Given the time, effort and expense that goes into wedding planning, there are few things more disheartening to couples than having guests not show up on the big day. Of course, sometimes having to miss a wedding is unavoidable; for example, a relative came down with a sudden bout of vertigo just before my own wedding. Then, there was a cousin on my husband’s side of the family whose teenage stepson did not attend because his mom kicked him out of the house for smoking pot, after they had both thrown a fit over him initially not being invited in the first place.
Whatever the reason, though, ultimately the bride and groom just have to suck it up and get on with their lives, or forever secretly harbor a grudge against the no-show, which is also a fun and healthy option. Or you could go with a third route, like this Minnesota couple who sent out a bill for the cost of the missing guest’s meals.
Jessica Baker and her husband were getting ready for a wedding they were supposed to attend a few weeks ago when Baker’s mom suddenly called and said that, due to an emergency, she would not be able to babysit the couple’s children. Because it was an adult-only wedding, which is perfectly reasonable, they decided to call it a wash. A couple of weeks later, however, Baker received an invoice in the mail for the amount of $75.90, reflecting the cost of “the amount paid by the bride and groom for meals that were RSVP’d for,” adding that a card, call or text would have been appreciated.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said with a smile. “It listed, we would have had two herb crusted walleye and there was also a service and tax charge.” She has no plans on paying it, but she did wonder what else she could have done.
“I guess I don’t know what the right answer would have been. What the right thing to do would have been,” she said.
Uh, I can tell you what the right thing to do would have been. You send the wedding gift with an apology note. Not to excuse the gaucheness of the couple who sent the bill — because two dick moves don’t make a right — but that is what you do. But despite the fact that she didn’t have time to drop a quick card in the mail, thankfully Baker somehow still found the time to alert the media to air her unwarranted slight to the public.
Minnesota’s NBC affiliate KATE 11 posted a photo of the bill on their Facebook page, and, as you can imagine, people had Very Important Opinions about it.
(Via KARE 11)