Divorce Soon After Marriage? Maybe You Should Refund Your Guests

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Weddings can be incredibly expensive, not just for the bride and groom, but also for their guests, especially if the couple weds at a chapel across the country or opts for a destination wedding.

Of course, it’s probably a little easier to justify spending thousands of dollars to attend your best friend’s wedding if you’re convinced that the happy couple is just beginning a lifelong love story.

But what if that love sours and the previously head-over-heels-in-love couple decides to split shortly after pledging their undying commitment to each other before family and friends?

That’s what Kristian Barowsky said happened after he dished out more than $2,000 to attend his best friend’s wedding. Barowsky told Ozy that he’d like to see couples give their wedding guests a two-year money-back guarantee. Says Ozy:

If the couple gets divorced within two years of the wedding, the exes must refund their guests’ expenses — like a financial “bond that expires after two years,” says Barowsky. And we’re talking the whole enchilada: flight, hotel, the occasional new dress or suit, bartender tips and Uber rides.

Celebrity Kim Kardashian and then-husband and NBA player Kris Humphries decided to abruptly end their marriage in 2011 after just 72 days. Shortly after the couple announced their split, entertainment television hosts and websites were abuzz with discussions about whether or not the couple should return their wedding gifts or refund their guests for their gifts.

There are opinions on both sides of the aisle, of course. Some people think wedding guests are well aware of the “risks” involved when attending a wedding.

“If marriages are like a startup, inherently risky but potentially game changing, we shouldn’t expect investment returns when the enterprise goes belly up,” Ozy says.

According to Peggy Post in the 75th Anniversary Edition of “Emily Post’s Etiquette:”

Wedding gifts are not conditional upon the success of the marriage. The divorced couple does not have to return any wedding gifts.

Check out “The Cost of Attending Weddings (Not Your Own) Soars.”

Do you think married couples who divorce early should have to refund their wedding guests for the cost of attending their wedding? Sound off below or on our Facebook page.

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