Bride invites the homeless to $35K wedding reception after it's called off

With only weeks to go before the wedding, a jilted bride has turned her heartache into a heartwarming story.

Quinn Duane from Sacramento, California, was expecting to host a wedding reception for 120 guests today when her groom-to-be suddenly got cold feet.

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Instead of forgoing the reception altogether though, Quinn’s mother, Kari, suggested they turn it into a dinner for the homeless.

“When I found out on Monday that the wedding would not be taking place, it just seemed like of course this is something that we would do to give back," Kari explained, adding that it had gone even better than expected.

"When the first person turned up, I was thinking at that moment, if she's the only person that comes tonight, this was worth it," Duane said.

She needn’t have worried: when word got out, dozens of people turned up to eat at the banquet hall at Sacramento's Citizen Hotel.

Erika Craycraft, a homeless Sacramento resident, said: “to lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind.”

Duane said it had also helped the family, who were struggling with Quinn’s heartbreak.

"When you're going through a hard time and struggle, for you to get out to do something different and with your family, it was really a blessing,” Kari said.

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While Quinn understandably did not attend the reception herself, she was happy for her mother to make the generous offer.

"I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her, but I will take away something good from this, I will,” explained Duane.