If wedding invitees do not show up, send them a bill for expenses!

Najwa Hashim Al-Riyadh An American woman, Jessica, was surprised when her friend, who had just got married, sent her a catering bill because Jessica did not attend her wedding. The bride had already paid for the guests’ meals and asked everyone to confirm attendance in advance. Jessica was planning to go to the wedding but a last-minute emergency prevented her as her mother called her and asked her to pick her children up because she could not take care of them. Children were not invited to the wedding. The bride was angry and sent Jessica the bill because she should have said she was not attending at the outset. When Jessica appeared on a local TV show, she never mentioned the bride’s name and kept it a secret because she did not want the public to know. It was a thoughtful thing. Let us imagine that something similar happened in our society. What if someone was invited to a wedding and did not show up and the bridegroom sent him a bill for the meal. I am sure that the first thing the invitee would do is post the bill on social media websites along with the bridegroom’s name. Then there would be a barrage of cursing and swearing from everyone who read the hashtag with all of them poking fun at the bridegroom. The guest would then probably end his relationship with the bridegroom for good. Returning to the story in the US, the bride asked the invitees to confirm attendance by WhatsApp, SMS, etc. but Jessica was unable to attend at the very last minute. How many people in our society confirm attendance in advance? A few months ago, I went to a wedding. The bride’s mother invited 500 women, of whom only 150 showed up. She paid around SR200,000 for a banquet aimed at a large number of people. The majority, however, did not attend and did not care to say in advance that they were not coming. Who is to blame, the host or the guests? We really need to follow the example of the American bride in order not to squander money on banquets when only a few people show up. We should try to make this a habit. Anyone who wants to invite men or women to a wedding should ask them to indicate by WhatsApp, SMS, etc. whether they are planning to show up. We should learn to apologize in advance if we are not going to an event.