Unique way couple raised $11K for their wedding
When Andie Lickiss proposed to Pagan on New Years Eve in 2021, he had no idea that the pair would spend the next year collecting trash from their neighbours.
With the cost-of-living on the rise, the couple were doing everything they could to save up for their dream wedding on September 2023.
“We were both working two jobs, trying to save for a house, and everything is just so expensive,” Pagan told 7Life.
“We didn’t want the wedding to put us in debt.”
While thinking of ways to cut corners and save more money, Pagan - who was a keen recycler and had been using a state government-run recycling initiative, Return and Earn, since 2018 - felt inspired to take her recycling to the next level after spotting a wheelie bin in her backyard.
Pagan then took to her local community Facebook page to ask her neighbours for their unwanted bottles and cans to help with the cost of their wedding, with the initiative offering 10 cents per aluminium can, plastic or glass bottle deposited.
“I had about 50 messages from people ... saying they will just stack them outside their house and we can come and collect,” she said.
She then started mapping out the perfect route to pick up the recycling ,and not long after, the couple began their trash-collecting journey almost every day after work in their ute and trailer.
“People might laugh because it is only 10 cents (per container),” she said.
“But every little bit counts.”
Over 19 months the couple recycled more than 100,000 containers, and made memories along the way, as they got closer to their neighbours who would donate cardboard boxes and wheelie bins full of empty cans and bottles.
They also volunteered at local sporting events and spent weekends cleaning up fields and stadiums.
Each dollar went towards their goal of $4,500 to pay for their dream photographer, with the couple sometimes pocketing more than $400 at a time when they cashed in each load.
Within six months the couple had reached their goal, but they didn't stop there.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Pagan said.
“We just decided to keep going. The cost of living wasn’t getting cheaper.”
Andie and Pagan cashed in cans and bottles right up until the week before their wedding.
“We never told anyone how much we made,” Pagan said.
“Our celebrant announced it at the wedding (and) the looks on everyone’s faces! They were so shocked, and our photographers caught it.”
The couple collected a grand total of $11,127.50 with the help of their local community, and now Pagan encourages others to reach out and ask for help.
“I hope that people who are doing it tough are not afraid to reach out and ask for help.”
Images: 7News