Something paid for? New app lets couples sell wedding tickets

When Jennifer, an actor, visited a Paris wedding fair with her future husband as they planned their big day, she noticed a company offering something that seemed bizarre.

- Angelique Chrisafis

When Jennifer, an actor, visited a Paris wedding fair with her future husband, they planned their big day and noticed a company offering something that seemed bizarre.

A Paris startup proposed that couples sell tickets to a handful of strangers via an app to help pay their wedding costs. In return, paying ticketholders could mingle with other guests and enjoy someone's happy day.

"I thought, 'Woah, that's quite something, having people you don't know at your wedding,'" said Jennifer. "But we took the flyer, went away to think about it and decided: why not? If we can see the profiles beforehand on the app and choose who to accept, it could be something quite original to do."

Jennifer, 48, and her husband, Paulo, 50, who met on a dating app during the pandemic and have an 18-month-old son, will marry this month at a country manor an hour east of Paris.

Theirs is the first wedding to have paying guests through the app. Eighty adults and 15 children, some traveling from England, Germany, and Portugal, will make up friends and family at the wedding. But there will be five strangers who have bought tickets.