The video of the bridal couple entering an empty wedding venue went viral this week, leaving many people wondering why.
While the bride, Kalina Marie, says that she hasn’t received any excuses or reasons why family and friends didn’t pitch, she does share the events leading up to the wedding in a video she posted a few days ago.
She shares that having been together for nine years, she and her husband got engaged in 2019.
However, like many couples navigating the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, their wedding plans were forced to be put on hold.
In January of this year, Marie announced their rescheduled wedding date for October and excitedly shared the good news on Facebook for the subsequent 10 months.
“I created a Facebook event and invited everyone I could and also sent out over 25 invitations to our elders and those not on social media to make sure they were included as well," she explained in the heartfelt video.
With 40 RSVPs in hand, the bride invested considerable effort into preparing for her big day, ensuring that the venue was arranged appropriately and that her mother catered enough food for all expected guests.
Marie even took the initiative to check in with the invitees in the week leading up to the ceremony, confirming attendance with “at least 20 people” who expressed excitement about the day and mentioned the outfits they would be wearing.
Yet, despite her meticulous planning, the event quickly turned into a heartbreaking ordeal, leaving the newly-weds to grapple with the question, “why?”
@kalina_marie_23 This is our entrance to our Masqurade ball. The Masqurade ball that I have talked EXCESSIVELY about for the last 10 months. The same ball that I not only digitally invited over 75 people to. But ALSO spent money to send 25 beautiful invitations out to. FIVE PEOPLE SHOWED UP!!!!!!! Like, are you kidding me!?!? As you see in the video, we enter the venue. And no one is there. The invite said 1pm. My mom messaged me at 1:15 that no one was there. My husband and I finally showed up at 2oclock, to 5 people. In a venue planned for 40. I dreamed that I would walk in to a bunch of people cheering us on. Hooting and hollering for us in celebration……but all you see is a woman trying to hold herself together because she had NO idea how to deal with her venue being almost completely empty. All the wasted food and drinks. All the empty tables and chairs. Every moment of my reception changed to adapt. Did we still make the most of it?? You bet your SWEET @$$ we did. But did this video just take all the good moments and shoot them out of the water for a second, F$&K yea it did 😔 It just makes me think, like, why? What did we do? Am I that bad of a person? What did my husband ever do to deserve any of this? Why couldn’t we matter enough for people to show up? I still have “friends” that haven’t even messaged me to congratulate me or tell me why they didn’t come. It truly makes me sick. I honestly can’t wrap my head around this yet. But all I know is, I have my man. My baby. And family that shows up when I need them. And for that, I will be thankful ❤️ #FAIL #fyp #whereisthelove ♬ original sound - Sara Lones
In her emotional video update, she lamented the lack of explanations from her friends and family concerning their sudden absence.
“If I could answer that, I would tell you. And no, I haven't really received a lot of messages explaining why people weren’t there or giving me excuses," she shared.
In the aftermath of the mass no-show, Marie chose to focus on the positive.
“I’m actually thankful for this,” she said, emphasising that it allowed her and her husband to discern who truly cared about them.
@kalina_marie_23 Replying to @ivysnana1 ♬ original sound - 💕 KaLi 💕
The experience has led to deep reflection, with the couple undergoing a significant review of their relationships.
“For the most part, we’ve done a lot of deleting and re-evaluating our lives and just spending a lot of time appreciating what we have and what we had.”
IOL Lifestyle