A few months back, we wrote about a couple in Illinois who tried to combine cheap with hilarious by getting married at a Taco Bell. For better or for worse, it looks like that happy couple is not alone, with an increasing number of people walking down the aisles of retail stores and restaurants.

Take for example one couple in Michigan who will have the honor of being the first to say their “I do”s inside a TJ Maxx this summer.

Explains the bride, “The one constant in my life, no matter what, has always been T.J. Maxx.”

Then there’s Home Depot. The chain of hardware stores has already played host to around half a dozen weddings, which they don’t charge a fee for since most of the materials used for the ceremony — buckets, planks of wood — go right back into the store’s inventory afterward.

If hand-blended ice cream flavors and annoying names for cone sizes is your thing, then look no further than Cold Stone Creamery for your special day. Two Cold Stone employees recently got hitched at their place of employment for free. But a rep for the company advises that such decisions are up to each independently owned store.

Says an editor from wedding website theknot.com:

Brides are obsessed with making their wedding different from anyone else’s… In some cases, too, I think the economy might play into it, where people are really trying to be resourceful.

Would any of you out there in commenter land ever get married in a retail store?

Retail wedding trend leads to “I do’s” at T.J. Maxx, Taco Bell [USA Today]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.