Bride Arrives At Her Reception To Find Only 5 Of The 75 Invited People Showed Up
The wedding had been in the works for 10 months and she'd gotten about 40 RSVPs. So what gives?
Jurij Krupiak | Shutterstock Ever since "ghosting" dates became a common practice, something has seemed to shift in pretty much all other social interactions in our lives, too. It's seemed to become normal to just not show up to things without speaking a word—even major life events like weddings.
That's what happened to one bride on TikTok, who was shocked by how many people just didn't show up to her wedding — though she and her husband made sure not to let it ruin their day.
The bride was shocked that just five guests showed up to her wedding out of 75 invites.
Kali, a TikToker known as @kalina_marie_23 on the app, planned a wedding reception with a masquerade-ball theme for her, her groom and their 75 guests. She put a lot of work into it, of course, and wrote in her caption that she "talked excessively" about it for the last 10 months of planning.
She had a guestlist of around 75 people to whom she sent digital invites, along with another 25 she mailed traditional invitations to. She and her husband booked a venue for the 40 people they were expecting.
Instead, when they walked into the reception, just five people were there to greet them. "The invite said 1 pm," she wrote in her caption. "My mom messaged me at 1:15 that no one was there. My husband and I finally showed up at 2:00, to 5 people."
The incident left the bride and groom deeply sad, wondering why no one showed. But they were determined to have fun anyway.
"I dreamed that I would walk into a bunch of people cheering us on," Kali wrote in her caption. Instead, the moment was deeply awkward. "All the wasted food and drinks. All the empty tables and chairs. Every moment of my reception changed to adapt…. It just makes me think, like, why? What did we do?"
She couldn't help but question why the people in her life couldn't at least have simply reached out to say they weren't able to attend the wedding. "I honestly can’t wrap my head around this yet." Nevertheless, they refused to let it darken their day entirely.
In a follow-up video, Kali showed her, her husband, and their small group of guests dancing to the Backstreet Boys and having the kind of good time every couple deserves.
"All I know is, I have my man. My baby. And family that shows up when I need them," Kali wrote. "Did we still make the most of it?? You bet your SWEET @$$ we did."
The bride received an outpouring of support online that left her feeling better about the situation.
"Let's do it over. This time invite me and the rest of us," one woman on TikTok commented. "We'll show up and out. I love you beautiful and congratulations!!" Others were similarly supportive, and many offered Kali a bit of simple wisdom.
"Mama told me something that stuck with me," one woman wrote. "'I'd rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.'” The VALUE of those 4 friends are way higher. Your quarters were all there."
Others firmly agreed, telling her that those five guests who did show were five true compatriots who she knew she could count on, and ultimately, it's these relationships that matter most. For her part, Kali agreed.
After thanking everyone online for their support, she wrote in the caption of another follow-up video, "like many of you have said. My little group is really all I need." She also said how touched she was that so many people online shared the moment with her. "I will just be forever grateful that so many people got to see the entrance I dreamed about for so long."
Perhaps there's more to the story of why most people didn't show up — often, there is. Still, it's important to show up for the people in our lives, which seems to be something of a dying art nowadays.
But it's just as important to recognize that when it comes to human connection, quality is always more important than quantity, and Kali's wedding certainly had plenty of that.
May we all be so lucky.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.