A couple who met after he paid $100 (£80) to date her – money she intended to spend on her insurance and vet bills – have now married in a romantic ceremony on a Florida beach.

Just a week after she signed up to a controversial website, where men pay for dates, Christy Befera, now 42, from Florida received a message from Frank Befera, now 47, and they immediately hit it off.

Although neither of them expected to find 'the one', Christy told IT expert Frank, she loved him just two months after meeting on WhatsYourPrice.com.

Despite the unusual beginning, the couple quickly fell for each other and last week, they tied the knot at an intimate beach ceremony.

Christy, 42, and Frank Befera, 47, have tied the knot in an intimate beach ceremony in Florida after meeting when the groom paid £80 for a date

Christy and Frank are both divorcees and were reluctant to get married at first

Wearing a white cotton dress, the couple exchanged vows at a relaxed ceremony in front of family and a few friends.

Carer Christy, from Winter Garden, Florida, said: 'We had the perfect day and we never could have imagined that this relationship would develop the way it did, but we're really happy.

'I am so glad I can share my life with someone like Frank.'

Their relationship started in February 2014, when Christy, who had been single for eight months, signed up to the dating website where men can place bids to go on dates with women.

The couple got engaged during a trip to Disneyworld at New Year 2016

She was interested in finding a boyfriend – but mainly wanted some cash to pay her utilities bills.

In her first week, where she had one other date, she stumbled across Frank's profile and was charmed by his sparkling eyes and smile.

'I wasn't looking for anything in particular,' she said. 'I thought if I met someone awesome, it would be great, but if I didn't, it would mean I could pay a few bills and have a few nice evenings. For me, it was a win-win situation.'

The couple married on the private Apollo beach with just a handful of family and friends present

Meanwhile, Frank had been single for about a year had joined a few months before when he heard about the site on a relationship radio show called Connections.

He noticed Christy's profile crop up and was instantly attracted to her.

He put in an offer to take her out on a date, but never expected her to accept.

'She was beautiful and I thought she was out of my league, but it was worth a shot,' Frank said.

Luckily, Christy also felt and they settled on $100 (£80).

Christy and Frank, pictured Halloween 2014, love sharing the story of how they met, with people and have no problem opening up about how Frank paid $100 to date her

After chatting online for a few months, the pair met for the first time in April 2014 at a restaurant in Winter Garden, Florida, where they enjoyed a meal and a few drinks.

Frank even took Christy to a piano bar, where he charmed her with a song called 'Do I,' that he had written specially for her.

They both said they had a great time and at the end of the night, he paid her for her time.

Frank explained: 'I didn't mention the money until the end, as I didn't want her to get the money, decide she didn't like me and leave. It gave me a chance to charm her.'

The happy couple fell in love after just two month of dating

'It was an awesome night,' she said. 'We talked for hours and just really got on. He had me hooked from that point on. I didn't tell him that, but I knew he did.'

When Frank went away on business for a month, Christy had two other dates earning $100 (£80) for each one but her evening with him was always at the back of her mind.

'None of my other dates compared to Frank,' Christy said.

When he returned, they decided to have another date and realised there was a real connection.

Christy and Frank, pictured in 2014, the year they met. They are hoping to have children together as Christy is eager to give her new husband a son

Just a month later, in June 2014, Christy told Frank she was in love with him and they made their relationship official.

Christy explained: 'We were a bit older, so we didn't want to rush anything, but we felt very comfortable with each other quite quickly.'

Frank added: 'Both of us had been in hard relationships before and both of us needed to work through a few issues with that. We took it slow, but once I got to know her, I decided I wanted to escalate the relationship.'

The bride on her wedding day on Apollo Beach, which holds a special place in the couple's hearts

Frank quickly introduced Christy to his family, but they were never scared to tell people how they met.

'We love telling the story of how we met,' Frank said. 'We tell it to everybody. We do get some funny looks.

'We came across another couple on Saturday night, who met on another site called OkCupid. When we told them where we met, they thought it was a joke.'

Although they were both committed to a future together, both divorcees, Frank and Christy were initially reluctant to get married.

Christy and Frank, pictured in Greece in 2015, a year after they made their relationship official

But in November 2016, Frank had a change of heart and began planning the perfect way to propose.

Frank said: 'We had both said we didn't want to get married again, because both our marriages had ended badly.

'I just realised that she was everything that I wanted and needed for the rest of my life.

'We were at Disney World on New Year's Eve and I just decided it was the perfect moment to ask, so I got down on one knee with a ring.'

The blushing bride on her wedding day on 31 March 2017. She says that the day was like a fairytale

Christy was completely taken off guard.

She added: 'I think I knew it was coming but I was really surprised that he asked at that moment. I was totally floored'

And just a few weeks ago, on March 31 2017, Christy married Frank as seven friends and family looked on, in an intimate ceremony on Apollo beach in Florida.

'It's a beautiful private beach and we have been going there for years. We love going there and we decided it would be the perfect place.

Christy was surprised but delighted when Frank proposed and they're hoping to start a family together soon

'It was such a beautiful day from start to finish. The only problem was the sunburn that I got on the top of my head.'

Christy added: 'It was a dream come true. It was like a fairytale.'

Now the couple are hoping they can add to their family. 'I don't have any kids, but I would love to give Frank a son. We will have to see what happens.' Christy said.