Credello: Should the Wedding Party Refund Guests Who Cancel? Someone Asked Reddit

NEW YORK, July 28, 2022 (Newswire.com) - Reddit bills itself as "the front page of the internet." It's where you can see the latest headlines, but you can also ask people questions or bring up topics to see what the public has to say about them. 

That happened when a bride-to-be posted a scenario in the "Weddings" forum. Several guests told her about a week before her wedding that they would be unable to make it, and they wanted their money refunded. The bride refused, sparking a lively discussion about who was in the right.

We'll discuss this scenario a little further in the following article.

The Details

Most people who hear about what happened can put themselves in this particular bride's position. It's easy to think about the expenditure if you want a big wedding. Maybe you even had to look into wedding loans to get the money together to pay for everything. However you get the cash together for a large wedding, you know the event will set you back.

In this case, the wedding guests who were unable to attend put money into the block cost that went into renting the venue. That cash also went toward covering the food that had been ordered for the reception. 

The bride felt she should be under no obligation to pay the guests back that money because the food was ordered and the venue was booked. At that point, the facility would not refund any of that cash. In other words, if the groom and bride were to refund the guests that money, they would have to do so out of their own pockets.

Who's Right?

Reddit seemed to split into two camps regarding this subject. One group felt that the guests should not expect to get any of that money back because the bride and groom would have to pay for that out of pocket. The wedding and events surrounding it were already costing them a lot. 

Another group thought the bride and groom should still be held liable for that money because it was their wedding. This contingent felt that the guests should not have to lose that cash due to being unable to come because of last-minute circumstances beyond their control.

Factors in Play

Some who commented on this scenario felt that if the guests who couldn't come at the last minute wanted a refund, they should contact the wedding venue rather than the bride and groom. These commenters thought that the bride and groom should not have to put up any more of their own money, knowing how much the wedding was costing them already.

Others thought the bride and groom shouldn't be liable because these guests said they couldn't come less than a week before the event. Reddit users who mentioned this said that if the guests revealed they couldn't come a month in advance, they'd have more claim to potentially get a refund from the two individuals who planned to get married.

Which Side Do You Pick?

Probably, much like on Reddit, not everyone who reads this will interpret the situation the same way. Some might feel like the guests are correct. They can demand a refund from the bride and groom if they need to cancel at any time before the event. 

Others might think the bride is justified when she asserts that it's not reasonable to have her and her future husband give the guests who could not attend their money back out of their own pockets. She felt, like some Reddit commenters, that the guests should ask the venue for a refund if they were going to get one from anyone. 

This is just one example of a situation where there's no obviously right answer. Much like when you pose any question to the internet community at large, you're probably going to get back a wide range of responses based on individual viewpoints. 

Source: Credello