She had planned a big wedding with 75 guests, but only five people showed up. Kalina Marie, still in shock, shared her disappointment on social networks.
@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
“POV: You imagined the perfect entrance. Just to open the doors to an empty reception room.” Kalina Marie and her husband Shane experienced this painful moment during their wedding. A couple for nine years and engaged since Christmas 2019, they had to postpone their wedding because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In January of this year, the couple finally set their wedding date for October.
For ten months, Kalina Marie, originally from Oregon, prepared for this event with great enthusiasm. 75 people invited, 40 had confirmed their presence. Everything was carefully organized and decorated.
But to the bride’s surprise, only five people made the trip, as she recounted in a video that went viral on TikTok, accumulating more than 8.5 million views.
In the video, the door to the reception room is seen opening, revealing carefully arranged string lights, lanterns and balloons. The newlyweds enter with their son to the song “When I Look at You” by Miley Cyrus. But instead of the expected applause, an almost deserted room awaited them.
For Kalina Marie, the shock was immense. She says she had to “force a smile” when she realized what was happening. “All this wasted food and drink. All these empty tables and chairs,” she laments on TikTok.
The invitation said 1 p.m. At 1:15 p.m., his mother sent him a message to inform him of the absence of guests. The couple chose to wait a little longer and show up at 2 p.m. In the end, only five people were waiting for them. “In a room designed for 40.”
“For what? What have we done?”
Kalina’s subscribers, touched by her story, expressed great compassion through more than 17,000 comments. “It hurts my heart for you,” wrote one Internet user. Another suggests: “Let’s start again. This time, invite me and everyone else. We will come. I love you, my darling, and congratulations!!”
Even several days later, Kalina cannot understand this absence of those close to her. “The biggest question is, ‘Why?’ And I don’t know.”
Very few messages of apology or explanation reached him. She asks herself, “Why? What have we done? Am I such a bad person? Did my husband deserve this? Why weren’t we big enough for people to come?” Now the couple must deal with the pain of cutting several people out of their lives.
However, Kalina Marie had dreamed of making her entrance in front of a packed house and warm applause. In the end, they decided to “make the most of the evening.” Looking back, she confides: “I know I have my husband. My baby. And a family that is there when I need them. And for that, I am grateful.”
