A Toronto couple uses a floating chapel to save money

When Julian Fung and Andy Song decided to get married, they looked at a service that offered everything they wanted, but for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding.

“The cost of a traditional wedding was terrible, it was very intimidating and if we had done a traditional wedding we wouldn't have been able to go on our honeymoon,” Fung, of Toronto, said in an interview.

A traditional wedding can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 depending on how much you want to spend.

The Pop-Up Chapel, the self-proclaimed Uber or Airbnb of the wedding business, offers a one-hour ceremony in a unique location with an officiant, photographer, flowers and drinks and costs between $3,000 and $4,000.

Chapels are set up in various locations around Toronto and couples can choose the day and time.

Fung and Song will tie the knot on July 7 using Pop-Up Chapel Co., which has been in business for about six years and has married more than 400 couples.

“We marry 10 couples a day, an hour, every hour,” said Alicia Thurston of the Pop-Up Chapel Co.

With inflation and rising housing prices, some couples prefer the idea of ​​a smaller wedding, putting that money toward a home, travel or other expenses.

“It's a more intimate event where you don't have 100 to 150 guests, you have 20 friends and family,” Thurston said.

Fung and Song said the reason they decided to use the service was because they were saving for a house purchase.

“Our goal is to own a home in the future, so saving money, it just works,” Song said.

The idea of ​​a pop-up chapel seems to be appealing to cost-conscious couples, as the company currently operates in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Hamilton and Prince Edward Island, and plans to expand across the country.

“It's a way for people to move forward with their wedding and not break the bank,” Thurston said.

The Pop-Up Chapel also donates a portion of the wedding proceeds to charity.

As couples try to save money when putting together a wedding, small weddings and elopements are also trends taking place in the wedding industry.