Fury As Wedding Couple Charge Guests $112 Each: 'Wow'

The internet has backed a woman who shared her shock online after being invited to two events where the guests were expected to pay for catering.

As living costs continue to rise, many people are looking for places to cut back—but one party guest has shared their displeasure at being expected to pay to attend an event.

In a post on the popular discussion site Mumsnet, user Cookiemonstersnana explained: "Last week we received a wedding invitation for the end of January. On the invite, it's asking us to pay for our food. £100 ($112) each. It's worded as though they are doing us a favor as it's only £200 ($225). Plus asking us for money for their honeymoon."

After this invite, the couple also received a party invitation for a birthday where they were told that there would be no food provided, but a van where guests could purchase pizza.

"Is this the new thing [for] parties and weddings?" asked the frustrated guest, prompting conversation with over 220 replies on Mumsnet.

One survey by Eventbrite proved that food can be a pretty big deal when it comes to parties, with 74 percent of Americans saying that they would be guaranteed to show up to an event if they knew the food would be good.

"Wow, I've never heard of this before," said one commenter: "But I guess times are tough. If I couldn't afford to feed wedding guests I think I would just have a small wedding or save up a bit longer."

Another Mumsnet user wrote: "I don't have a problem with people paying for their own food at weddings. I think it's fair enough and could be an arrangement instead of a gift."

"I've never heard of that," said another reply: "Sounds awful. If you can't afford to feed your guests then don't have any."

​​​​Zoe Burke, leading wedding expert and editor of Hitched.co.uk, told Newsweek: "It's really rare to hear of guests being asked to pay for their own food at a wedding; if anything, here at Hitched, we've seen couples increasing the amount they spend on wedding food.

"In 2021, wedding catering spending increased by 20 percent, even though people were inviting fewer guests to their big day, suggesting that nearlyweds are favoring quality over quantity for their wedding experience.

"If you are inviting someone to attend your wedding and celebrate with you, it's expected that you'll host them, and that means paying for their food, some drinks and to entertain them. In return, they will travel to be with you, give up their time for you, and bring you a gift, if you're lucky."

"Party is fair enough," said another Mumsnet user: "In fact, I prefer it if they are clear on if there is food or not—but the wedding is very cheeky."

Another reply weighed up the situation and said: "Potentially, I wouldn't mind paying for my own food if I was ordering it as I would in a restaurant. I wouldn't pay a flat rate of £100 for something mass-catered."

"If you ask your guests to pay their own way, you can risk shocking them as it's not the done thing," said Burke. "If you are set on asking your guests to pay for their wedding meals, I would recommend making it really clear up front, letting them know how much it'll cost and giving them a good selection of meals to choose from."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.