Bride 'Made A Profit' On Her Bachelorette Party Trip By Charging Each Bridesmaid $650 Despite Her Dad Paying For It All
The bride tearfully confessed that she needed their money for an ice sculpture.
Ulza / Shutterstock A woman ended up spending more than she had originally budgeted for her sister-in-law's bachelorette party. However, she chose to overlook it amid the festivities — until she learned that not only was her sister-in-law stealing money from her and the rest of her bridal party, but that she also had no intention of paying it back.
The matter sparked a war between the woman’s family, the entire bridal party, and the bride-to-be in an abrupt turn of events.
The bride charged each of her bridesmaids $650 for the Airbnb that they would be staying at for her bachelorette party.
In the lengthy post shared on the subreddit, r/weddingshaming, the woman revealed that her future sister-in-law invited her to her destination bachelorette party. Since she rented a beachfront Airbnb, it was rather pricey.
“[She] charged each of the 11 girls $650 for the Airbnb,” the woman wrote. “I was salty about the high cost but it’s my sister-in-law so I sucked it up and paid her.”
Photo: milorad kravic / Canva Pro
Still, the woman had her suspicions about the high price.
While chatting with her brother, the future groom, the bachelorette trip came up in the conversation. That’s when the woman learned some distressing information about her sister-in-law and the trip that she was not aware of before.
The woman learned that the bride’s father had actually paid for the entire Airbnb.
“He [the woman’s brother] said something along the lines of, ‘What a relief her dad paid for the Airbnb because that would have been so expensive for your group,’” the woman wrote.
The woman said that she “almost choked” upon hearing her brother’s confession. Once she told him that his wife-to-be had charged all of her guests $650 a piece, she said that his face “turned purple” as he had no idea.
“To add to the greed going on here, when I got married I flew her out, paid for her accommodations, paid for hair and makeup, paid for her bridesmaid dress, and paid transportation because she was going through a hard time,” the woman wrote. “Now she has the [nerve] to steal from me.”
Photo: puhhha / Shutterstock
While the woman understood that being in a bridal party could get expensive, she did not agree with her sister-in-law cheating her and her fellow bridesmaids out of money.
“There’s a chance her dad stepped in and paid for it after the fact, and she just chose not to refund us,” the woman shared.
In a series of updates, the woman filled in Redditors on what ended up happening, and it is something straight out of a reality show. According to the woman, she had booked the pricey Airbnb unbeknownst to her father, but once he learned just how expensive it was, he decided to cover the entire cost himself.
“He felt embarrassed when he heard about the Airbnb price and wanted to save face with my side of the family,” the woman clarified. “So he gave my sister-in-law about $7,000 to cover the cost of the house. She was supposed to refund us but obviously that never happened.”
The woman’s mother learned that the bride had no intention of paying her friends back because she already spent it on a swan ice sculpture to display at her wedding.
When the woman confronted her sister-in-law, she allegedly broke down in tears.
“She broke down crying saying that wedding planning has been getting to her head, and she has been ‘crushed’ under the pressure to have the perfect wedding, which she felt couldn’t go on without this alleged ice swan,” the woman wrote. “I didn’t buy her sob story. After this whole incident, I think she is a delusional, controlling, attention-starving bridezilla who is using the wedding as a way to compete with other girls on Instagram.”
Although the groom forgave his wife-to-be, and the wedding is still happening, the woman does not want to go on the bachelorette trip. A week before they were set to leave, the bride sent out a text message to her sister-in-law and the rest of her bridal party.
“Hey Ladies! You’re my bride squad so I feel compelled to share that my dad recently offered to pay for our bachelorette accommodations. However, being that the wedding is so expensive, I have decided to put his donation towards a wedding expense,” the bride wrote. “I hope you all understand and I can’t wait to party with you all next week!”
The future bride had no qualms about telling her friends that their “donation” went toward an ice sculpture.
After they learned that their trip could not be refunded and they likely would not be getting their money back, they decided to make the most of it.
“We will be going on the trip, but it is NO LONGER a bachelorette trip. We will all be taking personal vacations with our hubbies/significant others while staying at the property,” the woman shared. “We were forced into this beachfront mansion + airfare, so we’re going to make the most of it.”
It's widely acknowledged that participating in a wedding party comes with significant expenses, even excluding the costs associated with a bachelorette trip.
According to the knot, bridesmaids spend hundreds of dollars in wedding expenses, and sometimes even up to $1,000 as a result of being part of the bridal party. Between dresses, bridal shower gifts, and the bachelorette party, expenses quickly add up.
Photo: Anna Kobycheva / Shutterstock
Bridal party members dedicate their time, energy, and resources to support their friends through the wedding planning process and on the big day itself. Taking advantage of them and stealing money is no way to thank them for being such an important part of the wedding.
Before making such a decision the bride should have kept this in mind: ice only lasts a few hours but some friendships are forever.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.