Couple billed by newlyweds after missing their wedding

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Thursday, October 1, 2015
Billed for missing a wedding
The couple decided against calling to cancel their RSVP because they didn't want to bother the newlyweds with phone calls on the day of (their) wedding.

ANDOVER, Minn. -- A mother of two says she was billed $75 for missing a relative's wedding because she couldn't find child care.

Jessica Baker, 33, from Andover, Minnesota, had planned to attend her relative's wedding in late August, but had to stay home when their children's babysitter called in sick.

"We were excited to have a night out and we got a call from my mom saying that my brother's daughter was sick with hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and my mom had been exposed and didn't want to expose my kids," Baker told ABC News. "She needed to be with her and she wouldn't be able to make it."

Baker says the relative, who she's decided not to name, had specified a no-children wedding, so she and her husband decided to stay home.

The couple decided against calling to cancel their RSVP, because the soon-to-be-wed couple "didn't want to be bothered with phone calls on the day of (their) wedding."

Baker says their missed appearance wasn't a slight -- they're just not very close to the couple.

"The bride and the groom are a couple that we've not heard from for the 12 years that we've been married, so I'm not very close to the bride and groom really at all," she said. "The bride's brother was the person we were closest to. There wasn't a rift; it's just extended family."

The total bill came to $75.90, for two "Herb Crusted Walleye" entrees, plus a "Service & Tax Charge." Baker says she'll likely "repay" the cost with a donation to a charity.

A mother of two says she was billed $75 for missing a relative's wedding because she couldn't find child care.
KTRK