Can you charge guests for a bridal shower? Reddit post stirs debate

Wedding celebration costs can quickly add up but the story of a bride who reportedly asked her guests to pay $300 each to attend her bridal shower is sparking a lively debate online.

In a viral Reddit post, a woman wrote that her cousin, a bride, sent her an invitation to her bridal shower, which came with a price tag.

"She sent me a link last week to reserve my spot at the venue. When I went to do it, it required me to pay $300. I asked her about it and she said that everyone is paying their own way," the woman explained.

"Is this a common or normal practice?" she continued to ask others in the post. "To say I'm beyond annoyed is an understatement."

Redditors were quick to react, with many telling the woman to decline the invitation.

"Paying to attend an event where a gift is also expected? no way," wrote one Reddit user.

"You do not invite guests to an event and charge them $300. That's not how inviting guests works," another chimed in.

One commenter wrote that being a bridesmaid "felt expensive" until she became a bride herself, while another wrote that the woman should support the bride and "stop being cheap."

According to the wedding planning website The Knot, the average amount a bridesmaid spends on a wedding today is about $2,000. On average, a bachelorette party roughly costs $1,300, wedding and shower gifts are about $250, wedding day hair and makeup would be about $250, and a bridesmaid dress would come out to about $130.

Charlotte Cowles, a financial advice columnist for "The Cut," told "Good Morning America" people shouldn't assume either a couple or their guests have the financial means for extra expenses.

"The cost of having a wedding, especially having the type of really huge thing that you see on Instagram, a lot of people look for backdoor ways to do it such as charging their guests. But just because it's not in your budget doesn't mean it's in their budget either," Cowles said.

Traditionally, a bride's family would take on the costs of a bridal shower, but in recent years, as the cost of living has increased, more brides have opted to pass on the bill to their bridesmaids.

"It's just really important that every bridesmaid knows that they can say no to certain expenses, and it's really important for every bride to be gracious about that when it happens," Cowles said.

As for the bridesmaid at the center of the viral Reddit post, she said she thanked supporters who agreed with her take, and said she canceled her ticket and planned to tell her cousin that she wouldn't be able to attend her bridal shower.