The title of this blog came to me in seconds… and I think once you hear this story you will see why I think it is apropos.
A woman in Vermont spends months and piles of money planning an extravagant wedding, all the while thinking she is about to embark on a life’s journey with her best friend. Then six weeks before her big day she learns that her fiancé has been cheating on her. Kyle Paxman planned to party the night away in the arms of her beloved at the Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain. Her reception venue offered romantic views of the lake… the ideal setting for memorable wedding pictures. But, when she found out about her fiancé’s extra-curricular activities, she called off the 180-guest wedding and their four-year relationship. GULP!! What would you do? I can’t even imagine. If it was my fiancé my brothers would probably “make amends” by rearranging certain body parts on him, but that’s not at all what the Vermont bride-to-be did. Not at all. Instead she took the high road. I mean very high, high road.
“I’m really just trying to turn it around and make something positive out of it,” Paxman recently told local reporters.
Instead of retreating to her bed and hiding under the covers (like I might have done) Paxman is turning her would-be reception into a charity benefit. Paxman says she and her mother canceled the band, photographer and florist, but after they learned they would not be reimbursed for the reception and block of rooms they had reserved they came up with an idea so as to not waste what was already paid for. Their brilliant plan: turn the reception into a benefit for the Vermont Children’s Aid Society and CARE USA, an international relief organization that aims to combat poverty by empowering women. Paxman and her mom sent out invitations to 125 women for drinks and a gourmet four-course dinner. In exchange, they hope the guests will make donations to the charities.
Is that classy or what?
Click here to read Heather’s take on this unfortunate situation.