A cancelled wedding in California over the weekend benefited about 90 homeless people who were invited to dine on the steak and salmon that had already been paid for by the jilted bride's parents.
When mother-of-the-bride Kari Duane received an unexpected phone call last week from her 27-year-old daughter Quinn informing her that Quinn’s fiancĂ© had called off the wedding, Duane knew that the family could not cancel the $35,000 reception at
Sacramento’s Citizen Hotel, according to USA Today. The deposits had already been made, and the four-star restaurant fare was all set to feed 120 wedding guests.
So, rather than let the banquet go to waste, Duane decided to turn her family’s personal tragedy into a blessing for the homeless in Sacramento by inviting them to feast upon the appetizers, salads, gnocchi, salmon, and tri-tip dishes. Roughly 90 children, parents, and grandparents accepted the family’s offer and were treated to the extravagant event.
“Even though my husband and I were feeling very sad for our daughter, it was heartwarming to see so many people be there and enjoy a meal,"
Duane said, according to The Associated Press.
The new guests were stunned by the kind gesture.
“To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind,” Erika Craycraft, an attendee who came with her
husband and five children to the hotel banquet, told KCRA-TV.
Although she approved of and welcomed her mother’s decision to open up the reception banquet to the local homeless community, Quinn opted to stay at home with friends.
“I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her, but I will take away something good from this, I will,” her mother said, according to KCRA-TV.
Because the honeymoon trip to Belize was non-refundable as well, the mother-daughter duo set off on a vacation together on Sunday.
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