Summertime is not just a busy time for brides but also for their friends! If you’ve got a lot of weddings to attend this season look to this feature for some friendly advice.

If you’ve been following the news recently you may have been in stitches over one Canadian guest’s major wedding faux pas. Invited to a former colleague’s wedding the man thought he would play it cool by putting together a gift basket that incorporated some of his favorite treats, especially those from childhood. Thinking his plan charming he gifted the two brides some fluff, some snacks and some sweets in a well done up wicker basket. He attended the wedding with his girlfriend and after having what he thought was a nice time, woke up to find an angry text message from one of the brides. She informed him that she was gluten intolerant and therefore could not partake in many of the snacks he had so thoughtfully included. He apologized and thanked the two brides again for a wonderful night but what ensued was a text message barrage that started with one of the brides asking for a gift receipt and ended in her partner berating the man for being so “cheap” and thoughtless. The bride made the point that she spent close to $200 on the man and his date and she felt they deserved a better present.

If this article doesn’t come as shock and affront to common decency, then this article is for you. For the bride: it is never alright to even talk about the price of your wedding, the cost of each person attending your wedding or about the caliber of wedding gifts. While most people invited to the wedding are likely to bring a gift of some kind and registry’s exist for a reason as a bride you must always be open to the possibility of receiving some gifts that you may not be too enthusiastic about. In the case of this bride has she seen the gesture as sweet, literally and metaphorically, she may have reacted quite differently. In his defense the man mentions that he chose those particular snacks for their sentimental value and that there were many other items in the gift basket as well that the bride chose to ignore. While the gift basket may not equal the exorbitant price of his meal at this wedding, it shouldn’t have to. As a bride you budget for your wedding but as a guest you might not have any or a very small budget for your gift.