McWeddings? Sure. Or Tie The Knot at Taco Bell
McWeddings in Hong Kong are only the latest iteration of the fast-food wedding.
Feb. 20, 2011— -- Hong Kong couple – Kelvin Kwong and Ashley Tse – is drawing worldwide attention for having their engagement party on a Valentine's Day at a McDonald's in Hong Kong.
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The chain is promoting McWeddings as a new way to tie the knot .Except, it's not so new. In 2006, Trisha Lynn Esteppe and Tyree Henderson exchanged vows at the McDonald's in Fairborn, Ohio, where they worked together and met three years earlier. In 2009, Rosemary Coones and Clinton Smith, 25 tied the knot at a White Castle in Louisville, Ky. and got a catered reception featuring White Castle's Silver Tray service, sponsored by a local radio station. That same year, Paul and Caragh Brooks were married at a Taco Bell in Normal, Ill. Employees, who kept serving customers during the ceremony, displayed hot sauce packets labeled "Will you marry me?"
In Photos: Couples in bizarre locations and situations on their wedding days.
At the time, Taco Bell said it hosts on average a wedding a year at one of its restaurants nationwide.The fast-food wedding is an international phenomenon, even if the venues tend to be American icons.This past weekend, a couple in Bristol, England, had their wedding reception at a British KFC, complete with buckets of chicken and fries.
In June, a couple in metropolitan Manilla held their reception at a local McDonald's. (The chocolate wedding cake was created to look like a Big Mac.)
Why are fast-food nuptials catching on? Brides and bridegrooms say they are looking to do something different. Also, the reception is a lot cheaper than the traditional do. The 2009 Taco Bell wedding cost an estimated $200 for everything, including the $15 wedding dress.
And they create lasting memories. Really lasting.
In 2006, four years after Gayle and Jeremy Butler were married in a Krystal fast-food restaurant, the chain based in Chattanooga, Tenn., inducted the couple and 19 others into its Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame. In addition to a plaque, the chain featured a quote and photo from the inductees on more than 1 million boxes of its signature square hamburgers.
That's one way to spread the love.