Dear Annie: My wife and I have a milestone anniversary coming up. We plan on renting a large home in the south of France for a month and inviting family and close friends to celebrate with us. Some family members and friends know of our intentions and are excited to join us.

The cost to rent this villa for a month is $25-30,000, not including food. We’ve checked around, and this appears to be the going price and we really like the place.

Would it be in bad taste to ask for donations to help offset the cost of this home? We wouldn’t expect people to pay the going rate for lodging, but anything would be appreciated. Thoughts? — I Hate to Beg

Dear I Hate to Beg: Generally, if you’re the host, it’s expected that you’ll foot the bill for the accommodations, especially since those coming are already taking on travel and other expenses just to celebrate you. If financial help is truly necessary, you might want to pose this less as an anniversary trip and more as a group vacation you and your wife are spearheading.

Be upfront from the jump. Share what villa you’ve landed on with your guests and invite them to join if they can. Something along the lines of, “We’re covering as much as we’re able to. Anything you can contribute is appreciated but not expected,” should do the trick.

Ultimately, if you and your bride are organizing the trip and have your hearts set on this home, you both should be prepared to carry most of the cost.

Read more Dear Annie and other advice columns.

“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit Creators Publishing for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].