Friendship is RUINED over 'cheap' $80 wedding gift, 'I could have splurged more.' AITA?

"Friendship ruined over 'cheap' wedding gift...."

This happened a few years back. My best friend at the time (25f) was getting married. It was sort of a destination wedding, as it was 2 states over and about a 7-hour drive there. I was excited to attend, but had to purchase a new suit, transportation, and pay for a hotel (3 nights).

This was also the same exact month I had to pay $1,900 out of pocket for dental work. As you can tell, money was tight for me during this time period. The first thing that happened with my friend was her sending me a rude text about not staying at the right hotel. I had no idea, but on her wedding site she had a recommended hotel for everyone (except her and her groom) to stay at.

I didn't see this, and booked a different hotel less than 5 minutes away, as it was more affordable. She was not happy about this, but I didn't understand why I had to be at this specific one.

Because money was tight, and having already spent hundreds of dollars to attend this wedding, I only gave $80 to their honeymoon fund as a gift. Looking back, I admit I could have splurged for more, but I don't drink, was without a date, and figured that everything I did to attend this wedding would all be enough for her.

About a year later, I mentioned to her I was invited to another person's wedding. Her first response was "well, don't be cheap and give them only $80." This message made my heart drop.

Not only did it make me feel like a horrible person, I was also angry that she remembered my exact donation amount over a YEAR later. From that point on, I lost a ton of respect for her, and our relationship was never the same.

I just can't believe that her entire memory of me at her wedding was being "cheap" instead of traveling 2 states over for multiple days to be there for her biggest day of her life. How could someone focus on THAT?

Here's what people had to say to OP about this one:

SwordTaster said:

Honestly, if you'd done all that for my wedding, I wouldn't expect a penny for a gift.

Lightup17 said:

Tell her not to worry because the bride isn't begging for gifts like she did in her wedding.

Blixburks said:

She’s got no class. 80 bucks is fine actually. Wedding folks have become crazy entitled lately.

DogtasticLife said:

Drop the rope, rude, entitled B doesn’t deserve your attention.

Mapilean said:

She was mad you didn't go to her recommended hotel because she would have gotten a percentage out of the money you spent on your stay. She was incredibly selfish: I wouldn't have expected any gift for a destination wedding: your presence was your gift.

Girlinawomansbody said:

This is really rude! We had a local wedding and didn’t get a gift at all from some people but I didn’t keep tabs of who or CARE! It meant way more to me that they were there on the day to celebrate with us! Your friend is an AH!

Unusual-bananafish said:

On our 2018 wedding we did not expect gifts however lots of people brought wedding congratulations cards with $50 inside. We were stoked! $80 is not unreasonable, especially given all the effort you had gone to!

magicrowantree said:

$80 is a pretty generous amount, imo. Heck, I think the last wedding gift I gave was maybe $40 worth because we were traveling and had some tight finances ourselves. People are just really greedy these days and use their wedding as an excuse to make money to cover the costs or make a profit from it. You won't be the only one who has distanced themselves from this "friend!"