AN "EPIC" dream wedding with a lot of heart is up for grabs this Valentine's Day.
A bunch of Hunter wedding vendors have joined forces to auction off a wedding package valued at $70,000 on February 14. But rather than taking their cut, every cent of the winning bid will go to The Starlight Children's Foundation instead.
The charity wedding auction was the brainchild of "The 2 Montys" - Newcastle celebrants Monty King and Monty Haron.
"When myself and the other Monty found out there was a fellow celebrant with the same name in Newcastle, we thought we should team up and do something together rather than compete," Mr Haron said.
"We formed this alliance. We thought there was power in community over competition. Last year we reached out to all of our favourite people in the industry with this idea of doing a charity wedding. We thought if we could get an entire wedding donated, couples could bid on it, and all of the money would go to charity."
They had been overwhelmed by the generosity of local wedding professionals. Last year's wedding - worth $62,000 - went for $34,500 at auction. At last count, the next wedding - booked for July 11 at Stanley Park in Fullerton Cove - was valued at $70,000.
But The 2 Montys have had such a good reception from wedding vendors in the Hunter that they are planning to auction a third wedding later in the year for local charity, RUN DIPG.
"It's a really cool story for the couple too, knowing their entire wedding budget is a donation to a charity," Mr Haron said. "It's one of those those moments in your life where you spend so much money, and get all your favourite people together. How cool would it be to know that your wedding has also helped so many kids in need?"
Visit the2montys.com.au to find out more.
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