That’s the reason a lot of couples who want to embark on their marriage journey ask their guests to RSVP their attendance.

Imagine the inconvenience the couple has to go through forking out the money for those who confirmed their attendance via RSVP, only to have them not turn up for the event.

That was exactly what a couple from Chicago, US, went through when eight of the 109 guests did not turn up despite confirming that they would attend.

According to a report in Malay Mail, instead of suffering in silence like what most couples would do, Doug and Dedra Simmons decided to do something about it.

Not even an apology

"When we got back, they didn’t say anything,” Doug told Insider.

"And I feel like that was a real issue because we would’ve understood if they had told us that they could not make it. It wouldn’t have been a problem. But to no-call, no-show — that was an issue,” he said, adding that they had paid for the guests in advance.

So, after their wedding, Doug took to Facebook to post the “invoice” to claim back US$240 (RM997) from guests who failed to show up.

In the post, Doug asked the recipients of the invoice not to be offended.

“It’s gonna look something like this. I’ll be sending it via email and certified mail just in case you ain’t get the email #PettyPost.”

Following the post, he received apologetic explanations from those who didn’t turn up.

'A teachable moment'

Despite the post, Dough didn’t really send out the invoice.

"It was me just being a bit petty and just having a teachable moment at the same time. I’ve never had to send it out because just them seeing it alone on Facebook brought about guilt.

"You don’t have to always do stuff for people, but the fact that you put it out there and they saw it, that’s when they came running and say, ‘Hey, you know, I apologise,” he said.

Doug said some of the guests offered to cover the costs, but he declined.

"We said: ‘Hey, it’s OK. Let this be a lesson to you. Please don’t do this to anybody else because we understand that things happen, but it’s just not OK at the end of the day to do someone like that, especially someone that you call a friend or you call family.

"The past three or four days, I’ve gotten hundreds and hundreds of comments and inbox messages thanking us. A lot of people have been stiffed when it has come to their wedding and their birthday parties. People RSVP, and they do not show. It’s very inconsiderate and it’s not OK.”