Spurned bride's family gifts wedding feast to homeless
A wedding nightmare turns into a heartfelt gift for the less fortunate.
A groom got cold feet just days before his wedding. Instead of dwelling on the pain, the bride and her family decdied to donate the reception meal and create a festive feast for a group of homeless people.
"It was awful. I have 5 daughters. This was my oldest getting married for the 1st time. It was sad," David Duane said.
The $35,000 reception was planned on the 7th floor of Sacramento's swanky Citizen Hotel.
Duane's 27-year-old dauther was devastated and it was too late for a refund.
"Kari, my wife came up with the idea, maybe we invite homeless folks," Duane says.
So they called next Move, a homeless shelter in Sacramento, who got the ball rolling quickly, coordinating bus vouchers for their residents.
It turned into a party with about 100 guests and a night the Duane family will never forget.
"For me the gift was almost for us, to be able to give like that was a very nice thing to be a part of," Duane says.
There was also a nonrefundable honeymoon, so mother and daughter set off for Belize this weekend.
"I hope that when she looks back at this, she knows she was doing something good with a bad situation," Duane said.