Person Absolutely Baffled After Being Charged $115 Weeks After Attending Brother’s Wedding

Going to a close family member’s wedding should be a time for excitement and positive emotions. After all, planning a wedding is stressful, but attending the wedding of a loved one? Absolutely wonderful under most circumstances.

A netizen was shocked to receive a text from their brother asking for $115 to attend his small, intimate wedding. To add insult to injury, he had apparently just assumed his sibling knew about this and didn’t even mention it on the invite. We reached out to the person who shared the story via private message and will update the article when they get back to us.

Some weddings do require a little extra from the guests

Wedding venue with a bride and groom walking down the aisle, surrounded by guests and floral decorations.

Image credits: Nguyễn Xuân Trung (not the actual image)

But one netizen was annoyed that their brother was suddenly charging to attend his wedding

Text about being baffled by a wedding charge weeks later.

Text message requesting $115 payment related to wedding, causing bafflement.

Text expressing surprise over unexpected $115 charge for attending brother's wedding, despite gifting $400 cash.

A person looking confused at a phone after unexpected wedding charges.

Image credits: prostock-studio (not the actual image)

Text detailing unexpected $115 charge after attending brother's wedding at a costly venue, despite no alcohol consumption.

Text screenshot highlighting bafflement over unexpected wedding charge.

Baffled person discussing unexpected $115 charge after attending sibling's wedding.

Image credits: Cloudy_skies1993

There are some reasons to ask guests to pay an entrance fee

There is no getting around the fact that weddings can end up being pricey even if you aren’t going all out. For example, the Knot surveyed around 10,000 Americans and found that the average US wedding cost $35,000 in 2023. Importantly, the vast majority of these weddings did not include destinations outside of the hometown, which are commonly believed to be one of the main things driving up the cost.

Naturally, big city weddings are simply going to cost more. For example, in New York City people paid, on average, $63,000 for their wedding. There is obviously going to be a pretty sizable difference between the most expensive weddings, which might end up going into the millions, to the happy couple simply walking into a courthouse and then sharing a slice of cake later.

No judgment as to what the happy couple wants, everyone is entitled to have the wedding that suits them best. However, as this story demonstrates, sometimes these demands begin to grow to such an extent that suddenly guests are being asked to fund ideas the bride and groom can’t even afford.

As the person who posted the story themselves added, the venue was likely more than he could afford and they didn’t even have room for any activities. Setting aside the ethics of asking people to pay for your wedding, the one upside is that you get to actually enjoy better food, drinks and a nicer venue.

A wedding reception toast with guests raising glasses, celebrating.

Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual image)

It’s hard to say why the brother “forgot” about the money

Even worse, the bride and groom actually got a rather generous gift, making his demand for more money just seem insensitive. Some might even use the word trashy, but without further details it’s truly hard to say. As the person shared in an update (which can be found below,) most other guests were aware about the “cost” to enter. They do, however, think this “mistake” was intentional.

That being said, it’s hard to gauge a motive. If the brother didn’t want the netizen to come, he could have simply not invited them. If you are charging your guests, it’s in your best interest to actually have people come, as it’s the one way you’re offsetting many of the costs. That being said, not including it on the invite is a very questionable choice.

Even if the bride and groom might feel it’s a bit tacky, this is still the sort of information you do provide ahead of time. It’s easy to construct malice out of incompetence, but the truth is, the brother may simply have been over his head. Many people are already poor communicators, the stress and time commitment of wedding planning and the reality of actually getting married is quite distracting. Whatever the case, there is no reason the sibling’s sizable gift can’t be use to “cover” the cost.

Photographer captures newlyweds cutting cake at a wedding reception; guests taking photos nearby.

Image credits: Kenny Eliason (not the actual image)

The person shared a short update later

Text message expressing surprise at being charged $115 for attending a brother’s wedding weeks later.

They also answered some reader questions

Text exchange about surprise charge after attending brother's wedding.

Reddit users discuss a $115 charge related to a brother's wedding.

Text conversation about unexpected wedding charge of $115 after attending brother's wedding.

Reddit thread discussing unexpected $115 wedding charge, user comments about receiving knives as a gift.

Most people were surprised at this sort of behavior

Comment advising against sending money after wedding charge.

Comment discussing unexpected charges after attending a brother's wedding.

Text exchange showing frustration over unexpected wedding charges.

Reddit comment urging not to pay post-wedding charge, calling it ridiculous behavior.

Text exchange about unexpected $115 wedding charge, suggesting saving $170 for a future divorce party.

Reddit comment discussing a $115 charge and a $400 wedding gift, related to a brother's wedding.

Text comment about being charged $115 after brother's wedding, expressing frustration and declaring no future gifts.

Comment on being charged $115 weeks after attending a brother's wedding.

Text screenshot expressing disbelief over being charged $115 for attending a wedding.

A comment reacting to a person being charged $115 after attending a brother’s wedding.

Poll Question

Total votes ·

Thanks! Check out the results:

Total votes ·

Newsletter

Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls

Subscribe

By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!

Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda!