“Google, help me not go to the wedding!” – Surge of online searches for credible excuses amid financial stress
Wedding invitations can be seriously stressful because of the ever-growing gift. As proof, on a forum-type platform, a young woman invited to a wedding that will only take place in September is now asking how she could politely decline. From the answers, it appears that many will do the same this year, if it is not about family or close people.
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How do you decline an invitation to a wedding?
“What's a good reason to not go to a wedding? I've got a few this year, and one of them I really need a good excuse because I don't want to go at all. It's in September.”asked a young woman on the Reddit platform.
Most advised her not to lie or get complicit and simply say she couldn't make it.
“>. No need to give any reason — why lie or make up explanations?”, someone wrote.
Someone else came up with the same idea, but with a more elaborate message:
“I have refused a lot in my life and the easiest is to not give any reason. Be overly polite, but don't try to make up excuses, because (1) you have nothing to gain, you even risk leading to further discussion, and (2) it's an invitation, not a summons to the police though.
> Repeat as many times as needed with confidence! Besides, if you care about that relationship, when you see them the next time after the wedding, a gift there doesn't hurt, something for the house, a bottle of something fancy, something that costs a few hundred lei, not wedding money, but something there”.
“This should be the norm. It is in bad taste on the part of the bride and groom to ask >”another user said.
“If he insists, you tell him you have no money and he leaves you alone.”;
“It must be normalized in our society that you don't have to justify your choices to anyone (with very few exceptions, such as your life partner).”;
“It's ok to choose peace without explaining yourself. People who respect you will understand, and those who don't will be looking for a reason anyway. Trust yourself and your decisions.”;
“Your life will change for the better the moment you realize you don't need a reason to say no to things. You can say no and that's it.”, other answers ring out.
The most used excuses
Others, however, gave him examples of pretexts they have used over time:
“From my point of view, saying you have one more wedding and you can't go to two in a short time is a pretty good reason.”
“As reasons: you have a relative's wedding that overlaps, you have scheduled leave, you work and can't take time off, etc.“
“Once I turned down a wedding because I was going to another wedding. And the other wedding I turned down because I was going to the first one.”
Most refusals, because of money
Others poked fun at the ever-increasing prices involved in attending such an event.
“With the money for your wedding, I'm going to the sea”
“Sorry, I don't want to spend a lot of money on a menu.”
In fact, all joking aside, the large sums involved in participating in such an event are the most common reason why many give up going. Someone explained:
“The point is that in 2024 I wasted a total of approx. 10,000 RON on weddings / christenings / baptisms. Way too much for my budget. On the one hand I was saving, on the other hand I had to give it to events. Last year I said enough, I went to my best friend's wedding and to a christening that I was a little unsure whether to go or not. Otherwise, a simple refusal and done”
The perspective of the bride and groom
Regardless of the reason you won't be attending, it's best to announce that you won't be going, rather than avoiding the answer or saying otherwise.
“I really appreciated the people who told me from the start that they couldn't come; some felt the need to give an explanation, but there's no need.
Worse are the ones who say > excited when you give them the invitation and then pretend it's raining when it comes to confirming. I lost friends during this phase, especially when they say it to you like “> or > (being an adult over 30 years old) or > — the mouse that had confirmed several times to then give me a ghost”., recounted a woman who was disappointed by her guest experiences.
How much does the wedding menu cost in 2026
In Bucharest and big cities, for a wedding organized on Saturday, the price of a menu varies: from 400 lei per person to over 800, depending on the restaurant and how lavish or sophisticated the meal is. Options like candy bar or premium drinks make the menus even more expensive. In the rest of the country, prices are somewhat lower and generally start from 300 lei for one guest, if the package also includes drinks.
How much is given in 2026
And in 2026, the gift varies according to several criteria. A number of sites even offer calculators that can indicate the right amount.
On such a site the criteria taken into account are:
- The relationship with the bride and groom
- Total monthly income
- The township
- The location of the event
- The day of the event
- If accommodation is provided
- Event period
Thus, for a wedding scheduled in the summer, in the case of a couple with an income between 7,500 and 10,000 lei, at a standard restaurant in Bucharest, if the bride and groom are just acquaintances, the recommended gift is between 1,000 and 1,500 lei. If we talk about friends, the amount increases between 1,500 and 2,000 lei. And for close friends it jumps to 2,000.
On another site we find criteria such as:
- The relationship with the bride and groom
- Number of people participating
- The location of the wedding
- Location type
- Menu type
- The cost of the menu
- Additional events (eg Candy Bar, live band, videographer).
The proposed amount for a couple attending a wedding where the menu price is 500 lei and there is a candybar, live band and professional videographer, and the bride and groom are acquaintances is between 1,400 and 1,750 lei. If it's about close friends, between 1,650 lei and 2,000 lei.
