From WAAY TV Dot Com
Married at the Pawn Shop
Posted: March 1, 2010 11:46 PM EST
If you’re thinking of taking a trip down the aisle, a local pawn shop is offering a sweetheart of a deal.
The Wholesale Jewelry Pawn Shop in Huntsville has expanded its building and its services.
Now more than ever, business is booming with the owner’s innovative offer to help folks save money on one of life’s most precious moments.
At first glance it’s what you expect from a pawn shop; jewelry, guitars and tires for sale.
But if you look a little harder, like downstairs… the Wholesale Jewelry Pawn Shop’s services go above and beyond.
If you buy an engagement ring at Wholesale Jewelry you get to use their wedding chapel for free.
The chapel opened around Valentine’s Day and has been just about booked ever since.
Charles Markham recently bought an engagement ring for his girlfriend from Wholesale Jewelry now his wedding will be there in just a few weeks!
“It’s as good as anywhere else. Just recently I went to a friend of mine’s wedding at another chapel and this one is just as good or better and I thought it was wonderful,” said Markham.
With weddings costing thousands of dollars nowadays, owner Jerriel Stephens wanted to help his customers… so he redecorated the basement of his pawn shop turning it into the Always and Forever Wedding Chapel. It’s the first one of its kind in the country.
“Some of them were having a hard time getting married in churches because some of the churches charged a lot of money and some of the churches wouldn’t marry them because they weren’t members of the church,” said Jerriel Stephens.
“That’s really a special touch because there’s a lot of people that can’t afford with this economy. They can barely afford a nice ring then they end up going to the courthouse to get married so this is a very, very nice touch,” said Charles Markham.
The chapel holds 60 people. It’s decorated. There are also bathrooms, a dressing room, a sound system and a reception area.
Ministers are available for free and photographers are on staff.
The photographers offer a $50 fee for the basic picture package and CD.
It’s a deal many of Jerriel’s customers have a hard time turning down.
“They are very excited. We’ve had lots of people come look at it while it’s being built and the reception is beyond our wildest imagination. We expect to do a lot of weddings here!” said owner Jerriel Stephens.
Jerriel Stephens says if you buy any wedding or engagement ring at his shop the chapel is available for you to use.
The price of the engagement or wedding ring does not matter.
