My dear friend of fourteen years lives in New England. She is not in my WP as my sister is the only one standing up with me. About a year ago, after I got engaged, she made an offhand comment about how inviting people to be in your WP is important to show them how much they mean to you, but she hasn't expressed any disappointment about not being a bridesmaid.
My October 2015 wedding is in a southern state. I no longer live in that state and, due to an unexpected move, this is somewhat of a DW for all. Last week, my friend called to say that she likely cannot afford to go to my wedding but that she will keep looking in the hopes that ticket prices go down. She confirmed that, if the expense weren't an issue, she would be there. I then offered to cover the cost of about 2/3 of her plane ticket and told her she could stay in an extra room in one of the suites we have reserved for the wedding at no cost to her. She thanked me and said she would keep looking for tickets. I sent her a text early this week to ask if she found a flight that will work, and she said she is not comfortable taking money from me and that she now has even more financial commitments that will likely prevent her from from attending the wedding.
I know that how she spends her money is her business, but this is weighing on me, particularly since I offered to cover the majority of her trip. I want to stress to her that I would really rather part with the money and have her at my wedding, but I don't want to end up the subject of another "My friend is mad at me because I can't attend her DW" post. Is there a reasonable way forward here?