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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
A man has launched his own business, in which he attends weddings only to announce an objection to the ceremony.
Ernesto Reinares Varea from Spain charges €500 (around $550 USD) to ruin weddings, normally by brides who are unsure how to call off their own nuptials. “If you have doubts or don’t want to get married and don’t know how to refuse, don’t worry anymore, I’ll object to your wedding,” he wrote in an ad, according to Spanish news outlet Antena 3.
“You just need to tell me the time, place, and date,” the ad continued. “I will appear in the middle of the ceremony saying that I am the great love of your life and we will run away together hand in hand.”
The ad began as a joke, before brides started to contact him for his services. Since then, he has continued to receive offers, telling the outlet that he is booked until December. In addition to publicly objecting to the ceremony, Varea also allows family members to “slap him” for extra money.
“Each slap is worth 50 euros,” he said. The salesman clarified that his services are not limited to brides and also apply to grooms, writing in his original ad that it was “suitable for women as well as men.”
“I know it may seem like a joke, but it is not,” he said.
Varea’s job has since caused many people to question whether someone should be paid to break up with another’s partner, when it can be done for free. During a recent episode of the Today show, co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb both admitted that they probably wouldn’t use Varea’s services for themselves.
“No, because for free you can just say, ‘I want to break up,’” Bush Hager said, specifically referencing his prices. Meanwhile, Kotb revealed she wouldn’t be using his services either, noting that it appears strange to have “the weird guy come in” to destroy the wedding.
Father Jason Lody, a licensed officiant, previously revealed in an interview with Brides that he has increasingly seen weddings skip the objection part of the ceremony. He explained that there are certain methods he uses to smoothly continue on with the wedding, telling the outlet: “I tend to deal with things like this, by that I mean awkward situations during a ceremony, with humor, and try to move on unless the objection was extreme.”
“I would make sure the couple was okay and try not to draw any more attention to what just took place. I would assume there would be some intervention or support from others in attendance to remove the cause for disruption,” he added.
This isn’t the only unconventional wedding service to become successful. Earlier this year, Nishma Mistry – a wedding planning expert and founder of the website Asian Bride Sorority – created “Missed RSVP” cards for brides and grooms to print and send to their guests who did not answer their RSVP.
The message reads: “We’re sorry you can’t make it to our wedding. Our RSVP deadline has passed and you unfortunately did not respond. We would have loved to have you attend but final numbers have now been turned in and your presence will be missed.”
