So, one of my closest friends, who I've known for 25 years and who was supposed to be a bridesmaid in my wedding (I was in hers, too) just called to tell me that she won't be able to come to the wedding at all. She is planning on getting pregnant in the next few months, but due to severe complications with her first pregnancy, her dr. told her that she will not be able to travel after the first trimester, and she will have to be monitored closely throughout ( the wedding is halfway across the country from her). I am very bummed and disappointed (and she is too, there were lots of tears when she told me), but I completely understand and would never dream of trying to make my wedding a priority over her family, health and desire to have another child soon.
We will now have a lopsided wedding party, but, oh, well, we can deal with that. Problem is, we already ordered her dress (which was a maternity style because she thought she'd be pregnant at the wedding) and I paid the down payment while we figured out how much it will cost so everyone could pay all at once for the whole thing. She said that she understood and will pay it, but I feel a little funny asking her to pay for something she can't use...on the other hand, it is a decent amount of money. I checked, and we can't cancel the order and are responsible for the whole thing. I don't know if I should just have her pay the remaining balance, or the whole thing, or none of it (and meanwhile, I'm just sad about it all and wish we didn't have to deal with this dress/ money part).
