After months of planning a bride made the heartbreaking choice to call off her wedding. But rather than waste the day, or the $8000 venue deposit, she decided to turn her would-be reception into a party for underprivileged kids.
Yiru Sun looked every bit the radiant bride in white as she welcomed 60 children into the New York City mansion where she’d been planning to celebrate her nuptials.
“I should have been the bride. It was cancelled”, she told her guests, who were chosen with the help of The Salvation Army and Inwood House, according to the New York Post.
The successful insurance executive didn’t elaborate on the reasons for the cancellation, other than to say she and her fiancé disagreed over their pre-nup.
“Initially I felt frustrated,” Sun said, “I don’t want to sign things I don’t feel comfortable with.
“Three weeks later, I woke up with this idea … all of a sudden thought about maybe I could just convert it to a lunch party for kids.
“I cannot be the princess of my wedding day, but I can give the kids a fairy tale.”
The kids were treated to an extravagant lunch before being treated to face-painting, icy-poles and musical performances, including one from her own 6-year-old daughter.
Yiru and her daughter. Source: Facebook
Sun told her guests she grew up poor in China, but a scholarship to Princeton University let her achieve her dreams.
"I thought it was an incredibly selfless act," one guest William Natal told CBS New York.
"It’s special because this lady canceled a special day for her family and herself just for little kids to have fun," 10-year-old Kimberly Gil said.
Sun joked her guests were probably happier than ordinary wedding guests because "they don't need to prepare wedding gifts."
Feature Image: CBS News
Top Comments
A lovely story