Groom asks guests to help pay for 'all-inclusive' wedding

'This is a brilliant way to do it,' says bride-to-be

The Knockerdown Cottages hotel in Derbyshire (Gainsborough Retreats)

A groom has asked guests to pay to come to his wedding.

Ben Farina said he "sold it to [friends and family] a bit like an all-inclusive holiday" on the basis that "people always pay a large amount of money to go to a wedding anyway".

He is due to marry his partner Clare Moran in June 2018 and has asked guests to contribute to make it a dream occasion.

Some 60 guests are to pay £150 each, which will include a three-night stay at the Knockerdown Cottages hotel in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, to top up the £2,000 the couple are spending, the BBC reported.

Ms Moran told the broadcaster: "We had spoken about marriage because we've got a little girl together and I always said we wouldn't be able to afford to do it, or it would have to be a registry office wedding, not a big wedding.

"This is a brilliant way to do it and I can't wait. He has put a lot of thought into it."

Mr Farina said the pair once spent more than £1,700 to attend a friend's wedding in Greece. The figure makes £150 per head a relative bargain for a picturesque few days in the English countryside.

The couple has also drafted in family and friends to help cater and provide music, the BBC said.