Chloe Choe: 30 Day Wedding Challenge
Most people save for years to pay for a wedding. Chloe gave herself 30 days. What started as a simple courthouse plan spiraled into a full-on ceremony driven by family expectations. But instead of panicking, she turned it into a challenge. The goal: fund the entire thing herself using scrappy, beginner-friendly income streams anyone can replicate.
Read our interview with Chloe where she shares her learnings, tips & best-kept side hustle secrets ⬇️
You’ve recently launched your 30-day wedding funding experiment. Tell us more how this idea came about!
It actually started because I wanted to make the wedding process feel fun instead of stressful. My mom was the one who really wanted a wedding ceremony, I would have honestly been fine with signing papers at the courthouse. So I turned it into a challenge to see if I could fund the entire wedding myself in 30 days.
It was partly a test to see if I could actually do it, and partly a way to make the process more enjoyable. Instead of focusing on costs or stress of planning, I treated it like a creative experiment - documenting each side hustle, brand deal, and income stream along the way. It made me realize how empowering it feels to take ownership of something that started as someone else’s dream and make it my own.
You’ve mentioned that you never really wanted a big wedding. How did your cultural background and your parents’ expectations shape this decision? How big of an impact did finances have on this preference?
I’ve always known I didn’t want a big wedding. The spectacle, the pressure, and the stress of planning never appealed to me. My parents both grew up poor and didn’t get to have a big wedding themselves, so they always imagined creating something special for their first child. For them, it wasn’t about extravagance, it was about giving me an experience they never had.
Interestingly enough, growing up around that shaped me in the opposite direction. Seeing how hard they worked and how careful they had to be with money made me really value financial stability and intentional spending. So even though I appreciate how much they want to celebrate me, I personally never felt the pull toward a traditional wedding. The financial side definitely played a role in my preference too. I’d rather put that money toward long-term goals than a single event.
But after I set a marriage date two months out, my parents’ expectations kicked in. What started as a small courthouse event ballooned into a ceremony at a gazebo with my brother officiating, getting my hair done professionally, last minute floral arrangements, a two-tier cake, and more. It’s definitely been a balancing act between respecting my parents' desires and staying true to myself and my partner of what we wanted.
💍Here’s how I did it & how you can too💍
1️⃣ Can you walk us through one side hustle that anyone could start today (even with zero followers or experience) and show the exact steps you took?
One of the easiest side hustles anyone can start today, even with no experience, is participating in paid market research studies. I’ve made over $3,500 in market research studies just this year!
Market research studies are when researchers pay you to give your opinion over Zoom calls, online forums, or surveys with take home products. They do this so they can get feedback from a specific target audience to guide business decisions. Sites like Respondent.io, PRC Research, Adler Weiner Research, and others easily pay $50-200/hr to listen to your opinions via market research studies.
<div class="frich-tip">This article contains the best websites that I use to do paid research studies!</div>
My exact process to score market research studies:
- I created a separate email dedicated to market research studies and signed up for various platforms. Many of these platforms send out daily or weekly emails looking for recruits.
- Filtered studies that matched my background (for me it would be tech, finance, fitness, and general consumer).
- I set aside 15-20 minutes to apply to research studies every day. This is really a numbers game.
- I pick up phone calls and/or respond to text messages about research studies quickly. Spots fill up fast and missing a call to call the market researcher back ten minutes later could be the difference between you being scheduled and the study filling up.
- Get scheduled and participate in the study! These can vary from a one hour Zoom call to two week product studies to anything in between.
- Payments typically come via PayPal or Visa gift card often within 2-4 weeks.
And that’s it! Market research studies pay so well and, while there aren’t enough opportunities to replace a full-time income, you can definitely make some good side hustle money if you’re diligent about it.
2️⃣ You’ve shared that you successfully started making money on Facebook with under 100 followers. Can you show exactly how you did that?
Facebook has been quietly beta-testing a new Content Monetization program over the past year. They haven’t published official requirements, but based on my experience, they seem to reward consistency more than follower count. I was invited to join when I had around 30 followers simply because I cross-posted my existing Instagram and TikTok videos to Facebook on a regular basis.
In order to increase visibility, make sure you either:
- Create a Facebook Page as a creator
- Turn on Professional mode for your personal profile to build your public presence while maintaining your personal connections
I personally recommend going with option #1 if you plan to do this long term and want to monetize as a business.
Even now, I have under 200 followers on Facebook, but I still earn from my video views and receive monthly bonuses, often at least $150, just for posting consistently. It’s not life-changing money, but for new creators, it’s a meaningful boost and a great way to start earning while you grow your audience.
<div class="frich-tip">Learn more about the program here.</div>
3️⃣ When you cold-email brands or pitch yourself for UGC or small gigs, what does your message actually say & how do you find who to contact?
UGC is a great way to make side hustle money, even with no experience! I like a mix of applying on platforms (my favorites are Insense and PopularPays) and cold-emailing brands. When cold-emailing, I always keep it short and value-focused. These brands get tons of emails every day and you want to get straight to the point. Here’s a copy-paste version of what I send:
Remember to link your portfolio or Instagram profile in the first sentence while you’re introducing yourself if you have one.
To find contacts, I search “brand name + influencer marketing,” “UGC manager,” or “social media lead” on LinkedIn, then cross-check emails via Hunter.io or the brand’s press page. Often, if I have a portfolio item that directly aligns, I’ll send them that video. For example, if it’s a beauty brand, I’ll send them a video that I created for a skincare brand in the past.
Cold-emailing is a numbers game! The more you send out, the more likely you’ll get a response. :) And the more opportunities you get, the more you can add to your portfolio which leads to being able to charge more and/or get better deals!
