Couple Planning the Largest Sponsored Wedding / Vendors and Media Jump in on the Planning Process

Atlanta, GA -- September 13, 2004 -- Jevon Gantner & Christina Vincelli, an Atlanta couple, are preparing for their wedding day but not in the usual way…They have opted for a “sponsored wedding,” where vendors from all over the U.S. donate products and services in exchange for subtle advertising. Their “Gone with the Wind” themed wedding is slated for next May 2005, at the Stately Oaks Plantation, a well-known landmark in metro Atlanta.

There have been a few other large sponsored weddings, the first known being introduced to America by Oprah Winfrey in 1999. The couple had a $34,000 wedding while paying only $6,000 out of pocket. Another couple in Pennsylvania had the ENTIRE wedding sponsored, with vendors donating approximately $40,000 in products and services to the couple.

According to theknot.com, the national average for a wedding is about $17,000.
Gantner and Vincelli have been working since early 2004 on finding sponsors to donate products and/or services. “For every 500 inquiries, you may get only 5 vendors,” Vincelli said. So far, they have 17 sponsors ranging from a wedding planner and flowers to accessories and a deejay service.

The couple has been interviewed by a nationally syndicated radio program, (which is tracking the progress), a journalist for a newspaper in San Antonio, Tx., a morning news program in Augusta, Ga., and has upcoming interviews with a national bridal magazine and bankrate.com.

So far, the couple has received approximately $15,000+ in donations from vendors and they still have eight months before their big day. “This could be the largest sponsored wedding ever,” said Vincelli. “If I stay on track and search for vendors daily, we could make history.”

For additional information and interview requests, go to:

                                                            www.jevon-n-christina-sponsoredwedding.com