Our Money Sailed Away

Being the good person that he is, my husband recently arranged the night’s festivities for a good friend’s bachelor party. The plan involved six groomsmen boarding a boat and sailing around Annapolis for a few hours. The boat books quickly, so my husband purchased tickets a few nights in advance. He charged the entire bill, ($222), on our credit card. He fully expected the other five party goers to pony up their share of the money. (Roughly $37 a person.)

On Saturday he headed to Annapolis with two other guys while a second car followed along with three others. My husband parked the car and walked over to the dock with time to spare, but the other bridal party members, including the groom, were no where to be found. My husband asked a crew member to wait just one more minute, but he was told the boat must go. Moments later the groom appeared, but the boat had already sailed away and with it went our $222.

Of course, none of the party goers offered to pay for their tickets. One guy told my husband he only had $4 in his wallet. He explained that his wife wrote a few checks that he was unaware of and that he was left with $8 in his checking account and $4 in his pocket. My husband figured it was fruitless to ask him for the $37.

Having missed the boat the men decided to buy some food and beer and head back to the groom’s house for a backyard BBQ. Clearly the guy with only $4 in his pocket was not planning on contributing to the event. When they went to the grocery and liquor stores he did not offer any money.

I’m not sure if my husband was more frustrated at losing $222, or at the guy who had no intentions of contributing to any of the festivities. When he got home he asked, “Did this guy think everyone else was going to pay for his activities?”

Needless to say my husband came home around 11 o’clock upset and angry over the entire event. I think I was as frustrated, if not more frustrated than he was. If I were in his position I certainly would have asked those guys for the money. $37 a person is a decent loss, but it’s nothing compared to $222 for one individual.

Before we went to bed I tried to console my husband. I reminded him that being a member of the bridal party always costs a significant amount of money. I once paid $260 for a bridal dress that was never worn. (The wedding was canceled after the made-to-order dresses were purchased.) I don’t know if this made him feel a whole lot better. He sighed and rolled over.

2 thoughts on “Our Money Sailed Away”

  1. This is when you tell everyone up front that it’ll be a certain amount per person, and you will be collecting on that day before departure. Otherwise I’d just follow up and ask the next time I saw the person.

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  2. For the time being we let the issue slide. It’s a lot of money, but we didn’t want to create an awkward situation for the groom.

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