25-year-old sues friend Gemma for $2387.53 after she no-shows her wedding: 'I pulled a lot of strings to ensure that you could come and then you didn’t show up'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 21, 2026 11:00 AM EST

Imagine getting a free flight and free hotel to a vacation with one caveat — attend your friend's wedding. 

For reasons unfathomable, this person did just that! She literally ghosted her friend's wedding. 

When people complain about destination weddings, it's not that the locale isn't stunning. It's moreso that the destinations, whether it's Hawaii, Costa Rica, or Bali, in this case, are very expensive to fly to. Plane tickets one way can be in the thousands! And this leaves people with a tough decision to make. Of course, they'd love to support their friends during big moments in their lives. But…

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  • Bride and groom look around during Bali wedding, wondering where their missing friend is.
    via Ahmed For Unsplash+

    Bride and groom look around during Bali wedding, wondering where their missing friend is. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • … But if you have to pay several thousand per ticket for you and your BF or GF, plus buy a gift, buy a dress, pay for a hotel, plus pay for food and transportation, you're looking at a massive undertaking. The trip will cost a small fortune! That's basically your vacation fund for the year. It is no small feat, and anyone who attends your destination wedding is showing that they really love you.

    This person actually made the very kind decision to buy her friend a plane ticket to her Bali wedding. She also paid for the hotel! This was a generous offer, and the friend, Gemma, took her up on it. But then… this happened. 

  • Would I be the a*sh*le for suing my friend when she didn’t come to my wedding?

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  • As you can imagine, people were aghast that a “friend” would act this way. 

    Of course it's sad to not get your own honeymoon. What does she even mean by that, though? Did they just decide that someone else's destination wedding could double as a honeymoon? What would've been so bad about celebrating your friend's wedding and leaning into that, then subtly having your own honeymoon afterward? I think even if they had told the bride that they were doing that, she might've been irritated. But they literally could've had a whole honeymoon, on someone else's dime, if they'd just shown up to the wedding in good faith. Baffling! 

  • Unfortunately, people doubted that this bride would ever win in a court of law

    TakesTrophies Probably won't win in court but I would blast her on all social media and make sure all mutuals know what type of person she is.
    via u/TakesTrophies
  • 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.
    via u/NZafe
  • To take that free vacation and then no-call-no-show to your friends' wedding is really behaviour on their part. They could have extended their stay if they wanted to treat the trip as their own honeymoon.
    via u/NZafe
  • hugobosslives You are not an a h le. Your friend is the ah le 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
  • 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-8... 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.
    via u/Normal-Height-8577
  • 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

    They literally could've had a honeymoon on the downlow! The issue might arise if the friend wanted to post about it all over social media, because she seems like the type, based on her "snakes" posts. If you can't flaunt your honeymoon holiday, did it even happen? 

    But if they had celebrated in every way without telling anyone else, they could've easily gotten away with it. They could've spent time on the beach, gotten room service, and even taken a few excursions, since they're saving $2300! Instead, they now look like absolute tools to not only the bride and groom but everyone in their social circle. Talk about a major missed opportunity. 

  • Groom and bride celebrate Bali wedding.
    via Ahmed For Unsplash+

    Groom and bride celebrate Bali wedding. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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