A woman who is currently preparing to be a bridesmaid for a friend this August says she's begun to 'feel unappreciated' by the bride, who expects her to pay between £3,000 to £5,000 to attend the wedding.
According to this apprehensive bridesmaid, her friend is very well off and doesn't even have to work. The soon-to-be-wed couple's destination wedding in Taormina, Sicily, will set them back a cool £310, 500 in total, and they expect those in attendance to help stump up the costs.
The bridesmaid will be travelling over from Canada, as will a few other bridesmaids, with other guests flying in from all around the world. The bride is also Canadian but is currently living in London, where she met her husband-to-be.
Taking to Reddit, where she goes by the username u/rebbeljel, the worried bridesmaid wrote: "They chose a five-star hotel for the venue. I believed they would be taking care of lodging for the bridal party because of the extravagance and location.
"They said the hotel wanted to charge them extra to book the whole space so we were instructed to book and pay for our own rooms ourselves from Thursday to Monday."
After discovering that the bridal party wouldn't be invited to a Friday night dinner, the unnamed woman was further concerned to learn that the costs of hair and makeup would not be covered. Bridesmaids were also expected to wear gold jewelry and shoes.
Reaching out to fellow Reddit users for advice, she continued: "She does not have an itinerary or any other events planned for the bridal party during the five days. This wedding will cost between £3,000 to £5,000 along with one week of time off work unpaid.
"She does not think she should have to provide anything for the bridal party except the wedding day and that the rehearsal dinner is a gift. The bride and groom do not feel it necessary to make the bridal party or guests feel appreciated and give back. They are also going on a £31,000 safari for part of their honeymoon."
To make matters worse, she feels as though she's put plenty of effort into planning her pal's hen do trip, only for the extravagant bride to dismiss her location choice as 'dirty and untasteful'. She later received an apology, but her other friends and family members are now urging her not to attend, leaving her torn.
One person urged her: "Please spend any funds you had saved for the bride's special week and do something you love with it. Spend it traveling, and put it towards a big ticket purchase that improves your life.
"Your friend wanting to play princess is not something you should feel obligated to participate in or lose wages and savings [by attending]."
Another advised: "If you can't afford to spend it for yourself, don't spend it for someone else. Inform them that you appreciate taking part and that you regret not going, but unfortunately you can no longer afford the trip."
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