Also OP burried the lead here. Bride's beef is not primarily with her friends, but with the hotel for not meeting her in the middle with the sudden change. I'd expect that the hotel would have some leeway and give the couple a break. If the hotel doesn't, I think the no-show friends should pay for their rooms to ease the burden on their
friend who they broke an RSVP for.
They had no way to know when they would play that game, let alone if they would even be in playoffs.
Playoff schedules and teams aren't something that is planned far in advance in virtually every sport, minor or majors.
Then you just don't RSVP yes for something. Just assume no.
An RSVP yes means you're going to something. Full stop. There are a handful of times in your life when you can break an RSVP for something like this. Death in the family, extreme weather conditions, or something else.
I play in amateur sports leagues, though probably not to the ... prestige (?) of GAA (I don't even know what that is, though I'd imagine my amateur basketball leagues are not to that level of prestige if there's an article on the internet about it), but in this case, the bride has to pay for 18 hotel rooms for guests who said
they're coming and they're not. I don't know what that adds up to in Ireland or whatever, but if it's 1 night for 18 rooms or so, at say $250/room, that's $4500. And for the wedding expense of, let's say, $80/guest, that's about $1500. I mean, their sports match is costing their
friend about $6000
on her wedding day. Even if some of the friends on the team would be sharing a room or not bringing guests or what have you, it's still thousands of dollars that you're making your friend pay because you're an unreliable, discourteous person with little integrity.
Shitty thing to do to a friend. The friends should buck up and pay the difference of their room and meals.
