Bride expects guests to pay to attend the wedding reception. Picture: Unsplash Micheile Henderson
Weddings are expensive, therefore it’s understandable that couples will try and cut costs where possible.
This couple, however, was taking things a bit too far by asking their guests to pay to attend their wedding.
A friend of the bride took to Reddit to share her disappointment after receiving her invitation.
“One of my closest friends is getting married and is charging her guests to attend the wedding,” wrote the Reddit user.
She broke down what it stated on the invitation.
“When you RSVP, you have 3 options: I will attend the wedding (envelope fee: $65). I will only attend the ceremony. I will not be able to attend.”
She admitted that she didn’t know what the fee was intended for, so she Googled it.
“After googling, it says it includes, food, music, decorations and venue. So they literally want their guests to pay for decorations,” she added.
If the entry fee wasn’t bad enough, there were other costs that had to come out of the guests' pockets as well.
“The evening before the wedding, they also have a dinner which you need to pay for. If you want to sleep over at the venue, you need to pay around $100.
“This applies both for the night between the pre-dinner and wedding day, and the night after the wedding. So that would be $200 in total.
“I guess these prices are more okay since nobody is forcing you to attend that dinner and/or sleeping over. But if I'm INVITED to a wedding I shouldn't have to pay to attend the actual wedding?!” wrote the shocked friend.
“On top of that, they have a page where you can choose to contribute with money towards a gift. You have different options like cooking class, dance class, a trip, etc. It says ‘gifts are not needed but welcome’.
“But WHO would pay for a gift after they have to pay to attend the wedding? Since it's a norm to give a gift I think many people are gonna feel forced to give one anyway.
“The thing is, I KNOW they have money. My friend inherited a lot of money from her grandma in advance, they have a house, her fiancé is an engineer, they have a boat, and they are currently renovating their house,” she continued.
“It's just unfortunate because we've been friends for 12 years and it's sad to only be able to attend the ceremony because I absolutely refuse to pay,” the woman concluded.
Reddit users all agreed that the $65 attendance fee was in bad taste.
“Paying to stay at the venue is fine. That’s optional. But paying for your meal and the ambience is nuts. I would decline immediately and without sending a gift,” responded one user.
“I would send my regrets and my congratulations and that's it. The bride is out of her freaking mind,” commented another.
Another person said: “If someone charged me for a wedding, they better start changing it to fit my wants and needs. Since they are apparently trying to make this a consumer thing.”
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