What would you do if your daughter’s fiancé called off a $35,000 wedding at the very last minute?
(…and deposits have already been paid, and more bills are on the way…?)
Photo via iStock.
There are infinite conclusions to that unfortunate and expensive scenario, and plenty of them don’t end well for anyone involved.
But as KCRA News reports, if you’re like the Duane family from California, you take the high road.
When the Duanes found out their daughter’s wedding was canceled because the groom got cold feet, they decided to turn lemons into lemonade.
All GIFs via KCRA News.
Instead of just getting mad — and honestly, who could blame them? — the bride’s parents still threw the reception. And they invited Sacramento’s homeless population to partake.
There was plenty of food for those from a local shelter, as the city’s Citizen Hotel (where the reception had been scheduled to take place) had prepared to feed about 120 wedding guests.
The Duanes didn’t skimp on the menu, either — those who dropped in for a warm meal filled their plates with salmon, tri-tip beef, and gnocchi, among other (delicious) things.
“I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak” for my daughter, said Kari Duane, the would-be-bride’s mother. “But I will take away something really good from this.”
With more than 2,600 homeless people around town (Sacramento has been struggling to curb homelessness in recent years, as The Sacramento Bee reported in July), there was no shortage of folks to appreciate the Duanes’ kind gesture.
The feast was more than just a meal for those who made it out.
“When you’re going through a hard time and a struggle, for you to get out and do something different — and with your family — is really a blessing,” Rashad Abdullah, a homeless man, explained to KCRA.
Erika Craycraft, another homeless guest who enjoyed the meal, thought the Duanes’ decision to give away food was especially thoughtful, given the circumstances.
