I’m 28 & in the exact same place as the author — I attended three weddings in 2014, two in 2015, will attend three in 2016 & at least one in 2017. The cost of it is almost unmentionable, especially given that I’m the friend who moved away (several times, actually) so every single one of these weddings requires a flight and a hotel stay, not to mention the opportunity cost of the PTO I take at work.

All that being said, like the author, I also choose to go to these events in support of the people I care about. They appreciate me enough to include me in the guest list & they are important enough to me to make it a priority to travel for everything I can. (This has included two bachelorette parties as well.)

The author’s outlook on all of this resonates with me a lot — both in the general absurdity of the “wedding industrial complex” and also in my desire to never have a wedding, partially attributed to bearing witness to the cost of so many others. I enjoy being a wedding guest, and even a bridesmaid, but I do not think I’d enjoy being a bride very much.

So all of this to say, I’m wholly unoffended by a humorous & creative approach to recoup some of those costs while jabbing at the industry. I’d donate a few bucks myself except I’ve still got four weddings on the calendar I need to pay for…