This so happened to me and a hundred girls on here so you are SO not alone!! I was going to wait until the person had booked the trip before asking them to be in my wedding party, but in the end, we only had 8 people commit to come down, so I didn't have anyone stand up with me, which was fine with me in the end. I actually even preferred it, so none of my guests weren't caught up in the dress/hair/makeup thing. My BFF ended up being an honorary maid of honour and organized my shower and stuff for me at home, but right up until a week before we left she kept saying we are coming last minute! YA, whatever! I would not pay for her ticket. You have enough expenses to worry about, and if other people (especially bridal party!) finds out you paid for her ticket and not theirs, there might be hard feelings. If she can't make it, she can't make it, end of story, IMO.