Newlyweds Decide to Teach Wedding No-Show Guests a Lesson
A newlywed couple went viral after deciding to teach their wedding no-show guests a lesson, sparking a heated online debate over whether their exercise on etiquette was tacky or totally justified.
As seen in a now-viral photo that was posted to Twitter, Mr. and Mrs. Simmons were so frustrated by guests — who originally RSVP’d “yes,” only to not show up at the wedding all — that they decided to send them a bill for the cost. At $120 a seat, that resulted in a $240 bill for couples who were no-shows for the wedding, which Doug and Dedra suggested the guests pay “via Zelle or PayPal.”
“This invoice is being sent to you because you confirmed seat(s) at the wedding reception during the Final Headcount,” a note on the invoice explained. “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.”
While it’s understandable that the couple would be upset to have spent $120 on someone who didn’t end up not attending, the bold move was sure to seal the fate of any friendship, so it’s no surprise that it sparked disbelief as well as a heated discussion online. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wedding reception invoice before lol,” wrote one shocked person, who shared the image of the invoice on Twitter.
Others, however, weren’t just surprised, they were disgusted by the couple’s missive and didn’t mince words. “You are so special to us that we invited you to our wedding. However, we are going to sever that relationship for $240 because you didn’t let us show off to you in person,” one sarcastic critic wrote, adding, “But we will send an invite to our baby shower at some point, so show up with a gift or face collections.”
The newlyweds received their fair share of support as well. “I wish I’d thought of this. A third of the people who RSVP’d for our wedding didn’t show up,” wrote Jackie Barbosa, who was obviously on Team Simmons. “We paid for a LOT of food that went to waste (though it was a LOT LESS than $120 a plate).”
Of course, there were also those who were quick to cry “fake news,” believing the invoice was staged, but the couple — whose identity was originally a mystery — is in fact real. The “good-humored groom admitted that getting stood up at the altar, so to speak, ‘made me feel some kind of way,’” when he was tracked down by the Post.
Although he admitted that he got a “little petty,” Doug, a small business owner, told the outlet that he’s “not some trifling person who is going to bill somebody.” He added that he wasn’t even stressed about the money, since the wedding was pre-paid. Rather, the couple just wanted to send the rude guests, who left them feeling hurt and disrespected by their no-shows, a message after realizing not everyone who RSVP’d had kept their word.
“Four times we asked, ‘Are you available to come, can you make it?’ and they kept saying ‘Yes,’” Doug recalled. “We had to pay in advance for Jamaica — this was a destination wedding,” he added, describing he and Dedra’s hard-earned dream wedding with more than 100 attendees. “No one told me or texted me, ‘Hey, we can’t make it,’” he continued. “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.”
