My Brother Charged Me $115 To Attend His Wedding & I’m ‘Baffled by the Audacity’

When you’re a child dreaming of your adult life, it might include falling in love and having the perfect fairy tale wedding. But when you’re a child, you have no concept how much that fairy tale might cost you. That dream is so strong that many people find it hard to let go of that idea even when real life is screaming, “You can’t afford it!” Some people even end up willing to go into debt to bring that vision to life.

Some folks work like crazy to pay for it. Others put off buying a house. And some people, hard as it may be to believe, attempt to pass the costs on to their guests. Yes, you read that right.

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One big sister can't get over what her baby brother is doing.

One big sister wrote into Reddit’s Wedding Shaming forum to vent about her brother. He tied the knot a few weeks ago at an expensive restaurant downtown. The space is known for its architecture but didn’t include a dance floor or open bar. Still, the OP said that overall, it was a lovely evening.

But recently, she received a text from her younger brother reading, “Hi [wife’s name] just told me she hasn’t received your $115 each no rush you can send it to [email protected].”

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The charge was never mentioned beforehand.

The OP wrote that at no point was it communicated they were charging guests to attend. It wasn’t said verbally and it wasn’t included on the invitation.

Furthermore, big sis and her husband gave the bride and groom $400 cash in a card. The OP and her husband didn’t drink that evening. On top of that, they paid $30 for coffee and had to catch an Uber there and back.

'Now I’m pissed off,' the OP wrote.

When the OP told her brother that they didn’t know about the $115 price tag, his only response was “oh thought you knew”
 “I forgot to tell you sorry.” The OP called her brother’s nonchalance infuriating. The exchange between the two siblings got heated.

“I eventually told him I would send the money but he can wait,” the OP wrote. “Now I’m pissed off. I’m considering not sending anything and if he asks I’ll say, ‘oh I forgot.’ Oh did I mention I also got married in June this year and didn’t charge anyone a dime.”

Reddit users knew exactly how to handle this.

The Reddit community was equally incensed. Commenters provided the OP with suggestions on how to handle this.

“You gave them $400,” one commenter noted. “That covers it. Tell him to send you your change.” Another person told OP to reply, “Right?!?! “Oh forgot to tell you
I put it in your card.”

Someone else suggested that sending him the money would encourage poor etiquette. “Don’t send money,” the person wrote. “Rewarding them for their bad behavior will only make them believe what they’re doing is okay.”

“Hey bro, I put $400 in the card. I thought it was $200/per. Please send back the extra $270. Thanks. Love you and congrats again,” another person suggested she reply, and we have to say, we’re right onboard with this.

This kind of behavior in regard to a wedding is outlandish. Fine – if you state in the invitation that guests need to pay their own way and they show up, they are making the choice to accept the expense. Otherwise, this is just flat-out rude.

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