simply sending out a million invites to all your favorite brands.

“I sent my invites via postal mail instead of email,” she said. “So being thoughtful and putting a personalized touch will definitely make the brand feel more appreciated! I wrote a different message on the back of my invite for each brand or individual.”

Gillian said they “never expected” to get such an enthusiastic response and made a point of keeping their expectations low. “Just try and have fun in the process and not go in with high expectations,” she said. “After all this is a gift!”

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