My mom is trying to B-list people. I mean, she is paying for the venue, the bar, and the food (basically the entire reception), so I'm really not sure what I can do.
Basically, the situation is this: Our minimum was 80 guests at $99/pp. After receiving all of the RSVPs, we will only have 75 people. The venue (which includes bar and food) will not allow for any upgrades to cover that $500. My mom is now insisting that she is going to invite some of her and FMIL's friends, less than 2 weeks out, so that she doesn't have to pay for anyone that isn't there. I don't have an extra $500, or I would offer to cover it.
I have tried explaining to her how rude this is, and how uncomfortable I am with the idea. Her response? "It's not rude. It happens all the time. There seceral of us who went to [her boss] daughter's wedding and were asked a week before for the same reason. We were not offended at all." I gave her the "just because people do it all the time/YOU, personally, were not offended doesn't make it not rude" spiel, to no avail. She said that people understand that weddings are expensive, blahblahblah, not rude. MOM. NO.
Guys, what do I do here? I mean, I know that this is her etiquette fuck up and not mine, but this is my wedding. It's going to reflect poorly on me.