Bride pays $2300 for her friend's trip to Bali for her destination wedding, sues her after she fails to show up to the wedding: 'My husband and I couldn’t afford our own honeymoon, so this was a perfect opportunity.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Feb 13, 2026 11:00 AM EST

She has every right to sue her for that.

Destination weddings are famous for being a hassle. Unless you are extremely close to someone, you probably won't want to spend much on an international flight and hotel to watch them get hitched. If you're going to spend money on international travel, you'd probably want to do something that interests you instead of spending the whole time supporting someone else's endeavor. That might sound selfish, but if you're going to Mykynos for a wedding and only a wedding, you might feel like you missed out on some well-deserved leisure time. 

It's a whole different story if the bride and groom are paying for your flights and your hotel. If they're doing that, you should thank your lucky stars and kiss their feet for including you in their wedding. This is a rare arrangement, and you shouldn't take it for granted, even if you're used to traveling internationally. If you really want a vacation, you could even stay in the country a week or so after the wedding and reimburse them for the return flight. If someone wants to include you in their international wedding, it's because they really love and value your company. They wouldn't pay the big bucks to fly you out unless they really wanted you to be a part of their special day. You can always politely decline if you really can't squeeze it in, and there's nothing wrong with RSVPing "no," even to a wedding. 

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  • Pura Ulun Danu Bratan Temple in Bali Indonesia
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The wedding guests in this story wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted a free trip to Bali, but they didn't want to attend their friend's wedding, which was the only reason they had a free trip in the first place.

  • Am I wrong for suing my friend when she didn’t come to my wedding?

    I (25F) recently got married to my (25M) husband in Bali, Indonesia in January. It was a destination wedding, but my parents and his parents paid for their own plane tickets and hotel, but we paid for our friends plane tickets and hotel stays.
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • A bride and groom standing on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean
    via Loris Boulinguez

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Each plane ticket was about $2000 USD and hotel was maybe about $150- 300 for a week.
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • Hotel room in Bali, Indonesia
    via visualsofdana

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My friend "Gemma" brought along her newly wed husband "John" along but paid for his plane ticket.
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • The problem is that Gemma and John did not show up to my wedding. Gemma took the free plane ticket to Bali and the hotel room and when I asked her why she didn't show up she said that since they couldn't afford their own honeymoon that this was a perfect opportunity and that Jim decided that he didn't feel like going.
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • I was really hurt by this since Gemma and I have been friends for over 10 years.
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • WIBTA if I took her to small claims court for the money I spent on the plane ticket and hotel?
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • NZafe Can't believe I'm saying this, but, NTA. Someone offers to give you a free vacation on the condition that you attend one party during that time? I'd be jumping for that opportunity. To take that free vacation and then no-call-no-show to your friends' wedding is really shitty behaviour on their part. They could have extended their stay if they wanted to treat the trip as their own honeymoon.
    via u/NZafe
  • sweetandsourcum Original Poster's Reply LITERALLY. She wasn't even in the wedding party! All she had to do was show up, dance, and eat cake and food. Funny thing enough is that they DID go on a honeymoon, it just wasn't abroad.
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • Riyokosan I am sorry to say that she is not a friend. It may be an expensive lesson, not sure if small claim court will help, and congrats on the wedding.
    via u/Riyokosan
  • sweetandsourcum Original Poster's Reply Thank you! I'm better off without her
    via u/sweetandsourcum
  • hugobosslives You are not an asshole. Your friend is the asshole here. But... I can't see you winning any sort of claim. Legally you gifted her a plane ticket, there was no contract she had to come to the wedding.
    via u/hugobosslives
  • misterkittyx I was thinking the same thing, came in judging off the title. Hard NTA. But the best you can do is dump that "friend" I don't think the hassle is worth it. The courts will probably just see it as a gift.
    via u/misterkittyx
  • Sad_Reward7297 if someone took 2k from me and skipped my wedding I'd be heated too
    via u/Sad_Reward7297
  • OXRblues NTA but first start by sending her a bill with copies of the bills for the airfare and the hotel. Maybe she'll pay up without court. Worth a try.
    via u/OXRblues
  • Normal-Height-8577 NTA. You didn't offer them a gift of a honeymoon. You offered to help them attend your wedding so they didn't have an undue financial burden. Also? They could totally have done both, spent some time together in honeymoon mode, and also attended your wedding. That they took your money and used it solely for themselves is not okay.
    via u/Normal-Height-8577
  • lord_de_heer 2300 dollar is a lot of money, but at least you now know that Gemma and John are a pair of asses. I'd just remove all connection with them and cherrish the thought that they didnt ruin anything else.
    via u/lord_de_heer
  • Good WifeSlutLife If you're done with this friendship, go ahead and sue her.
    via u/GoodWifeSlutLife
  • heartavocado Are we skipping right over the option of asking Gemma to consider paying you back for the ticket and hotel room, as her behaviour was hardly in the spirit of your invitation?
    via u/heartavocado

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bride hotel groom destination wedding honeymoon indonesia friends wife plane husband
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