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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
IT seems the high cost of wedding venues could soon be a thing of the past as the Bulawayo City Council-run swimming pools are the cheapest venues on the market.

According to the latest council minutes, the Barham Green (BG) swimming pool is the most popular with couples as their preferred wedding venue.

This is because hiring the swimming pool is fairly cheap, $55 per hour which amounts to about $441.60 for the whole day. All they have to bring is catering chairs and décor.

The whole of August, BG Pool was booked and more couples have been booking, according to the minutes.

“Barham Green Pool hosted four garden weddings during the month of August. One wedding which was scheduled for the 18th of August was called off by the couple.

There were also three advance bookings as follows:- 13th October, 21st and 28th December 2018,” read the minutes.

The weddings, according to the minutes, contribute more than half the total revenue that the council gets from the usage of the pool.

With the summer season in gear, this also means that people will likely hire out the pool frequently for weddings, parties and swimming activities.

According to some wedding venues around the city, the range to hire out a venue is between $1 500 and can go up to $10 000.

So it makes economic sense to cut down on the costs of a wedding and for most people in this economic situation, this is the best option.

Not all people can afford a $10 000 to $20 000 or a $200 000 wedding like DJ Stavo.

A couple who used the BG swimming pool two years ago said it was affordable.

“We chose Barham Green Swimming Pool because it was affordable and my wife liked the idea of getting married at a venue with a swimming pool,” said Blessing Mapuranga.

Meanwhile, the Mpopoma and Luveve swimming pools were opened to the public on Monday following extensive refurbishments by the city council.

The swimming pools will open from 10AM to 1PM for morning sessions and 2PM to 6PM for afternoon sessions.

Children will pay 50 cents and those above 17 years will have to part with $2.30 per session.