Looking to get married and save money? How about a 'pop-up chapel'

When Juliane Fung and Andy Song decided to get married, they looked into a service that would provide them everything they wanted – but for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding.

“The price of the traditional wedding was just scary, it was very intimidating and we would not have been able to go on a honeymoon if we did the traditional wedding," 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.

Pop-Up Chapel, self-proclaimed as the Uber or Airbnb of the wedding business, provides a one hour ceremony complete with an officiant, photographer, flowers and drinks in a unique location – and for a fee of $3,000 to $4,000.

A chapel is set up in various locations around Toronto, and couples can pick the date and time.

Fung and Song will be getting married on July 7th using the services of Pop-Up Chapel Co., which has been around for about six years and married over 400 couples.

"We marry 10 couples in a day, on the hour, every hour," said Alicia Thurston with Pop-Up Chapel Co.

In a time of inflation and rising housing prices, some couples would rather put that money towards a home, travel or other expenses and prefer the idea of a small wedding.

“It's a lower guest count, a more intimate occasion so that you don't have 100 to 150 guests, you have 20 of your closet friends and family members,” Thurston said.

Fung and Song said the reason they decided to use the service was so that they could put the savings towards buying a home.

“It is a goal of ours to have a house in the future so saving money at this point, it just works,” Song said.

The idea of a Pop-Up Chapel seems to be gathering interest with cost-conscious couples, as the company is currently operating in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Hamilton and Prince Edward Country with plans to expand across the country.

“This is a way people can move forward with a wedding and not have to break the bank,” said Thurston.

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

As couples try to save money while tying the knot, micro-weddings and eloping are also trends happening in the wedding industry.