Homeless Fed From Canceled Wedding

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

Have you heard of somebody cancelling a wedding soon before the wedding day?

How would you feel if you had spent a lot o money preparing for a wedding and it got cancelled? And you could lose a lot of money.

After a man who was supposed to get married called off his wedding, the deserted bride's family decided to do something good with the huge amount of food that had already been ordered and paid for.

With a $35,000 deposit already made and more bills due, news of the cancelled wedding was a surprise that came out of the blue to the bride's mother, Californian Kari Duane, whose daughter Quinn was supposed to be getting married with 120 guests in attendance.

When she found out on Monday that the wedding would not be taking place, it just seemed like, of course, this would be something that we would do to give back something good to poorer people,  Duane said.

She said while she feels "a lot of heartache and heartbreak" for her daughter, she wanted to make some positive experience from a bad situation.

On Saturday, a banquet hall at Sacramento's Citizen Hotel began filling with the city's homeless, invited to share a meal.

The first to arrive was almost half-an-hour early: A woman who lives in a homeless shelter for those too old to work and too poor to afford rent.

Upon her arrival, Duane said she told herself, "If she's the only person that comes tonight, this was worth it."

But the hall was eventually filled with families who had great financial difficulties, single people, elderly and babies.

One man who arrived with his wife and five children said the occasion made them feel like royalty as they could enjoy luxury eating; appetizers, salads, salmon and luxury Japanese sushi. The family usually find it almost impossible to get three meals a day.

His wife, Erika , said the Duane family's kindness meant the world to them.

"To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind," he said.

While the meal meant many happy faces and full stomachs for the city's homeless, the bride-to-be chose to stay home with friends ahead of her honeymoon trip she will now take with her mother

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=7, B=1, C=3, D=8, E=2, F=4, G=6, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. The called the game off because of all the rain.

2. Why did you desert me, I waited here for one hour?

3. It was a complete surprise, the news came out of the blue.

4. The event will be taking place at this theater tomorrow at 8pm.

5. If you work hard now then it will save you a lot of heartache later if you are not prepared and fail.

6. He was totally heartbroken after she broke off the relationship with him.

7. My mother meant the world to me growing up.

8. Take every opportunity you get, don’t lose out on the chances you get.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. Describe how you would feel if your wedding was called off this way.

2. Have you ever felt deserted by somebody? Was it something that came out of the blue?

3. Where do wedding usually take place in your country?

4. What advice would you give to a very young person to save themselves heartache in the future?

5. Describe a time when you felt heartbroken? Maybe it was a relationship (a lover) that meant the world you to or someone you cared about very much.

6. Who is someone means the world to you?

7. If you lose out on something, then what good things do you think can you learn from it?