Couple invites hundreds of 'wedding crashers' to reception

Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Couple invites hundreds of 'wedding crashers' to reception
A Los Angeles couple is inviting hundreds of 'wedding crashers' to their nuptials for a small ticket price.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A Los Angeles couple who is inviting hundreds of "wedding crashers" to their wedding is stirring up controversy.

In the movie "Wedding Crashers," actors Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson crash wedding after wedding as a way to meet single women.

Now, Chad Riddersen and Jessica Zetino are encouraging complete strangers to crash their nuptials.

"We don't really know what to expect. That's, I think, kind of part of it," Riddersen said.

The couple met at the University of Southern California while taking a ballroom dancing class together. Seven years after their first dance together, Riddersen proposed.

While discussing possible wedding themes, the couple started thinking about their favorite movie. Their party venue, Boulevard 3 in Hollywood, has space for 1,000 people.

But the couple only sent out invitations for 250 of their friends and family.

"It means that there's 750 people that will be crashing our wedding at Boulevard 3," Riddersen said.

But those "uninvited guests" need to purchase a ticket on their website riddersenwedding.com for $87 each.

Some critics said the couple is just trying to have others pay for their party.

But crashers do not have to show up to the chapel at USC. They can show up to the reception with the promise of an open bar just by wearing a special wristband.

Riddersen and Zetino said hundreds of people have already bought tickets, and most of the uninvited guests are single.

"We're hoping to get invited to some future weddings, just like they were invited to ours," Riddersen said.