‘Five Strangers and a Wedding’ at Illawarra Yacht Club
‘Five strangers and a wedding’ — it’s not a movie title, it's the name of an unusual event held at Illawarra Yacht Club in Wollongong this week.
The Club played host to a Married At First Sight-style stunt produced by the local radio station Wave FM, which saw an eligible bachelor matched with one of four women to become (faux) husband and wife.
The blushing bride was chosen through a series of interviews conducted with the groom’s mother, as well as by public vote, before she was ushered down the aisle to ‘marry’ the mystery man.
Illawarra Yacht Club Marketing Manager Rochelle Rawlings said the venue was buzzing for the 7am nuptials with around 70 people in attendance to witness the unique spectacle.
“On the day, the radio show went live and announced who the winner was before the lady walked down the aisle and married a stranger!” Rochelle said.
While legally it was a ‘fake’ wedding, the event showcased the Club’s very real wedding offering to listeners and those viewing the live stream on Facebook — resulting in a big boost for their business.
“I've already had about 13 enquiries for weddings that I'm sifting through at the moment,” Rochelle said.
“We got really good advertising — they had all their audience listening on the radio and watching on Facebook with lots of people commenting on the post.”
The Club was approached by the radio station for the segment after it was recommended by one of the Breakfast Show hosts who runs trivia at the Club.
“The wedding happened yesterday at the Illawarra Yacht Club, and it was absolutely sensational,” Wave FM Breakfast host Jade said live on air on Thursday morning.
“Deb and the team at the Yacht Club really put on a show. They've done an amazing job renovating that building and transformed it into this beautiful function space.”
The Club put on a full breakfast buffet complete with pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, muesli and fruit platters for the seven tables of attendees at the early morning wedding reception.
As for future wedding bookings, Rochelle suggests getting in quick!
"We are already booked out until August every Saturday for normal functions, engagements, parties and birthday celebrations and this year we have six or seven weddings,” Rochelle said.
