Quinn Duane, from Sacramento, California, was devastated when her fiancé abruptly ended their engagement. Understandably, she felt lost and embarrassed. But her mother saw an opportunity to turn heartbreak into something meaningful. Since the venue, food, and decorations had already been paid for, Kari decided they could use the event to bring joy to others. “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," she said. Speaking about her daughter, she added, "I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her, but I will take away something good from this."
Bride's family invites unhoused community to a $35,000 wedding feast after groom walks out
One bride decided to turn an unfortunate event into something memorable.
Weddings are meant to be joyful, but for Quinn Duane, what should have been the happiest day of her life took a heartbreaking turn when her fiancé called off the wedding just days before the ceremony. Instead of letting the painful moment define her, Duane—along with her mother, Kari—chose to turn their misfortune into an act of generosity. With a non-refundable $35,000 wedding already planned, they decided to invite members of the unhoused community to enjoy the event. “A lot of times, people want the story to be personal, but that is not what it is. The focus should be charity and doing something great," Duane told KCRA.
Bride's family feeds homeless after groom's cold feethttp://t.co/OhX9FPirIJ pic.twitter.com/c6FVJbncPC
— KSDK News (@ksdknews) October 19, 2015
Kari spread the word, and although Duane didn’t attend the banquet, she supported the cause. "When you have a ton of food, what better way to give it to the hungry, those who need it," Duane said. The first to arrive at the venue was a woman who was "too old to work" and could not afford rent. Then, the venue began to fill up with more people, all of whom were thankful for a single meal. Including Rashid Abdullah, who brought his wife and five children. He said, "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." His wife, Erika, was also grateful to the family for inviting them, and added, "To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind."
The meal consisted of salmon, tri-tip, appetizers, salad, gnocchi and cauliflower, made for about 120 guests. About 90 people showed up. "The most overwhelming thing was how many people were positively impacted," Duane said. When asked what she takes out of the whole situation, she said, "Doing something positive doesn't need to be overcomplicated. Mine came out of a bad situation and regardless, it's important to pay forward and do something positive in the world. Put the positive energy out there."
Other than that, the family also had paid up for a honeymoon in Belize. Duan and her mom decided to make full use of it and took a trip together. It takes a lot of courage to turn a tragic situation into a blessing for many others. Instead of focusing on something bad, the family decided to help the community around them and that is something those people will always remember.
This article originally appeared 10 months ago.
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