Destination Wedding...oh wait, not so much.

[Kiara]

Heard the story this morning and knew I had to post it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/jason-campbell-and-fiancee-jenny-montes-call-off-wedding--just-hours-before-ceremony/2012/02/21/gIQAeGVXRR_blog.html

To sum up:  Jason Campbell is a former quarterback for the Washington Redskins.  He and his fiancee invited 160 people to the Dominican Republic for a destination wedding.  Except at the welcoming ceremony the night before the ceremony he announced....there would be no wedding.  He and his fiancee had been "discussing it" for several weeks on whether to get married.  He thinks it's no big deal.  I'd imagine the guests disagree.

The radio announcer I heard the story from this morning said "Well, that's a great way to lose your friends."

[Winterlight]

How incredibly rude of them! If you've been having doubts, then postponing or cancelling is the right thing to do. What is not ok is to get 160 people to your destination wedding and then tell them it's off. Especially if you've been discussing this for weeks.

[Nora]

Where where the guests supposed to go? Where alternative plans set up, or did they just go "PSYCH! GOTCHA GOOOOOD" to all their friends and family?

[Kiara]

As it was told on the radio...you could party instead of being at the wedding.  Just treat it like a vacation!!  I got the impression they said "We're not getting married" and that was it.

[Shoo]

As it was told on the radio...you could party instead of being at the wedding.  Just treat it like a vacation!!  I got the impression they said "We're not getting married" and that was it.

What if some (or all) of those 160 didn't WANT to vacation in the Dominican Republic?  I can think of many many many other places I'd rather go to spend my vacation time and money.

So rude.

[Kiara]

Oh, I agree.  I heard it on two different stations driving in.  The first all news station was the one with the "Great way to lose all your friends" comment.  The second didn't think it was a problem, since you could just party instead.

If I wouldn't have been driving, I'd have called in with your point.  I'd rather have the change fee for my airfare and go somewhere else. 

[Twik]

Well, if they decide to change their minds again, I suspect that they will no longer have a 160 person guest list saying they will attend. Once is enough.

[kglory]

Oh my gosh!  I'm from DC and I LOVED Jason Campbell (still miss him!)

I'm shocked that he would do this -- he always seemed like such a nice, honest, humble guy.  What if his guests took off work, paid for the plane fare, etc.?

[JonGirl]

Wait... this guy got everybody to go overseas for a wedding when there is no wedding?

       How rude.

[kglory]

ETA:  In the listing of previous stories about Jason Campbell below the one linked, I found this gem which I remember reading a few years ago:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/09/how_jason_campbell_lifted_pink.html

This is the Jason Campbell we all know and love!

So I still think there must be some misunderstanding about this wedding mishap

[gollymolly2]

Was trying to sort out my reaction and I think this commenter on the original article put it perfectly:

I have absolutely no problem with any couple deciding that they're not ready for marriage and then changing their original marriage plans, which may have been made in impulse or even extended impulse. However, I do have a problem with the following, from the news article:  
 
"“That stuff is just crazy,” he said. “Jenny’s a good person and I’m a good person. I don’t even know why people would put all those lies out there. ” He said the two decided to go ahead with the trip to the Caribbean Island and “just made a vacation out of it.” 
 
If you're going to make a vacation out of your original plans, then at least have the decency to tell the invited guests. Regardless of whether they paid for the travel and their stay at the venue, common courtesy says that they made plans to be with you for a specific reason. If that reason is no longer there, tell them and let them determine if they want to make the trip, or to continue the trip, as soon as possible. That's common courtesy at the minimum. 

[Winterlight]

As it was told on the radio...you could party instead of being at the wedding.  Just treat it like a vacation!!  I got the impression they said "We're not getting married" and that was it.

What if some (or all) of those 160 didn't WANT to vacation in the Dominican Republic?  I can think of many many many other places I'd rather go to spend my vacation time and money.

So rude.

Exactly. If I'm going on vacation, I pick the place. I wouldn't choose the DR because I have no real reason to go. It's not like I won a trip there- I'd only be there because of the wedding.

[NutMeg]

Lol. My first reaction on reading this was, "But he currently plays for the Oakland Raiders. Why are they mentioning where he used to play?" Clearly I need a break from football... Oh wait. Longest off-season in professional sports.

[Ceallach]

Well I'd rather they told me the night before than not at all - I mean, if they're not ready to get married, then they're not ready to get married.   It's important that commitment is taken seriously.

And realistically, if they'd announced it 2 weeks beforehand, most people wouldn't be able to get refunds on their travel plans anyway.  So I'm in two minds as to whether there was any point telling earlier.   If they knew 3 months beforehand?  Definitely rude.  But not all weddings go ahead as planned.  People were committed to their travel plans to attend the wedding, so it didn't make a huge difference at that point, although I'm sure it was disappointing.

[kglory]

Lol. My first reaction on reading this was, "But he currently plays for the Oakland Raiders. Why are they mentioning where he used to play?" Clearly I need a break from football... Oh wait. Longest off-season in professional sports.

Because it's the Washington Post.  I don't know what was written in the Oakland paper.  Plus, we still do sort of claim him here, emotionally (I feel that way about other past players, too!)