Featured Image Credit: TaniaL / Alamy Stock Photo / Twitter
Topics: Wedding
Sophie Cockerham
Everyone knows that weddings are an expensive business: once you’ve factored in the big stuff like the dress, the rings and the cake, the cost has often already spiralled into the thousands - and that’s before you’ve even sent out the wedding invites.
And as most venues usually charge per person or per plate, couples have to carefully consider who they invite to their nuptials, as for every person they invite, they will pay a set fee.
So when it came to some of their loved ones failing to show up for their big day, it’s no surprise that one set of newlyweds took matters into their own hands and thought of a fitting way to deal with the rude guests - but their actions received mixed reviews online.
Hailing from Chicago, Dedra and Doug Simmons jetted off to Jamaica for the destination wedding of their dreams, where they had to pre-pay for all of their guests who had RSVP'd yes.
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However, when it came to the ceremony, eight of the 109 invitees didn’t turn up - and didn’t even warn the happy couple that they weren’t coming.
While they were perhaps right to be upset, what happened next caused some controversy when the Simmons shared an invoice for $240 (£200) addressed to those who had failed to show up on Facebook.
Groom Doug told the New York Post: “No one told me or texted me, ‘Hey, we can’t make it.' That’s all I was asking.
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"If you tell me you can’t make it, I would be understanding - but to tell me nothing, but then let me pay for you and your plus ones?”
And while they later agreed their actions were a little petty, they insisted the statement 'wasn’t about the money' and was instead a 'teachable moment'.
But upon hearing of the drama, some followers believed the couple were out of line to try - claiming there may have been an emergency or accident that prevented guests from coming.
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One wrote: "Tacky as hell. It turns the wedding attendance into a business transaction.
"I’ll add though that if the hosts were emphatically clear about the deadline AND the guests canceled for a nonemergency (tricky to judge under Covid), then that makes the guest look worse."
Another said: "I hear you, but I am still on team nothing-is-tackier-than-invoicing-wedding-guests-including-no-shows."
Thankfully, Doug didn't actually send out the bill, and instead only shared a copy of it to Facebook - but it was enough to prompt some of the guests to apologise after seeing his post.
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A dramatic way to start newly wedded bliss, but whatever way you look at it, let that be a warning to all this coming wedding season - commit to your RSVP response, or face the consequences.