AWTK: Destination wedding dilemmas

[activeman]

Hey all,

Destination weddings - the type where your friends decide to leave Australia and get hitched in Bali / Thailand / Bumfuck Nowhere in an effort to have 1) a special experience, but more likely 2) to exclude the rarely seen distant relatives.

So my question is, is it bad form to not attend this wedding if it costs a decent amount ($1000-$1500) to get there?

Opinions please....

[Barfridge]

close bloody relatives, ie. brother/sister - attendance compulsory
if you are invited to be in the wedding party - ditto
invited by friends - they don't expect you to come, but want you to help pay for it/give a gift.

(I'm not cynical at all)

[19andrew59]

Are they good friends?
Do you have the money to spare?
Yes & Yes - On your way
Yes & No - They'll understand
No & Yes - Think of it as a holiday or don't go
No & No - No

[PBF]

I'd say no. Most of the time they do it to make it simpler, and to cut down on guests.

Make it easier on them and say you can't make it if you don't want to fork out the money.

This of course changes when 1 of the people invlved is from the country the wedding is being held. If thats the case, then getting married here presents the same problem to the other half of the guests.

[Flyboy]

My brother did this. I couldn't justify the several thousand dollars it was gonna cost me whilst i was still an apprentice. Hes never forgiven me and I don't care. If they want to make it hard for guests to attend, they should be prepared for the 'fuck off' response they get.

[Old frt]

My little bro is painfully shy and got married in Mauritius purely to avoid a crowd, it depends on how well you know the couple. Do they want a quiet wedding? If so it is a good way to keep the numbers down without offending too many people.
We got married on a boat attended by nearest and dearest -- and some rellies.