Couple Who Completely Upends Their Wedding Reception Gets Unsuspected Reaction From Guests

Tyler and Melanie knew they had found their soul mate in one another and planned to make their everlasting love official. The Cleveland, Ohio couple planned an extravagant wedding for August 15th 2020, a year famous for upending plans.

The happy couple had everything planned; the venue, seating arrangements for 150 people, a DJ, and catering all to make the celebration special. Everything was going according to plan, but no one anticipated the curveball that called everything into question.

The coronavirus took the world by storm. Large gatherings like weddings were no longer possible. Tyler and Melanie were among the many couples forced to cancel their large dream celebrations. Though, they were still determined to make their wedding special.

They chose to have a small outdoor ceremony in Melanie’s grandparents’ backyard. While they had to forego the fancy venue, the huge guest list, and the DJ, they decided to hold off on canceling the catering. They had a better idea for the food.

The food truck that catered the 150 wedding meals offered them a refund on their order. Not wanting to waste, Melanie thought of another way to use all that food. Why not donate it?

As Melanie explained, “the stress isn’t worth it and there are so many people suffering right now and we’ve been so blessed during this time that I was like we should do something, we should give back. It was just the perfect opportunity.”

The couple directed the food truck to instead deliver to Laura’s Home Women’s Crisis Center branch of the nonprofit The City Mission, an organization working to help mothers and children recover from homelessness. During the pandemic, donations are more crucial than ever.

Laura’s Home was working with 70 families during that period and the restrictions presented by COVID-19 have made keeping everyone safe and healthy has been a challenge. Those already dealing with difficult situations had to rely on the non-profit after losing their jobs.

Melanie reached out to Laura’s Home and scheduled the catering for August 15th, the same day their ceremony. At that point, the shelter and crisis center took care of everything, so the next step was the big one — getting married.

Tyler and Melanie put on their wedding best and were able to enjoy their day without having to worry about risking the safety of their loved ones. Their wedding was different than how they’d pictured it, but they had a special twist in store.

In front of 12 relatives, a reverend, and a very furry ring bearer, Tyler and Melanie swapped vows. From their photos, you can’t even tell their plans were drastically changed! Then, they said goodbye to their guests, but their wedding day plans were far from over.

The first thing they did as Mr. and Mrs.Tapajna was head over to the shelter to help distribute the food. Melanie said, “We could have just donated, but we would have never been able to see how happy it made everyone.”

Melanie in her white gown and Tyler in tux entered the shelter to help serve the food. Sort of like walking into their reception, the dining room was decorated in their honor and everyone cheered to welcome the happy new couple.

Given COVID-19 restrictions, only Tyler and Melanie and their photographer were allowed in to help volunteer. Nevertheless, their fancy duds turned the meal into a bit of a spectacle that everyone couldn’t help but enjoy.

CEO of The City Mission, Rich Trickel told CBS News, “I remember a mom and her two little daughters coming up in the line, and the two little girls standing on their tiptoes to get a better glimpse of the bride in her wedding dress.”

With smiles under their masks, Melanie and Tyler went to work serving their guests. Figuring the families would prefer to pick their meals, they switched up with the wedding menu with the cater for a crowd-pleasing lineup of fried chicken, mac and cheese, green beans.

It was the first time Melanie and Tyler had ever volunteered at The City Mission, and the first wedding reception style celebration thrown at Laura’s House. Based on the warm welcome the Tapajnas received, it’s an experience they’ll cherish forever.

The City Mission posted about the event on Facebook, saying, “We pray this amazing couple is blessed immensely in their marriage, and thank them for inviting our guests to their wedding feast.”

In total, the couple’s donation fed more than 130 people in the shelter, and lasted a couple of days more than expected. Serving their community is something Tyler and Melanie plan to repeat on an annual basis.

“You normally just invite the people you know. We never thought we would have met so many amazing people planning this. We could not be happier with the outcome. I would do it all over again,” Melanie explained.