A wedding is supposed to be a special, happy occasion. However, it can quickly turn into an unfortunate event if one of them walks out at the very last minute…and that is what exactly happened to would-be bride Quinn Duane. However, Duane and her mom decided to turn it around by inviting an unhoused community to her $35,000 wedding. It all started when Duane's fiancé backed out of the wedding days before the ceremony. "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," she told KCRA.
Duane hails from Sacramento, California. Less than a week before the wedding, her fiancé called her to tell her he did not want to marry her. She was understandably embarrassed and did not know what to do. However, the bride's mom, Kari, decided to use it as a chance to do some good. Kari said that the ceremony and reception had already paid in full. "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. Talking about her daughter, she added, "I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her, but I will take away something good from this."
Kari got the word out and though Duane did not come to the banquet that day, she felt it was a good 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.
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