When Kalina Marie, an Oregon bride, opened the doors for her wedding ceremony on November 2, her heart broke. Instead of seats full of friends and family, applause, and celebration, she found nothing but an empty room.
“Five people showed up. Are you kidding me?” she wrote in disbelief on a TikTok post uploaded last Wednesday (November 6). She explained to her followers that she had invited more than 75 people over the internet, and 25 others were personally asked to attend.
“I dreamed I would walk into 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 almost completely empty venue,” she continued.
Kalina’s story moved her viewers, with many offering to pack the venue if she were to host a second ceremony.
An Oregon bride went viral after sharing a heartbreaking video of being stood up by friends and family at her wedding ceremony, to which only five people attended
The bride explained that the absence of her loved ones took her entirely by surprise, as she had expected many of her supposed friends to attend the party. Rubbing salt in her wound was the fact that, according to her, not only did the people she invited not go to the wedding, but they hadn’t even sent her a message.
“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?” she asked. “It truly makes me sick. I honestly can’t wrap my head around this yet.”
The video shows Kalina entering the ceremony with only the aforementioned five people present, with a couple of hired photographers taking pictures. She walks in accompanied by her husband, who is wearing an untucked black shirt, jeans, and a white necktie, and her son, who is wearing a similar getup.
Follow-up videos show the bride dancing alongside her mother, cousin, and best friend, all wearing ballroom masks while a video plays in the background. “This hurts my heart for you,” the caption reads, taken from a comment on her previous post.
Kalina Marie’s clips surrounding the event went viral, with almost 9 million views and thousands of comments urging her to host a second ceremony so they can attend
Her first video quickly went viral, amassing more than 6.7 million views at the time of writing, with follow-up clips totaling an additional 2 million views.
@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
More important than the views were the 15,000 comments sympathizing with her situation and offering to attend a possible second wedding.
“Let’s do it over. This time, invite me and the rest of us. We’ll show up and out. I love you, beautiful. Congratulations!” wrote one follower. “We have to redo it! We’re all showing up!” said another.
Her clip reached people from other continents, with one reader asking her to host the party in South Africa. “I promise the whole nation will be at your party!” she joked.
While Kalina expressed her gratitude and shock at the massive outpouring of support and good comments she received, she stated that she was not considering hosting a redo, explaining that the ceremony helped her recognize the essential people in her life.
“Thank you all for offering a redo; wouldn’t that be amazing? But, like many of you have said. My little group is really all I need. And now I truly know who is there for me and who is not.”
While the bride shot down the possibility of holding a redo ceremony, she shared her PO Box with her followers, open to receiving letters and gifts
@kalina_marie_23 Replying to @ophelia 🦋 ♬ Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) (Extended Version) – Backstreet Boys
In a recent video uploaded yesterday (November 10), Kalina shared a video of herself dancing in front of a mirror, proudly showcasing her wedding dress.
“If I could wear this dress every day, I would. I felt like such a princess,” she said, explaining that Rebecca Ingram designed it, and the model was Galina.
The bride also stated that she and her husband got engaged on Christmas 2019, right before the COVID-19 pandemic “hit the world and shut everything down.”
“Just like it has been for everyone else, the last four years have been a struggle. But this year, we finally decided to tie the knot,” Kalina said.” I have waited four years to wear this beautiful dress. Thank you guys for loving it so much!”
The bride also revealed that, while the option of a redo event is off the table, people interested in sharing words of support via letter could do so at her PO Box: Kalina and Shane, 1047, Saint Helens, Oregon. 97051.
Viewers told Kalina that they would be open to attending a party for her first anniversary, and others said they had already sent her a few surprises in the mail
@kalina_marie_23 Replying to @Jacob Cowen ♬ original sound – 💕 KaLi 💕
Netizens urged the bride to reconsider and open herself up to hosting another party. While many understood that she and her husband might not be ready due to grief and anger over being stood up by their families, they still said they would be willing to attend an event to mark their anniversary.
@kalina_marie_23 Replying to @ivysnana1 ♬ original sound – 💕 KaLi 💕
“I’d happily pitch in for another get-together to mark y’all 1st anniversary!” one fan said.
Others promised to send her gifts, hoping to brighten the couple’s day.
“Something from Texas will be arriving this week!” a viewer said.
Another wrote, “I’m Sending you a card. Congratulations; you looked beautiful. Love from Australia.”
Bored Panda has reached out to Kalina Marie for comment.
“The most important people where there,” wrote one viewer, as others joined in to comfort the bride about what happened
