“A few months ago, a friend of mine was getting married. I had called him several times to offer help with the preparations, but he never responded. Then, out of the blue, he messaged me— and it felt more like he was selling passes to his wedding than actually inviting me,” the Redditor wrote. He also shared a screenshot of his conversation with his friend.
He went on to say, “If he had simply asked for some help with cash, I wouldn’t have minded—I was already planning to gift around ₹5,000. But the way he communicated it felt transactional. I didn’t know how to react. I ended up GPaying him ₹6,000 and didn’t attend the wedding.”
The post sparked a lively discussion online, with many sharing similar sentiments.
One user joked, “Modern marriages require modern dahej (dowry).”
Another asked bluntly, “Why the hell did you pay?” Someone else wrote, “It’s your money—pay for your luxury yourself. You owe them nothing.”
A more reflective comment read, “You paid because you wanted to. But honestly, weddings already cost a lot and guests are usually given food and gifts. Still, ₹6,000 is too much—especially when the invitation felt so impersonal. From what you said, he wouldn’t have even noticed if you had cut contact.”
“From where I come from, even in funerals we give money to the family of the deceased. Its cause it’s financially burdensome to feed so many people and do all the arrangements. We give money as a support when the family is in distress. Similarly for marriages. We just disguise this system in the name of shagun. Its mostly to compensate for the finance they put in to celebrate it together with everyone. The household things that you are mentioning are already given as gifts by their family or closer friends and relatives,” commented another.