A called-off wedding benefits charity and may bring tears to your eyes

Calling off a wedding is no easy feat. But Jenna Yorkovich, 23, made the most of it when she decided to have her wedding reception anyway. She cancelled the wedding about seven weeks beforehand. Unfortunately, the venue and food vendor could not refund the money spent for the big day. What would you do?

‘No Reason To Sit Around And Be Sad’

“I decided that even though I had just made one of the hardest decisions in my life, that there was no reason to sit around and be sad forever, but rather to turn one love story into another,” Yorkovich, of Maplewood, MN, told the Star Tribune. And that, she did.

The reception became a night to celebrate Ronald McDonald House families and volunteers at Nicollet Island Pavilion in Minneapolis. Okay, could this be any sweeter?! And talk about turning a sad situation into a happy one. Here’s a photo from the May 12 reception.

More than 150 people attended the volunteer appreciation event.

A ‘Meant-To-Be’ Circumstance

Though Yorkovich first thought of her church, it proved difficult to put together the large event so fast. Yorkovich then thought of the Ronald McDonald House. Yorkovich works at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and aspires to be a pediatric nurse. So she happens to be familiar with children in need.

“I see on a daily basis how incredible [Ronald McDonald House] is for so many families with children in the hospital,” said Yorkovich. “It just so happened to be volunteer appreciation week when I called so it seemed to be a meant-to-be circumstance.”

It goes without saying that Ronald McDonald House volunteers are an integral part of the organization. They not only help serve meals to families, but also help provide a home-like environment to 5,000 families with hospitalized children.

By the way, if you’re wondering what happened to Yorkovich’s honeymoon, we were, too. She took her mom! They spent it on the beach in the Dominican Republic.

If Yorkovich’s story isn’t inspiring, then we don’t know what is. We hope she’s doing okay since calling off her wedding, and we’re glad she made the most out of the situation.