SPOKAN, WASH. – Where there’s a will, there’s a way and one couple found one to make their wedding happen!
Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish are known as the “wedding can couple.” That’s because they are paying for their July 31 wedding solely with the $3,800 in proceeds they earned from recycling 400,000.
The couple reached their goal last week when over a ton of aluminum cans were hauled off their porch by a local recycler. Even though their wedding is paid for, they haven’t stopped collecting cans. With their wedding around the corner, Geyer and Parrish are looking to raise money for their honeymoon and to donate to Doctors Without Borders and Rim Country Land Institute.
The idea came to them after a harsh brush with reality. Parrish said they quickly realized they’d have to save around $500 a month to pay for their wedding if they wanted to get married in a reasonable amount of time and avoid getting into debt. Extra cash was hard to find as Parrish was laid off from her job right after they purchased a house.
Geyer had some experience collecting aluminum cans as he melts cans down on his Weber grill and uses the metal to create art in his spare time. Parrish was hit with a lightbulb to pay for their wedding in the middle of a sleepless night. She had just helped Geyer sort through some cans that evening and knew you could get money for aluminum by the pound.
She woke Geyer up at 1 a.m. to share her plan. “When I told Peter about it, he kind of gave me a look that said this is a crazy idea, but you’re the type of crazy that can pull it off,” she said.
Parrish built a website and spread the word amongst friends and through social media. The plan was successful and they have come up with $3,800 to use on a wedding of 150 people.
Congrats you guys! What an idea, glad it worked out and good luck collecting for your honeymoon.