“The Bill Was Close To $1,000”: Bride-To-Be Expects SIL To Cover The Entire Bachelorette Dinner, Gets A Reality Check Instead
Weddings have become grand and extravagant events. So much so that couples even act as their own fundraisers.
Recently, Reddit user Goodneighbourta shared a story on the platform about her sister-in-law’s bachelorette party, where she was unexpectedly handed the bill at the end of the dinner.
The sister-in-law had assumed that she and her husband (who are the wealthiest among their families) would cover the expenses without giving it a second thought. However, the bride-to-be got a reality check instead.
This woman thought she was going to celebrate her sister-in-law’s engagement but was put in a very uncomfortable situation
Image credits: Stephanie McCabe (not the actual photo)
When the bride-to-be tried to force her to pay everyone’s bill
Image credits: Ann Danilina (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Lars Plougmann (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/goodneighbourta
The woman managed to dodge the bullet
According to data collected by The Knot, bachelorette parties are becoming longer. In 2019, around 56% of them lasted two or more days but in 2021, the figure reached 75%, and the average length of a bachelorette party was three days.
In 2019, on average, one in two attendees spent more than $300 on a bachelorette party. But when the bash took place in a pricier location (aka a major metropolitan city) that number went up 61%. And one in five celebrants was actually spending closer to $1,000 (or more) to party.
(Out of those who had to fly to their event, nearly 40% spent close to or over $1,000. And, believe it or not, one in ten spent more than $4,000.)
And while many bachelorette party attendees are both expected and willing to spend a fair amount of money on the occasion
Image credits: Ibrahim Boran (not the actual photo)
And it’s not like people are forced to. In fact, one in two participants of bachelorette parties is willing to spend nearly $1,000 (or more!) on an upcoming event they’re attending.
So the cost of this particular evening doesn’t seem ridiculous.
And many of today’s couples do prefer cold, hard cash as a wedding gift.
“The average gift that people give for a wedding is around $100, and that stays consistent whether they’re giving a physical product or a cash gift,” Emily Forrest, director of communications for Zola, a wedding registry website, said.
However, that’s the average. The actual number depends on several factors, including geography, your income, your relationship with the couple, and whether you’re attending the wedding as a couple or a family.
You probably shouldn’t put people on the spot like this
Image credits: Igal Ness (not the actual photo)
Jodi R.R. Smith, president of etiquette consulting company Mannersmith, suggests using the following rule of thumb: take the amount that you would spend on a nice dinner out for yourself and multiply it by four.
“So [if] I only spend $20 on dinner for myself, that would put me in the $80-$100 range,” she explained. “But if I … drop $250 for a nice meal and a bottle of wine, then I would be looking at about a grand.”
But what about those cases when the newlyweds wait until the very last moment and try to bully someone into giving them the money? I think it should be lower. Maybe closer to zero.
After reading her story, people unanimously supported the woman
The bride's parents are going to be stuck with her until they die, because you just know that marriage won't last either.
Well, you're right about the life expectancy of the marriage. The bride and her daughter are living with MIL and FIL... Not with the fiancé. They got engage before experiencing life together. That alone sound bad. Now add the "golden child"/"entitled brat" syndrom, this union is doomed.
Load More Replies...NTA. I would go ahead and cut your husband's family out of your lives. They neglected him in favor of your SIL and now they want to disrespect you and your husband now. The both of you will always be an afterthought in favor of your SIL. Head off any future pain by cutting your husband's family out of your life now. They are horrible people.
So in my family my brother is the golden child and I’m the ignored forgotten one. And we are both grown, married, and each have a child of our own. The favoritism extends to our children with my niece being the golden child and my son being forgotten. But my mom is not an awful person. She does love me and my son very much. It’s only bad when we are together with my brother and his family, because then you can see it so much more clearly but currently I live near my mom and my brother lives out of state so most of my time with my mom I’m only competing with phone calls with them (which do actually take priority over us). Now I’m very used to this. I’m in an acceptance phase I guess. Well, my husband grew up very differently and is floored and appalled at this dynamic. So he gets really angry about it. Still I could not imagine cutting my mom out. Just because our relationship is flawed doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. I’ll take what I can get. I only have one family. Idk.
Load More Replies...Love is blinding more than blind; also do mind the husband may not be that perfect himself or hope he could handle her
Load More Replies...The bride's parents are going to be stuck with her until they die, because you just know that marriage won't last either.
Well, you're right about the life expectancy of the marriage. The bride and her daughter are living with MIL and FIL... Not with the fiancé. They got engage before experiencing life together. That alone sound bad. Now add the "golden child"/"entitled brat" syndrom, this union is doomed.
Load More Replies...NTA. I would go ahead and cut your husband's family out of your lives. They neglected him in favor of your SIL and now they want to disrespect you and your husband now. The both of you will always be an afterthought in favor of your SIL. Head off any future pain by cutting your husband's family out of your life now. They are horrible people.
So in my family my brother is the golden child and I’m the ignored forgotten one. And we are both grown, married, and each have a child of our own. The favoritism extends to our children with my niece being the golden child and my son being forgotten. But my mom is not an awful person. She does love me and my son very much. It’s only bad when we are together with my brother and his family, because then you can see it so much more clearly but currently I live near my mom and my brother lives out of state so most of my time with my mom I’m only competing with phone calls with them (which do actually take priority over us). Now I’m very used to this. I’m in an acceptance phase I guess. Well, my husband grew up very differently and is floored and appalled at this dynamic. So he gets really angry about it. Still I could not imagine cutting my mom out. Just because our relationship is flawed doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. I’ll take what I can get. I only have one family. Idk.
Load More Replies...Love is blinding more than blind; also do mind the husband may not be that perfect himself or hope he could handle her
Load More Replies...
143
87