I saved $10K on my wedding with a used $50 dress and potluck dinner

Marriage takes teamwork — and these newlyweds just put their team to the test.

A thrifty couple from North Carolina spent just $600 on their rustic wedding after two weeks of planning.

Bride Shelby Phelps and groom Garret, both 26-year-old river guides in Bryson City, were dead set on keeping their wedding costs low, so they got creative when asking their friends and family to pitch in.

For just $50, Shelby found her lace short-sleeve wedding dress on Poshmark, an online marketplace where you can buy and sell secondhand clothing. The groom was also able to stick to a budget by going casual for the big day, wearing a fleece Patagonia vest, purchased on sale for $80, and a $50 pair of Prana pants, in lieu of a tuxedo. The groom’s best men and the bridesmaids bought their own outfits too.

With nearly a third of their budget spent on outfits alone, they had to scrimp for any remaining details. They enlisted friends to both photograph and record footage of their wedding. One pal chipped in by offering to bake their cake — carrot cake with cream cheese icing — while several more opted to bring a dish too.

“We live in a community of river guides and told people we didn’t want gifts, but if they wanted to show their talent, they could take pictures, bake a cake and create the food,” Shelby said.

The couple then used what they had left to decorate, which included wildflowers they picked in their community. What remained was either borrowed or donated to the couple — which ended up saving them around $10,000.

Their total rang in at $600.

“It was by far the most beautiful day of my life,” the blushing bride told South West News Service. “Everyone had a good time — we didn’t need to spend thousands for it to be perfect.”

Some items the couple sprung for included beer for their guests ($45) and pizza ($120).

The pair first met on Tinder in February 2017. After exchanging messages, Shelby decided to drive an hour-and-a-half to meet Garret, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Hastings, which she says was the best first date she has ever had.

“I was going through a hard time in my life,” Shelby explained. “We were messaging back and forth. He sent me a bible verse and I was super drawn to go on a first date with him.”

Since their wedding was untraditional, it’s no surprise that Garret’s proposal was too. In April 2020, he wrote a list of goals when he couldn’t sleep, one of them being “to marry Shelby in two weeks.”

The couple danced the night away after their five-minute ceremony, which took place in front of 25 of their closest friends and family members.

“We ended up having a bonfire celebration and since it was a common trail, we had random hikers coming through and hanging out with us — we danced to music until dark,” Shelby said.