I couldn't help but think about a past situation that happened and I wanted to see what you ladies on the E board feel about this.
4 years ago when I was first dating DH, he told me that every year we have Memorial Day Weekend BBQ at his mothers and my SIL cooks. I was so excited to share my cooking skills with everyone so I bought some items, whipped them up and served it during the BBQ. Part of the things I cooked had prosciutto and black truffle oil as part of the ingredients, so, my dishes were a bit pricey for this gathering.
After the meal was over, my SIL comes over to DH and tells him that our half would be $65. I looked at her and was shocked that we had to pay for what we just ate, especially since I'm a VERY picky eater and didn't have much. It was like a bill from Fridays.
I told my SIL that the price was extreme and if I had known we would be paying for the meal I would have made DH and I something on the side (we were saving every penny towards our wedding since we were paying for it ourselves). I also told her "If everyone is paying, can you chip in for the food I bought?" and her answer to me was "Well I didn't eat your pasta dish because it has onions in it, and I don't eat prosciutto." But I didn't eat your expensive mushrooms!
She basically told me that every year she pays for the food and cooks it, and everyone pays her back, it's been like that for 5 years now and it was DH's fault that he forgot about that rule.
To this day, I feel like I was right and I should have gotten paid for the part I chipped in. I also feel like since I was new to the group and she was aware that we were paying for our own wedding, that she should have reminded us about the dinner having to be paid for.
Thoughts? Comments? Similar stories you'd like to share with the classroom?
On a side note, SIL and I are totally close and BFFs now. I am not expecting her to pay me in any way, enough time has passed that it's not an issue anymore. And now when we have a party we ALL get separate jobs, someone will be on drinks, another is in charge of side dishes, the host is always in charge of the main course, and someone will be in charge of dessert. It has stopped any fights about the cost of food and I think this has prevented any type of confusion down the line.