Chicago Newlyweds Post $240 Bill to No-Show Wedding Guests, Spark Online Debate

I’ll take “Things that are ratchet!” for $500, Mayim!

That dress, GURL!!!!

That’s for the party after the wedding r2.

I like that the dude is wearing sneakers. To his wedding, even if it's just the reception.

Wouldn’t you wanna be comfy at the reception?

R4 your idols Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters wear sneakers with their suits all the time.

I know that R3 but my response still stands. Stuffed like a sausage.

The pic says it all.

I saw $240 Bill and thought it meant $240 Billion. I was going to say, that’s a rather large sum of money.

It’s tacky AF to RSVP for a wedding and not show up. The food and entertainment are expensive.

R9 I agree with you. The racists are just gonna focus on the couple but in reality the people who said they’re coming and didn’t show up are wrong.

r9, I agree but it never said the guests said they were attending the wedding. It wasn't clearly stated. I took it the guests didn't respond to the RSVP.

[quote]“After repeated RSVPs, eight guests didn't tell the Simmons that they weren't attending”

R10 - so, if people didn't give them gifts of over $240 each at the wedding, are the rest of the guests getting a bill for the difference?

This is tacky and petty and they just cut off 8 'friends' out of their lives - but perhaps more because others will also disagree.

And there is no way in hell their wedding cost $240 each. No way.

Gosh I hate to be “that guy” but when I saw their picture it made sense.

R10 we are bitchy gays not racists. I actually think not responding to RSVPs is tacky as fuck. Call me old but younger people have not been taught the social niceties like they were in the past. Many don't even know what RSVP means.

The bride wore red and the groom wore athletic shoes?

Nobody has to sit through that. Send me the bill. I'm not paying.

So - wait - it's $120 per person and they didn't actually send these, they just posted it to social media.

The wedding was in Jamaica and they managed to have 101 guests? That's a lot for a destination wedding. Must have been a lot of local family and friends - I can't imagine that many people flying all the way to Jamaica for a wedding.

An RSVP is not a binding contract, so they can fuck off to hell with their $240 bill.

Is it rude to RSVP with a yes and then not show up, or to just not respond at all? Yes, of course. Is it illegal or in violation of the terms of some legally enforceable agreement? Fuck no.

Take it as a life lesson. People are selfish. There you go. Now it's time to move on, attention-grabbing asshole couple.

Fuck these people. It's not that 8 people accepted and then reneged on their obligation to attend.

They just never replied to the RSVP request. That means they certainly did not accept the invitation.

And no wonder. These two newlyweds are bad news. I would steer clear of them, too.

Toxic people. I would be so offended if I was their true friend to receive a bill like this, especially during a pandemic.

Weddings are more for the enjoyment of the guests than the married couple. There’s a tremendous amount of planning and stress involved so RSVPing yes and then not showing without notice is incredibly rude and disrespectful. Actually attempting to send a bill would be a lot but I would understand the sentiment behind posting a fake bill on principle.

That said, this wasn’t the case here and no RSVP is a default not attending. They just wanted to be petty assholes.

[quote][R4] your idols Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters

Who?

[quote]The racists are just gonna focus on the couple

So now we're racists for commenting on their choice of shoes... to their wedding? Since when is footwear a racist trope? Or is the trope only for wedding-shoe choices? What about socks?

I didn't get the memo and now I'm confused.

A bill for no-shows is tackier than not showing up.

Sick of all these trashy overblown weddings. Such a waste. If you can’t afford to pay for it completely don’t expect others to.

Weddings aren't meant to be a money maker, nor should you ever count on an exact # of guests to determine what to spend. There's a reason venues and other wedding related businesses charge by estimates (125-150, 150-200, or whatever). You're supposed to have some leeway in how many will show up.

R10 that's not what happened. 8 people didn't respond at all. It's not their problem the couple counted them. It's not racist to point out when people are being dicks about something.

R23 I agree. I love small intimate weddings. I know backyard weddings or courthouse weddings can be looked down on but I think those couples are into something.

I like normal weddings but I think the traditional setup is just played and a bit embarrassing with their “first dance” then “father-daughter dance” just uh, cut all that sappy shit out.

Keep an open bar, serve a simple delicious meal, relax, make some speeches, and cut the cake. Maybe dance if your spot has the space. But just keep it simple. Spend that money on your home or a kick-ass honeymoon

since few people are reading the article:

1) They posted an invoice online to make a point. They're not actually sending it to these people. I think that's 100% fair. It's just a fuck you to these non-guests, something I'd think people on here could appreciate.

2) Shitty journalism because the article is totally unclear about what type of RSVP's had occurred with the guests. Also unclear if the guests said they were coming to Jamaica and never showed up or went to Jamaica and never attended the wedding.

Totally fair for the couple to give an online middle finger to these guests.

R26 thank you for summarizing a bit and clearing things up.

Isn’t this really on the couple? Like, they should have had a hard cutoff date to lock in the budget. Most couples demand a response by X date or the guest will not be permitted to attend to avoid these financial losses. Why didn’t the couple or their wedding planner work the final date for the catering staff and venue’s guest list rules?

They sort of set themselves up for failure because the only people that are obligated to watch out for our interests is ourselves. They should have set a hard date then cut off guest with maybe 2 seats of wiggle room.

DON'T BE OFFENDED WHEN I SEND THIS #INVOICE TO YOU. IT'S GONNA LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I'LL BE SENDING IT VIA EMAIL AND CERTIFIED MAIL... JUST IN CASE YOU SAY YOU AIN'T GET THE EMAIL 🤷🏾‍♂️😂 #PETTYPOST ➡Newlyweds Send $240 Bill to Guests Who Were No-Shows for Their Wedding

The honeymoon’s over for a pair of newlyweds who were so steaming mad at wedding no-shows — who originally RSVP’d “yes” — that they slapped them with a $240 bill to cover their costs.

The no-shows were given a payment due date of one month from the Aug. 18 invoice sent by the once-anonymous newlyweds whose Royalton Negril Resort & Spa wedding in Jamaica apparently cost $120 a head.

Doug Simmons, with his wife Dedra Simmons, of Chicago. Doug stressed that it’s not about money — it was already pre-paid. However, he and Dedra felt hurt and disrespected by the no-shows at their hard-earned dream wedding, which had more than 100 attendees.

“Four times we asked, ‘Are you available to come, can you make it?,’ and they kept saying ‘Yes,’ ” he told The Post. “We had to pay in advance for Jamaica — this was a destination wedding.”

“No one told me or texted me, ‘Hey, we can’t make it,’ ” Simmons said. “That’s all I was asking. 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.”

However, when reached by The Post, the groom admitted that yes, he got a “little petty — but I am not some trifling person who is going to bill somebody.”

R25 - It's weird that every couple thinks their wedding is going to be special and different than every other wedding or that people will be excited to attend.

I don't understand it.

Don't plan destination weddings. Not everyone who says they can afford to will be able to. Shit happens and emergencies arise. Go get married, come back and have a party.

"It's weird that every couple thinks their wedding is going to be special and different than every other wedding or that people will be excited to attend."

Change " couple" to "bride" and you are correct.

I hate weddings. Such a waste of time and money. 75% of the weddings that I attended have ended in divorce.

Good luck collecting that bill. There's not a judge in the country that would say an RSVP is somehow legally binding.

I agree that this is as tacky as hell.

They look like tossers

I'd rather go to a funeral than a wedding.

I say the newlyweds should get cunt kicked continually

They're going to burn down the Sears Tower during their gender reveal party in five years

My husband and I chose not to wait last year and had a very small ceremony with our wedding party and a few close friends and family and a reception which was just a backyard BBQ. Total attendance was probably around 50 people, maybe a little less. The planning was fairly minimal, we saved thousands of dollars that we can put toward things more important to us, and it was small enough that we felt like we had time to actually talk to our guests and enjoy the day instead of sticking to a script.

If the people had RSVP'd yes and not shown, I'd be sympathetic. But this couple are idiots for including people who didn't respond in the headcount.

I’m 50 and I quit accepting wedding invitations a couple years ago. I think they’re mostly ridiculous and a self-serving ego trip for the bride and her mother. As soon as I get the invitation, I RSVP and politely decline. I used to send a gift from the registry, but now I don’t bother to even do that. People are generally ungrateful.

I went to a wedding with my elderly mother that involved driving about 20 miles on a hellishly hot day, partly through clouds of dirt amidst stop and go road construction, to get to the church, then back through the same construction zone to the reception venue. When we were halfway to the reception we were both exhausted and starving and just not up to sitting in a noisy hall with 100+ other people. I suggested we just go home and my mother agreed. The parents of the bride weren't happy with us, but you know what, we gave them wedding presents that were at the very least equivalent to whatever they paid for the meals we didn't eat, so I call it even.

Just get married at city hall and have a fabulous honeymoon or buy a house with the money. Weddings are a waste of money and just a production for the bridezilla to wear a dress and be a "princess" for a day.

Equally ridiculous are Quincenaras . A girl's birthday elevator to such an even that lower income Hispanics have to save for years and borrow money for a ridiculous dress and entire party of attendants and their male counterparts. The sweet 16 parties are equally bad. Over the top displays of narcissism.

There may be cultural differences in how (and this is very general) the african american community treats invitations to weddings. I once saw a bridezilla episode where half of the attendees had not shown up at the start time and it was causing stress.

With BPT (black people time), there's also cultural differences in acceptance of fibbing. I think the joke is that when you say you're on your way , with BPT it means you're getting ready to exit the house. Totally possible these guests thought they MIGHT go and then waited for rates to go down or for a paycheck to come in before buying tickets only to find themselves priced out. But its a cultural thing to continue to say you're going, then just not show up without knowing you've got to let the couple know (and maybe adding on some extra to the gift that covers the expense of you not going).

One of my nieces is getting married in December (yes, 2weeks before Xmas). The wedding venue is in a suburb of Austin, but it has no parking. So there will be a shuttle to take guests from a hotel to the venue. The hotel is in downtown Austin - a good 30 minutes from the wedding venue. Furthermore, the “group rate” for the least expensive room is over $200/night (plus tax etc.) Oh and parking at the hotel is exclusively valet at $50 (in/out privileges available at extra cost - which would be necessary to attend the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding). They have a wedding website with links to their “registry.” They do have something at Crate & Barrell, but the website makes it pretty clear they want cash.

I may not attend this shitfest, even though I will be persona non grata thereafter.

Just because they chose to have a destination wedding doesn't make them special enough to "fine" people for not going. I know they didn't send out these invoices but it's in very poor taste. Get over yourselves. Spending that much on a wedding is stupid, and having a destination wedding during COVID is even stupider.

I was wondering about the Covid thing.

[quote]Weddings are more for the enjoyment of the guests than the married couple.

Oh, honey, no. Not for a long time. Now they're mostly excuses for narcissists to play "Queen for a Day."

R44 - Wow! That is a lot of hassle and expense on your part. There’s no way I would attend an event like that. It would feel more like work. If I like the niece, I’d send her a $50 check and be done with it. Life is too short to spend our remaining years attending over-the-top bullshit weddings. Do something for yourself instead of patronizing these egocentric assholes.

Lol, r43. I’m black and my sister was a half hour late to her OWN wedding. We still laugh about it, and it pisses her off.

Good for them. They should sue those people. RSVPs are contracts.

If they didn't sign the contract to begin with, R50, how can they be found liable?

Hey Dedra and Doug,

^^^^^Did you read the article dipshit? No one RSVPed, stupidity is a shame.

Who plans a destination wedding in the midst of a global pandemic? A local wedding would have sufficed and then ALL of their friends, not just the ones with the means for the airfare and hotel, could have attended.

I applaud it as a shaming device, but these black people should know how shady black people can be.

It's not like any of them will pay up!

My goodness colored nuptials are expensive !!!

Just from the photo, you know who will run that household..... and it's not him.

[quote] Just from the photo, you know who will run that household..... and it's not him.

He’ll be a regular at the local gloryhole by the end of the year. I hope he doesn’t live near the naked barber.

The best analysis of wedding culture I’ve seen was the point that big, “keep up with the Joneses” weddings became increasingly popular as the U.S. middle class started banking money in the 1950s post-war years, as a striving way to mimic high-society events. In other words, for middle-class families, a wedding was their one shot to show off to their peers that they could throw a fancy party. This seems more and more true in the days of Instagram.

Instead, act like you’ve thrown a nice party before and will again, and stop making your wedding some “once in a lifetime” over-the-top bullshit.

Even if these people had RSVP’d yes and then not shown up (rather than just not responding), that seems more understandable than usual for a destination wedding in the days of covid.

Counting people as “yes” when they don’t RSVP is just stupid.

[quote] There may be cultural differences in how (and this is very general) the african american community treats invitations to weddings. I once saw a bridezilla episode where half of the attendees had not shown up at the start time and it was causing stress. With BPT (black people time), there's also cultural differences in acceptance of fibbing. I think the joke is that when you say you're on your way , with BPT it means you're getting ready to exit the house. Totally possible these guests thought they MIGHT go and then waited for rates to go down or for a paycheck to come in before buying tickets only to find themselves priced out. But its a cultural thing to continue to say you're going, then just not show up without knowing you've got to let the couple know (and maybe adding on some extra to the gift that covers the expense of you not going).

You believe Bridezillas is a National Geographic series that informs you about the culture of an entire race of people? The closest you’ve come to having a relationship with black people = watching them on television. Now you’re an expert, ready to share your vast knowledge.

I don’t care what color you are, if you’re organizing an event with over 100 guests and staff are coming together where social distancing is almost impossible, you’re trash.

[quote] Weddings are more for the enjoyment of the guests than the married couple.

Not really. They've become an exercise in narcissism and a way of raking in as much loot as possible. The guests aren't there to enjoy themselves. They are their to boost the egos of the married couple and be part of the audience.

I'd think that a minimum of 50% of all wedding guests would much rather be doing something else - probably a lot more. 'Enjoyment of the guests', indeed!

The attitude of wedding guests today is, “If I have to sit through your boring service, you better feed me well.”

I've been the Best Man at three weddings, and my parents were married for 72 years, and I've NEVER understood why people get married. Just so ridiculous. Save the hassle, the expense, and the obvious divorce, enjoy yourselves while you can, and when you can't go your separate way and remain civil to each other.

But judging from the get-ups in the OP pic, its unlikely that the entire wedding cost more than $1.99, so meh. And are those giant tambourines hanging behind them?

r48 Please tell us more. Approximate age? State? I'm just wondering who in 2021 would recommend an uncle send a $50 check to a niece's wedding that he is going to skip. I think you were being honest, I'm just so fascinated by the suggestion.

To me, skipping a niece's wedding would cause some family turbulence but the $50 would be seen as intentionally aggressive or rude.

The first lesbian wedding I attended pissed me off to no end. It was at some karate studio—no food or drinks. Entertainment was lesbian drumming circle. I gave them $250 in a card. Never received a thank you note. They divorced within the year.

Hey Muriel, if you see this, I'll paypal or venmo you $100 if you ban R55 for life.

I was the one who mentioned BPT and tried to discuss the cultural differences regarding promptness. R55 is just a sick racist who is using your site to spread their venom and I think its a great example of someone who should lose the privilege of posting here.

r61 It was a concrete example directly related to this conversation. BPT is a real thing. Different ethnic groups have different rules regarding promptness. I've regularly been late for lunch with friends. The idea of being late to a wedding is shocking to me. I'm sure in any crowd there would be someone running late. The Bridezillas episode made an impact because literally half the guests weren't there on time and rolled in over the next two hours. Some were in the wedding party.

At the time, I was working for a black owned company and its the one time in my life I was in the minority at a job as a white person. Good life experience. BPT jokes were common. There was also an incident with a co-workers wedding where one of my bosses couldn't decide if she was attending. The wedding was the next day. I was shocked because I explained, either you RSVP'd or you didn't. And if you did RSVP, there is a seat there for you and you're obligated to go. But again, i'm an uptight white person.

By the way, I have been a late invited guest at a few weddings now. Meaning, I've been invited after the RSVP's come in and enough people have declined. I always attend when I am invited like this and usually have a good time because its a friend group event and I know they had a zillion people they were obligated to invite first.

R69 - R55 is speaking the truth! I didn’t see it as racist. I think we need to learn to laugh at one another. I have many black friends and know this “shady” attribute to be true. They even laugh about it. They make fun of me for silly things as well.

If you don’t receive a response to a RSVP, you generally surmise the invitee is not attending.

I believe this is something you just have to suck up.