Wedding Gift Amount Deemed Insufficient By Bad-Mannered Bride

[radcen]

I'm not sure where some people seem to have gotten the idea that it is the responsibility of the wedding guests to foot the bill for a wedding. If you want your guests to pay for your wedding, just be up front about it and charge a cover fee. Quit with the passive aggressive "We all understand you're obligated to buy us a gift worth whatever we spent per plate for the reception, wink wink nudge nudge".

And who in their right ****ing mind spends $200 a plate at a damn wedding reception?! Who's catering the damn thing, Gordon Ramsay? I like to go out for a nice meal from time to time, but even at expensive places I've never spent $200 a plate, and that includes drinks. Either this lady had the best wedding food anyone has ever seen, or she got ripped off really badly, or her friends and family are all hardcore alcoholics.

If I got that e-mail I'd have fun messing with her. Write back "Hey, I just saw your e-mail. Look, this is kind of embarrassing, but I made a big mistake with your gift. I only meant to give you $10. The $100 was for a different wedding for someone I actually like. So if you could send me back $90 of that, that would be fantastic".

I know, right? Plus, I'm not quite sure how anything but straight cash would help cover the cost anyway.

 

[radcen]

I think part of the problem is that brides and photographers don't spell out what they want. If I were a bride having a photographer, I'd be sure the contract spelled out what family photos and other staged shots I expected when and with whom PLUS expect that my photographer would take candids throughout the time I'd contracted him for. I think most problems with photographers/videographers come from unclear expectations. And THAT is the fault of the bride.

That is a big problem, especially with newer photographers.

Oh, I forgot to mention other guests trying to horn in on your staging and lighting with their point-n-shoots.

 

[Superfly]

My wife and I ate at Morton's in Chicago once for our anniversary and that was about $300 for the two of us, but that was for an enormous like 40 oz porterhouse that we shared, sides, dessert, and about 3-4 drinks apiece. I don't mind paying a lot for a really good meal from time to time, but I have trouble imagining wedding food being good enough to justify that kind of money.

It doesn't justify it. It's just like the photographer. When a caterer hears, "It's for my wedding," they see dollar signs. For a normal catering, like an office party or something, the same caterer would probably charge $50 a head, or less. It's all a scam.

 

[MaggieD]

It doesn't justify it. It's just like the photographer. When a caterer hears, "It's for my wedding," they see dollar signs. For a normal catering, like an office party or something, the same caterer would probably charge $50 a head, or less. It's all a scam.

The only great wedding meal I ever had was a filet mignon served with a double-baked potato soup and spinach salad. Rubber chicken? Nosomuch. Salad dressings that taste like they came out of a bottle? Nosomuch. For the life of me, I don't understand why chefs can't put together a decent catered dinner. Most of them are crap.

 

[Superfly]

The only great wedding meal I ever had was a filet mignon served with a double-baked potato soup and spinach salad. Rubber chicken? Nosomuch. Salad dressings that taste like they came out of a bottle? Nosomuch. For the life of me, I don't understand why chefs can't put together a decent catered dinner. Most of them are crap.

And they charge a fortune. No excuse for charging what they do. I could make a really, really good meal (including a filet mignon) for under $20. Mark that up to $50, make a decent turnaround, serve a good dinner to the guests, and not rip anybody off. But it's too easy to charge $200 for $20 worth of food. :roll: Just greed. All it is.

 

[Gipper]

I feel bad for the guy who married her. You know he's going to be on the losing end of "for better or for worse".

 

[RabidAlpaca]

The only great wedding meal I ever had was a filet mignon served with a double-baked potato soup and spinach salad. Rubber chicken? Nosomuch. Salad dressings that taste like they came out of a bottle? Nosomuch. For the life of me, I don't understand why chefs can't put together a decent catered dinner. Most of them are crap.

You should have come to my wedding then. We had a badass buffet line with cordon-bleu, schnitzel, bratwurst, and a bunch of other things. I didn't try to force my guests to all eat the exact same dish. And I paid a ridiculously small amount for the catering.

And they charge a fortune. No excuse for charging what they do. I could make a really, really good meal (including a filet mignon) for under $20. Mark that up to $50, make a decent turnaround, serve a good dinner to the guests, and not rip anybody off. But it's too easy to charge $200 for $20 worth of food. :roll: Just greed. All it is.

The last wedding I went to the couple had paid $150 per plate, and the food wasn't even worth $20. It was bland, cookie cutter, and I would've gotten a better meal at TGI Fridays. And I don't even like TGI Fridays.

 

[Cephus]

It doesn't justify it. It's just like the photographer. When a caterer hears, "It's for my wedding," they see dollar signs. For a normal catering, like an office party or something, the same caterer would probably charge $50 a head, or less. It's all a scam.

It's supply and demand. They're willing to pay that much so why shouldn't they be charged that much? If they don't like the cost, refuse to pay and the cost will go down.

 

[Superfly]

It's supply and demand. They're willing to pay that much so why shouldn't they be charged that much? If they don't like the cost, refuse to pay and the cost will go down.

Nobody is going to refuse to pay, and be considered cheap on their wedding day. They'd rather be ripped off, then try to guilt the guests into covering what they can't afford.

 

[Cephus]

Nobody is going to refuse to pay, and be considered cheap on their wedding day. They'd rather be ripped off, then try to guilt the guests into covering what they can't afford.

I wouldn't pay that much, so I guess you're wrong.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

Her response sounds like my sisters when she's pregnant - turning every little thing into a huge, overgrown deal - risking a punch to the face every time she talks to me.

 

[Gipper]

Her response sounds like my sisters when she's pregnant - turning every little thing into a huge, overgrown deal - risking a punch to the face every time she talks to me.

It's amazing how far your acorn fell from the oak in some ways.

 

[Higgins86]

We had our wedding outside on an island in Maine, we requested no presents instead people should bring booze for the reception afterwards so we could all get **** faced.

 

[Superfly]

I wouldn't pay that much, so I guess you're wrong.

Nah. I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.

 

[Superfly]

We had our wedding outside on an island in Maine, we requested no presents instead people should bring booze for the reception afterwards so we could all get **** faced.

That's my kind of wedding! If I ever look for the next ex-Mrs. Superfly, I may use your idea!

 

[Gipper]

I have no intention of ever getting married to a woman that wouldn't do it with a JotP, wearing flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt.

 

[Superfly]

I have no intention of ever getting married to a woman that wouldn't do it with a JotP, wearing flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt.

Good way to look at it. Bridezillas before the wedding are going to be wifezillas after the wedding. Hubs and I had a JotP in our backyard on the bank of the river, and seeing as how, at the time, Hubs had a Jerry Garcia beard, he braided it and wove roses into it. :lol: