Newlywed couple wedding celebration
(Picture: Shutterstock / Rawpixel.com)What would happen if you RSVP’d to a wedding but ended up not attending? Well, you may receive an invoice to pay up, as is the case of one couple.
A Chicago, Illinois couple decided to send invoices to guests who RSVP’d to their special day but didn’t celebrate with them at their destination wedding.
The bill charged a “no call, no show guest” $240 for not showing up to the couple’s reception in Negril, Jamaica. HuffPost’s senior front page editor, Phillip Lewis, posted the invoice to his Twitter account.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wedding reception invoice before, lol,” Lewis captioned the tweet.
The couple sent the invoice because the seats were confirmed for “the wedding reception during the Final Headcount.”
“The amount above is the cost of your individual seats. Because you didn’t call or give us proper notice that you wouldn’t be in attendance, this amount is what you owe us for paying for your seat(s) in advance,” the note said while adding “Zelle or Paypal” as payment options.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wedding reception invoice before lol pic.twitter.com/ZAYfGITkxP
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 24, 2021
People in the comments had mixed emotions about the couple’s invoice as some thought they did “the right thing” while others believed it was a stretch.
“I think they did the right thing. Show respect. If you didn’t want to come, say that. Don’t cost me $240.00. Friendship over you couldn’t call me and tell me. Pay me or don’t talk to me,” someone wrote.
“I wanted to do the same thing...I could have saved a lot of money. You are given months to RSVP if you mark yes that couple agrees to spend $175+ on you for a place to sit, food to eat, and drinks. You just wasted people’s money when you could have just marked no,” another added.
Someone else mentioned that they understand why the couple would be upset but still didn’t agree with the invoice.
“I understand being upset about no-show guests for a small wedding but sending an invoice is too much,” they said while adding, “It looks like a fun wedding.”
According to The New York Post, the couple was identified as Doug Simmons and Dedra McGee from Chicago. Simmons initially posted the invoice on Facebook with the hashtag #PETTYPOST, according to the account.
Simmons told the Post that the invoice was petty, but he’s “not some trifling person who is going to bill somebody.”
He further said that the situation wasn’t really about money. It was more about the lack of a heads up from guests (and their plus-ones) who wouldn’t attend.
“No one told me or texted me, ‘Hey, we can’t make it,’” Simmons told the outlet.
He continued: “That’s all I was asking. 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? Four people became eight people. I took that personally.”
