- Kalina Marie shared the footage in a TikTok that has over six million views
- READ MORE: Bride-to-be hailed a ‘genius’ for issuing survey to her bridesmaids before the wedding
A bride was distraught when she realised no-one had turned up for her wedding reception.
US-based Kalina Marie documented her wedding day in a heartbreaking TikTok that has received over 6.6million views, with fellow users urging her to ‘redo’ the event so they can attend it.
In the now-viral video, Kalina, her husband, and their son can be seen walking into an empty venue where their masquerade ball-themed reception was being held.
‘POV: You planned the most beautiful entrance. Just to open the doors to an empty venue,’ the newlywed wrote over the footage, which showed two people opening the doors for Kalina and her husband.
One woman dressed in red can be seen clapping for them, as a photographer captured their entrance.
US-based Kalina Marie shared heartbreaking footage from her wedding reception on TikTok, after only five people attended the event
The only other person in the frame was a woman who appeared to be working on a laptop, possibly controlling the music.
Kalina captioned her video: ‘This is our entrance to our masquerade ball.
The masquerade ball that I have talked EXCESSIVELY about for the last 10 months,’ she continued. ‘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 bride explained that she delayed her entrance by an hour after her mother broke the news that no one had turned up at 1pm.
At 2pm, the hall was still almost completely empty.
‘I dreamed that I would walk into a bunch of people cheering us on. Hooting and hollering for us in celebration,’ Kalina shared.
‘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.’
In the now-viral video, Kalina, her husband, and their son can be seen walking into an empty venue where their masquerade ball-themed reception was being held.
She added that while the couple ultimately ‘made the most of’ their wedding party, the lack of support from her ‘friends’ left her feeling ‘sick’.
‘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.’
Kalina ended her post by saying she was grateful to be surrounded by family ‘that shows up when I need them’ before adding the hashtag #whereisthelove.
Her post triggered an outpouring of support from TikTok users, who promised Kalina they would attend her reception if she decided to ‘redo’ it.
One comment read: ‘Let’s do it over. This time invite me and the rest of us. We’ll show up and out. I love you beautiful, and congratulations!!’
Another person added: ‘Now you have 52k people to watch you enter! We’re cheering you on and hooting for you!!!’
A third person wrote: ‘I say do a redo and all of us can come support you and your beautiful family!’
Others offered to send Kalina and her husband, who she has been dating for nine years, wedding gifts, with one person urging her to ‘MAKE THAT gift registry’.
Some offered excuses for why Kalina’s guests may not have attended the reception, including being too broke and confusion about whether the masquerade ball was to celebrate their marriage.
One comment read: ‘Some people don’t go to events cause they don’t have money. I slept in my car for a friends wedding once because I couldn’t afford a room nor a gift. Then I saw people say it’s rude to not buy a gift.’
Another added: ‘I’m so sorry! Did these people RSVP? Has anyone offered an explanation? Was the invitation for a wedding reception or a masquerade ball?
‘Like did they know this was your wedding? Sending love and hugs’
A similar comment read: ‘Is it a reception or a masquerade ball? Maybe they didn’t understand?’
The bride replied to this message about guests’ possible confusion about her reception being a masquerade ball, clarifying the invitees ‘knew exactly what it was’ because she had ‘talked about it excessively for 10 months’.
A handful of people shared they’d had similar experiences, with one person revealing: ‘Me & my husband sent out over 200 invitations w/ over 150 RSVP’ING & even calling the night before telling us they’re coming.
‘We had less than 40 people actually show. spent over $9,000 (nealtr £7,000) on the venue.
After her TikTok went viral, Kalina thanked people for their kind messages and support and shared a sweet video of her and her partner’s first dance together as husband and wife.
She captioned the post: ‘Never in one million years did I imagine my video would blow up the way it did.
‘I am completely overwhelmed.’
However, Kalina added, the joy over receiving ‘love and support’ from people on TikTok was accompanied by ‘the grief of deleting a lot of people from our lives’.
She also thanked her new followers for offering to attend a ‘redo’ party and said she will be ‘forever grateful that so many people got to see the entrance I dreamed about’.