Ah, weddings. A time to gather your loved ones together to celebrate your happy union. Or at least that's the idea, which somehow gets obscured in between bridesmaid dresses and seating arrangements.
And wedding gifts? Don't even go there, as one guest discovered the hard way. According to an article in the Star, a vicious texting war ensued after one of the bridezillas attacked her guest's paltry offering. Here's an abridged version of the exchange:
Bride: "I want to thank you for coming to the wedding Friday. I'm not sure if it's the first wedding you have been to, but for your next wedding... People give envelopes. I lost out on $200 covering you and your dates plate... And got fluffy whip and sour patch kids in return Just a heads up for the future :)
Guest: “… to ask for a receipt is unfathomable. In fact it was incredibly disrespectful. It was the rudest gesture I have encountered, or even heard of.”
Bride: “Weddings are to make money for your future … not to pay for peoples meals. Do more research. People haven’t gave gifts since like 50 years ago! You ate steak, chicken, booze, and a beautiful venue.”
Guest: “It’s obvious you have the etiquette of a twig, I couldn’t care less of what you think about the gift you received, “normal” people would welcome anything given, you wanna have a party, you pay for it, DON’T expect me to.”
Bride: “You should have been cut from the list … I knew we were gunna get a bag of peanuts. I was right.”
So who's right? Who's wrong? Well, according to my little book of etiquette, the answer is the bride. Sure, a gift basketful of edible treats—admittedly on the stingy side—involved more thought than simply plucking an item from a registry.
But part of receiving a gift is having the good manners to shut your trap if you don't like it. You offer a curt thank-you note and perhaps think twice about inviting guests to future events. You do not ask for a gift receipt or criticize what you get, nor do you expect a certain price tag to be levied against the cost of your wedding. (If you decide to go lavish, that's your prerogative. It's not up to your guests to foot the bill.)
Worst gift you ever received? Did you confront the giver?
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