Weddings are a time filled with family, friends, and traditions. So Seyi was thrilled to attend her friend’s destination wedding but never could have predicted the outrageous demands that soon would be made of her and the other guests. What should have been a spectacular day turned dark quickly.
From gifts to dress codes, Seyi’s friend wanted it all – a wedding that exceeded expectations in all aspects starting with the flowers and ending with the perfect cake. What followed was a day so extraordinary, that guests were left speechless. Read on to discover the remarkable story of Seyi’s friend’s wedding.
Experience a Unique Destination Wedding with Seyi
Seyi was overjoyed to receive an invitation to her dear friend’s nuptials, especially when she found out it would be taking place in Romania! To ensure everything ran smoothly, the couple had requested that all their guests stay at a certain hotel.
Although pricey, Seyi was willing to bear the costs for this one-of-a-kind experience. Interestingly, the couple had specified that only cash gifts would be accepted. This struck Seyi as strange but she didn’t think too much into it. She was looking forward to seeing her friends get married!
Seyi and Her Friend Take a Romanian Wedding Trip
Seyi was invited to the wedding in Romania and had the great idea to bring a friend along. It would be a great chance for them to split the room costs, since the hotel was expensive. And it’s always more fun to travel with a friend!
Excited to dress for the occasion, the two girls went shopping for the perfect fancy outfits. After packing, they grabbed their Euros and set off on their exciting journey. Seyi and her friend were ready to explore the unknown lands of Romania and have the time of their lives!
A Dream Trip to Romania for a Summer Wedding
Seyi and her friend boarded the plane, full of excitement and anticipation for the summer wedding they were attending. Chatter filled the air as they discussed the food, wine, music and other guests they were looking forward to meeting.
As they descended in the summer sun, the two friends admired the beautiful Romanian countryside below. The weather was perfect and Seyi shared her friends’ love story, which had brought them to this special moment. It was clear that this was going to be a dream trip for them both.
A Trip to Transylvania: Seyi’s Magical Wedding Adventure!
Seyi and her friend were awe-struck as they arrived in Cluj, Romania, located in the picturesque Transylvania region. Despite the time crunch, they managed to hail a taxi that took them to the quaint village where her friends’ nuptials were to be held.
As they drove past the lush green fields and rustic farmhouses, they reached the village that was adorned with beautiful and historic-looking buildings. Especially impressive was the church where the ceremony was to take place. The girls were blown away by its beauty! This was to be an unforgettable wedding adventure in Transylvania!
A Gift from the Couple, A Surprise for Seyi
Seyi and her friend were excited when they received a personalized gift bag at check-in. It was a thoughtful gift from the couple and it showed how much they wanted their guests to enjoy the wedding.
The party set off to explore the village, but soon Seyi realized that she hadn’t brought enough cash for the pubs and a wedding gift. Unfortunately, there were no ATMs in sight. Seyi knew she couldn’t pay for the wedding gift with her card, so she would have to wait until she got home. If she’d known this in advance things might have ended differently.
An Unforgettable Wedding Weekend in the Romanian Countryside
The morning of the wedding was upon them and the entire wedding party and guests were excited to get ready. The bride and bridesmaids were putting on their make-up and doing their hair.
Once at the church, the ceremony moved everyone to tears. Later at the reception, Seyi caught the bouquet! The meal, conversation, and dancing were delightful. The speeches went off without a hitch and the bar opened for service. As the DJ spun the tunes, people showed off their dance moves and the bride and groom threw a truly unforgettable party.
Cash Only – A Groom and Bride’s Bold Request
Seyi watched as the bride’s family moved around the party, handing out envelopes with a careful eye for names. She wondered what was going on, until she remembered that the couple had requested cash only for gifts.
Her mind moved to a church setting, it felt eerily similar to when donations are usually requested, and she was taken aback by the boldness of their request. Seyi thought it was a little over the top to send a team to collect, but they had made their wishes known.
Crazy Night Out in a Foreign City – Seyi’s Story
Seyi and her friend had an unexpected surprise when they ran out of money while in a foreign city. With only 25 Euros between them, they decided to leave the money in the envelope on the table.
What surprised them further was that they were presented with personalized gift bags in return. Feeling a little confused, Seyi took her bag and said her goodbyes, wondering what was in store for her. Despite the crazy night out, she knew she had to catch her red-eye flight back home.
Last Minute Nightmare: Seyi’s Rush to Make Her Flight
Seyi had set the alarm to get some sleep before their 4.00 am flight, only to wake up realizing she had slept right through it. With no time to spare, they scrambled to make the flight, rushing through the small airport.
Unfortunately, the steward wouldn’t let them carry their bags, forcing them to pay extra for checked baggage. Exhausted, the two girls drifted off to sleep on the plane. When they landed, Seyi had to return to work to tackle an emergency. With a sigh, she thought “the price you pay for a great weekend”.
A Thank You Before the Honeymoon!
Seyi smiled to herself as she settled into her chair at work, fresh coffee in hand, and opened her inbox. To her surprise, there was an email from her newly-wed friend, thanking her for attending the wedding.
Seyi couldn’t believe how organized the bride was, to have thank-you emails ready to send out even before the honeymoon began! She thought it was really sweet of her friend, but couldn’t help but think that the newlyweds should be enjoying the romance of this time instead. Seyi had never heard of anyone receiving a thank you before the honeymoon ended, a unique and thoughtful gesture indeed!
Insulting and Unacceptable: Seyi’s Shocking Wedding Experience
The initial excitement quickly wore off when Seyi saw the contents of the message. The email was a cruelly-worded message to people who didn’t give enough money to the newlyweds. It was clear the bride had prepared a draft email in case the guests didn’t give the required amount – this was insulting to everyone present.
Seyi was planning to give the couple a present but had run out of cash on the day as there were no ATMs nearby. This was unacceptable and Seyi didn’t like the way it was being handled. She hadn’t been given a chance to contribute additional money. Overall, Seyi was shocked and hurt that her “friends” would send her something like this!
A Misery-Inducing Wedding Night
Seyi had gone all out for the wedding. She had spent a fortune on flights, taxi fare, and accommodation. When she put 25 Euros in the envelope as her contribution to the wedding costs, she didn’t expect to be told off by the bride, the day after the wedding no less!
It was clear that it hadn’t been enough to cover the food, drinks, and gift bags. Seyi was shocked and realized that the couple must have stayed up their entire wedding night counting the money they had received. How miserable!
Tight-Fisted at the Wedding?
Seyi was taken aback when the bride attacked her for being tight-fisted at the wedding. To her surprise, the bride expected the guests to contribute around 100 Euros per person, and that 75 Euros was the minimum acceptable amount. Not everyone could afford such extravagance after all the other costs of traveling to the wedding venue!
Seyi had never experienced this before and her friend added insult to injury by apologizing for not making the request for cash gift clearer. It left Seyi wondering if this was a common practice or if one was free to make their own choice when it came to wedding gifts.
Can You Believe This? Bride Asks Her Guests To Pay For Their Wedding!
Seyi and her friend were astounded when they read the email she had just received. Not only did they pay for their flights and accommodation to attend the wedding, but it was even more unbelievable that the bride had asked for an additional 125 Euros for food and drink. A destination wedding isn’t cheap for the guests shouldn’t the bride and groom contribute something?
What was even more shocking was that she had deducted the 25 Euros they had already given her. This was an outrageous demand from the bride, and Seyi and her friend were completely taken aback.
Bride Learns a Harsh Lesson in Etiquette: Seyi’s Revenge!
Seyi and her friend had been impressed by the gift bag they received, only to discover later that it was far more sinister than they had imagined. The bags were personalized, tracking how much each person had given. Seyi couldn’t believe this insult.
Seyi’s blood boiled when she realized the bride hadn’t even given her a chance. She refused to give anything now, and wanted to let the bride know exactly why. In the end, the bride was paying the price for her lack of etiquette – with Seyi’s revenge.
Investing in Happiness: Seyi’s Story
Seyi wanted nothing to do with the “debt collector” of a friend and refused to send her any money. She wasn’t a customer in this sales transaction and the whole thing had put a damper on her memories of the wedding.
Seyi’s friend, however, had a different perspective, they had made an investment in the marriage and expected the couple to make good on it. This way, they’d have a share in their happiness. No matter what, the couple couldn’t split up, it would make the investment a bad one!
A Lesson in Friendship: The Cost of an Unaffordable Wedding
Seyi and her friend felt a pang of sorrow for the couple. They had missed the opportunity to savor the special moment and instead were consumed with thoughts of money. Their wedding day should have been the happiest day of their lives, yet it was marred with greed!
Perhaps a more modest celebration would have been a wiser decision, instead of trying to bill their own guests? It appeared the bride’s pre-wedding tension had been self-inflicted. Hopefully, this couple learned a valuable lesson – that they shouldn’t book something they can’t afford and also reconsider what friendship means.
No Forgiveness: Bride’s Greedy Demands Ruined Friendship
When Seyi’s friend, the bride, expected her to contribute to the wedding with cash only, it was the last straw. She was done with the situation and didn’t even bother to forgive her. On social media, Seyi shared her story and sparked a conversation.
Many people agreed with her and shared their own horror stories about brides with similar demands. One person even advised Seyi to send a bill to the bride, listing all the items she had to purchase for the wedding. Seyi’s story is a reminder to other brides-to-be that their behavior can ruin friendships.
When Friendship Comes at a Cost
The guys had their own tales of friendship gone wrong. One of them shared the story of his sister who was asked to be the maid of honor by her oldest friend. What seemed like a dream opportunity quickly turned into a financial nightmare, with the bride expecting her maid-of-honor to cover her dress, shoes, and accommodation costs.
To make matters worse, the bride was ungrateful of the expenses paid and complained that her maid-of-honor failed to get her a gift. This left all of them with a sour taste in their mouths and a reminder that friendship does not come free.
Seyi’s Lesson from a Strained Wedding
Seyi had a lesson to learn from attending a strained wedding. She quickly downloaded some pictures and made friends with some other guests, then promptly removed both the bride and groom from her Facebook account.
Surprisingly, they are still together and have had a child. Seyi realized that making unnecessary demands of those around her pleases no one in the end, so it’s better to enjoy life without so much pressure. Her takeaway was that the bridezilla was tense and didn’t even spend her wedding night in joy, and that’s no way to start a marriage.
What is a Bridezilla?
Seyi’s story is one that many people can relate to. Often during weddings, people’s emotions can rear their ugly head as brides and grooms have an excuse to be demanding about their special day.
The term “Bridezilla” describes the tendency of the person responsible for planning the wedding, typically the bride, to develop angry and unreasonable demands of wedding planners, workers, and guests.
Where Did the Term Come From?
The term Bridezilla originated as a combination between the words “Bride” and “Godzilla”. Godzilla is a Japanese-created monster who is famous for its aggressive destruction of cities with intense rage.
The term first became popular from a 1995 article by a Boston Globe Writer named Diane White. (via Detroit Lakes Tribune) In her piece, White used the term to describe her difficulty dealing with certain brides.
Is the Bridezilla Just a Trope or Is There Truth to it?
After the term caught on with people, it became part of the cultural consciousness. There was even a TV show that started in 2004 called Bridezillas.
The concept seemed to resonate with people because it would go on to have over 200 episodes across 13 seasons. The show episodes often revolved around people navigating around the tricky demands of the bride like wedding planners and caterers. Most of the time the bride was shown to be uncontrollable and emotional.
How Common Is a Situation like Seyi’s?
Seyi’s story may seem ridiculous to some, but it’s unfortunately not entirely uncommon for a wedding party to require their guests to pay for meals and other expenses.
According to The Knot, traditionally the bride and her family are the ones who pay for the venue and most of the wedding expenses. However, in the modern era, weddings come in all shapes and sizes, and some weddings break from that tradition.
Paying as a Guest
A reddit post by a user in r/AskReddit reached out to fellow Redditors on their opinions on having to pay for your own meal at weddings. Similar to Seyi’s story, the post author and their girlfriend were expecting to pay around $80-100 each for the meals.
A user named sneaky_dragon shared their experience at Chinese weddings. “At Chinese weddings, from the ones I’ve attended, at least $50-$75/person is a standard (red envelope) gift for the couple. Never had someone right out tell me to pay a certain amount though. That’s just tacky,” they wrote.
Unspoken Rule
Reddit user wampug outlined their view of an unspoken rule that paying for food can take the place of a gift, but should never be enforced like it was in Seyi’s story.
“Uhm, I mean, I usually give the bride and groom money as a present. I’ve never heard of someone insisting on it. Usually it’s just an unspoken thing where you try to pay for the price of a plate or give them a wedding gift of comparable price. Like for my cousin’s wedding I knew the plates were around 100$ so I gave them 100$ as a present but they never made it a rule,” they wrote. (via Reddit)
Comment from a Quebec User
Another user named pbh4vr described their experience living in Quebec, noting that it felt more and more common.
“Here in Quebec I’ve payed for my own dinner at the last 4 weddings I’ve been to. Maybe it’s a cultural thing? The first time I was like ಠ_ಠ but I was told it’s getting more and more common, around here at least,” they wrote. (via Reddit)
Avoid the Pitfalls From Seyi’s Experience
Seyi’s horrible experience at her friend’s wedding is something that some people would consider a nightmare. Not only did Seyi have to spend so much money to attend the wedding, but she was criticized for not spending even more. She even had to break off contact with the bride and groom, a relationship she paid a lot of money to keep going.
Before heading off to an expensive wedding in another place, people should be sure to confirm every detail and not leave a hidden Bridezilla moment up to chance.
