Steph, I think that's perfectly reasonable. I spent almost $1000 going to my friends' wedding this weekend. But, I was lucky enough to have it, and decided that my flat screen TV will end up being a Christmas present to myself, rather than for the new fall season. You make choices, and going to this wedding is not a good choice for you.

God it was hard to leave Frankie.

He'll love you just as much when you get back. For realz.

On the other hand, I couldn't do it! And I, um, haven't. Seriously, I'm so over travel that in the 9 years I've had Bartleby, we've been apart for 10 whole nights.

One of those was in his own home with a friend who assured me they ordered a pizza, tossed back some bears and watched porn.

The other 9 were with a woman who loves him almost as much as I do. So much so that her grown children have photos of Bartleby on display in their homes.

Reminds me, I should give her a call.

Steph, it makes perfect sense that financial stuff would interfere with a cross-country trip to a wedding, all invitation-related issues aside. Money's finite and, sadly, the ability for new expenses to crop up does not seem to be. If I were getting married, having people show from out of state would be a pleasant surprise (aside from my sister, to whom I'd send a plane ticket and who'd probably walk to NC from MI if she had to to see me hitched--but family's different).

tossed back some bears

REALLY?

I totally cracked up when I read that typo, so decided to leave it.

Yeah, Bartleby might toss a bear...in his dreams. Seriously, he saw a mouse in our house once and scolded ME for not chasing it.

His arch-nemesis kitty sat 6 inches behind him, totally sticking her tongue out at him and he never knew.

My guy is no hunter.

Now a beer, he could totally murder.

Agreed. And I think destination weddings automatically lower expectations, anyway. If you want to do it, great, but you have to expect that fewer people are going to be able to attend because of financial reasons. It's a trade-off.

Heh. Bears.

Byeee, smonster! I HOPE YOU SAW THE PRINCESS.

Ha. Bears. Tossing.

Teppy, don't sweat it. As other said, it's a huge expense. I almost didn't make it to ND & Pix celebration. But did it with FF points, and couch surfing, so my only expense was food and cheap rental car. (thankfully I did the trip too, as I got a last minute job interview at my current job on that trip!)

ION- I left for work 12 minutes early, and arrived 10 minutes late. Gotta love when construction pops up overnight with no warning.

This is the first time I've left him so long. And he came in the car when my mom dropped me at the airport - so I got the Look of Ultimate Betrayal. ::whimper::

amyth, I LOVE THE PRINCESS. He is the best. Words do not suffice.

Ha. The Biscuit is brutally casual with our departures now. He loves other dogs, so he thinks the kennel is the best thing in the world. And now we've lost the kennel we really like here in town, so we hire a dog-sitter for him instead, who adores him. When we get back, he's always like, "Oh, hey!" when he sees us, but stays with his head on the dog-sitter's lap. What, no love, dog?

I love that when Calli and A. and C. take care of Lulu when I'm out of town, they send me cell phone pictures and stories about her "adventures." It definitely helps with the separation.

So, THANKS, Calli!