Two negatives make a positive! After her groom called off their wedding this past Saturday, Oct. 17, the family of the jilted bride took the terrible situation and turned her heartbreak into something positive for others.
The bride-to-be, Quinn Duane, had her $35,000 wedding canceled at the last minute. Instead of wasting the luxe reception at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento, Calif., the bride and her family decided to open the doors to the swanky spot of the city’s homeless.
“When I found out on Monday that the wedding would not be taking place, it just seemed like, of course, this would be something that we would do to give back,” Quinn’s mom, Kari Duane, told local news affiliate KCRA.
The family’s evening guests dined on food from the hotel’s four-star restaurant, including an array of appetizers, gnocchi, salmon, and sirloin steak.
The food and gesture were much appreciated. “When you’re going through a hard time and a struggle for you to get out to do something different and with your family, it was really a blessing,” said Rashad Abdullah, who came out with his wife and five kids. His wife, Erica, noted that she was moved by the family’s kindness. “To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it someone else is really giving, really kind,” she remarked.
Other guests included families, grandparents, and babies.
The bride herself stayed home, however — understandably. “I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her,” Kari said of Quinn. “But I will take away something good from this, I will.”
The hefty price of the wedding also included a nonrefundable honeymoon to South America. So, mom and daughter turned that into another positive: a mother-daughter trip to Belize starting Sunday, Oct. 18.
