As a young girl, Sarah Cummins dreamed of her wedding day. The dress, the food, the location, the man. At 25 years old, she was lucky to plan her dream day with the man she loved.
However, one week before the wedding, Cummins and her fiancee Logan Araujo called off their $30,000 ceremony. Cummins didn't give a reason to news outlets as to what happened, but she says they were left with a non-refundable contract with the Ritz Charles along with a catered dinner for 170 people.
Even though there was no wedding to be had, Cummins didn't want the planning to be thrown out the window.
"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 said.
Instead of letting everything go to waste, Sarah had a brilliant idea to use the accommodations for good.
Continue reading to find out what she chose to do, and how her ex-fiancee reacted.
Sarah Cummins decided she wanted to use the venue and food to host a dinner for people who needed it most. She contacted local homeless shelters to inquire about inviting people who lived there to come and enjoy what would have been her wedding reception.
Because Araujo had footed most of the bill for the wedding, it was ultimately up to him to decide how to proceed. The former groom-to-be had no issues with Cummins' request.
"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," Araujo said.
Cummins organized buses to transport guests to and from the event, and also had local business offer to donate suits and dresses for the attendees.
"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.
One of the guests, Charlie Allen, was more than thrilled to be given such an opportunity. Allen had been living at the homeless shelter for more than three months.
"I didn't have a sport coat," he said. "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."
The guests dined on catered bourbon glazed meatballs, goat cheese and roasted garlic bruschetta, chicken breast with artichokes and Chardonnay cream sauce and of course, wedding cake. Cummins says she's just happy some good could come out of her heartbreak.
"I will at least have some kind of happy memory to pull from," she said. "I wanted to make sure it would be the perfect wedding."
Take a look at some of the best pictures from the gathering on the next page!
