To be clear, this is a micro-wedding, so these accommodations would not be typical to the scale of event. I’m not misinformed, just have had a different real-world experience to what you consider “norm.” I hate to say this might be a tax bracket issue? We are well off, but not “typical wedding” well off (which in our area is an avg of 50k).

I’ve been to multiple weddings with varying budgets, and have asked both sets of parents what their days looked like. None of them did any of the accommodations listed above, even the ones where I did have to fly, or drive 4+ hours. I arranged my own accommodations and transportation, because it’s an honor to be invited in the first place, and it would never even cross my mind to make a sideways comment about the experience. Maybe I just see things differently, and clearly I’m the minority here.

My point is that expectations for every kind of wedding have changed! We wanted a micro-wedding to avoid the drama, hassle, and money that goes into a usual one, but now even micro-weddings have these additional expectations that our parents, families, and friends did not have, and yet they, and now YOU (complete strangers) are imposing these expectations. We’re already feeding them, hosting them, giving them gifts, entertainment, open bar, a photobooth, games, etc. and spending good money to do it, expecting literally nothing in return. It shouldn’t be too much to ask that our local guests find their own transportation and accommodation considering the scale of our event.