A bride-to-be has been branded ‘rude’ for ‘forcing’ her guests to travel to Italy for her big day, having decided to tie the knot in the beautiful - but notoriously spenny - Lake Como.
Liz Inglisa and her fiancé, from Chicago, are preparing to tie the knot with no expenses spared next August, with her TikTok bio now describing her as a 'Lake Como 2024 BRIDE'.
Since the couple got engaged on a private cruise at sunset on the Amalfi Coast, Liz has been posting regular wedding updates, but is now starting to receive some backlash for one key aspect of the event - its location.
Advert
She dropped the gobsmacking price of the venue to her 17,000 Instagram followers, having landed upon the luxury Villa Balbiano in Italy's Lake Como - an eye-wateringly expensive spot that is probably one of the most sought-after places to get married in the whole world.
In her TikTok explaining the costs, Liz said: “So the venue can be rented for the entire weekend - two nights, three days - for €100,000 (£85,000).
“Or you can rent it for one day but you can only do this week days excluding Fridays, costing $40,000 (£34,000).
“Another question I keep getting is what is included in the cost of the venue? And the answer is nothing at all.”
Advert
Trying to justify the cost to her viewers, she said: “Yes, it is just the venue but I mean look at how incredible it is. The possibilities for cocktail hour are endless!”
Some users commented on the video saying: “Rather get married in a box room and save money for vacations and home renovations.”
And another agreed: “This isn’t worth it. Just the venue and no add ons for that price is ridiculous.”
Advert
After she started sharing her plans for the wedding, it wasn't just the price tag that some people found issue with.
One user on TikTok commented: “So rude to force people to travel for a wedding.”
Liz later shared a video as a response, explaining how nobody was 'forced' to come to her happy day in Italy, and that some family members were actually excited to use it as an excuse to make a holiday out of it.
Advert
“Absolutely no one is forced to travel for our wedding but a lot of people are so excited to take that European summer adventure and then do a stop in Lake Como to celebrate us," she said.
Liz explained it was a 'hard decision to make', but that she and her partner had always wanted a destination wedding, so it was a no-brainer.
"Immediate friends and family were so thrilled to hear about the idea," she said, adding that they planned to do a second ceremony at home where they live for all of those that couldn't make it.
Look, we can't pretend that a wedding in Lake Como doesn't sound anything but dreamy... Even if our bank balance might be weeping at the thought of it!
Mia Williams