A generous bride donated her wedding reception to the homeless this weekend (Picture: KCRA)

Bride-to-be Quinn Duane was meant to be enjoying her big day with 120 invited guests this weekend but, after the groom got cold feet, she generously gave the city’s homeless an unforgettable feast instead.

Twenty-seven-year-old Quinn was all set to marry her boyfriend of four years in a dream $35,000 (£22,000) ceremony at Sacramento’s four-star Citizen Hotel, but last Monday, she phoned mum Kari to break the news that her fiance had called it off.

With the reception already paid for, Quinn and her mother Kari decided not to cancel, but, instead, to host a free dinner for those who needed it most.

Quinn, centre, with her bridal party at a meal this summer, didn’t feel up to attending the meal but her mother Kari hosted it in her honour (Picture: Facebook/Quinn Duane)

‘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,’ Kari Duane told local news station KCRA.




She asked local homeless shelters for help advertising the dinner and watched as families, from children to grandparents, tucked into the three-course meal which included appetisers, salads, gnocchi, salmon and steak. Around 90 people were able to eat for free.

Rashad Abdullah, who came with his wife Erika and five children said: ‘When you’re going through a hard time and a struggle, for you to get out to do something different with your family, it was really a blessing.’

Erika and her husband called the meal a ‘blessing’ (Picture: KCRA)

Erika added: ‘To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind.’

Although the night was bittersweet for Kari and her family – Quinn stayed at home – she said being able to give to others less fortunate had been the silver lining. ‘I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her [Quinn], but I will take away something good from this, I will,’ she said.

Included in the non-refundable wedding costs was the couple’s honeymoon to Belize. Yesterday, mum and daughter flew out for to enjoy some much-needed R&R together.

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