Indiana woman Hosts $30,000 Party For Homeless After Wedding Is Cancelled
An Indiana woman, who was due to get married Saturday, called off her wedding at the last minute and instead hosted a dinner party for dozens of homeless people at the banquet. Cummins had to cancel all her wedding plans — a $30,000 extravaganza that she had been planning for about two years, the Indy Star reported.
Sarah Cummins, 25, a graduate of the Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, had booked the Ritz Charles in Carmel, Indianapolis, for her wedding. She was supposed to marry Logan Araujo. However, the couple had to cancel their wedding plans at the last minute. Cummins called it “really devastating,” acknowledging that the wedding arrangements were “non-refundable.”
After a brief discussion with her fiancée and the Ritz Charles' event planner, Cummins decided to make some changes in the arrangements and host a dinner party for the homeless instead.
Devastated that the arrangements, decoration and the food would all go to waste, Cummins contacted various shelters for the homeless and enquired if she could provide them with some food, Metro News reported. Around 170 homeless people savored the delicacies Saturday evening.
Speaking to the local newspaper Indy Star, Cummins said she and her fiancée mutually decided to call off their wedding a week ago. Without stating a reason behind their decision, she said she was left with a non-refundable contract. That is when she came up with the unique idea.
“It was really devastating, I called everyone, canceled, apologized, cried, called vendors, cried some more, and then I started feeling really sick about just throwing away all the food I ordered for the reception,” she told the Indy Star.
“For me, it was an opportunity to let these people know they deserved to be at a place like this just as much as everyone else does,” Cummins said, adding, “I will at least have some kind of happy memory to pull from. I wanted to make sure it would be the perfect wedding."
Cummins had contacted the Dayspring Center, an emergency shelter that assists homeless families with children. After learning about her decision, Cheryl Herzog, Dayspring’s development director, said: "I was so touched that Sarah had taken a painful experience and turned it into a joyful one for families in need. It is truly a very kind gesture on her part."
To add to Cummins’ cause, a number of local businesses and residents donated dresses, suits, and clothes to the guests who were invited. Among the attendees was Charlie Allen, a homeless man who received a jacket as a donation. Expressing his gratitude, Allen said: “I didn’t have a sports coat. I think I look pretty nice in it. For a lot of us, this is a good time to show us what we can have… Or to remind us what we had."
Read: Tampa Bay Homeless Shelter Investigation Reveals Controversial Practices
Complementing the delectable wedding cake, the dinner menu included bourbon-glazed meatballs, goat cheese, roasted garlic bruschetta, chicken breast with artichokes and Chardonnay cream sauce, among other delicacies.
Araujo, who had the largest share in the wedding finances, said: “I’m happy through my grief, and also Sarah’s, that she was able to make a selfless and very thoughtful decision in such a hard time.”
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