People from all over the world have donated to Kayley Stead saying they are 'so proud' of her
A jilted bride who had her
wedding without the groom dropping £12,000 on the occasion, is "overwhelmed" after strangers have dug into their own pockets, donating almost £7k - and offering her a free "honeymoon".
Kayley Stead discovered she wasn't going to marry her partner of almost four years the morning of her big day, but despite the heartbreak, the 27-year-old decided to go ahead with the wedding at Oxwich Bay Hotel in Gower, Swansea, Wales, surrdounded by her loved ones, anyway.
Kayley still had her wedding entrance, meal, speeches and professional photos on 15 September before punching the top tier of her wedding cake and spending her first dance with the groomsmen, her brothers, and dad Brian, 71.
After seizing the day with her loved ones, Kayley is now facing the reality of being newly single but her friends have rallied around her and barely left her side. Her best friend and bridesmaid, Jordie Cullen, 27, has also set up a GoFundMe page to try and recoup some of the expenses and the response has been phenomenal.
In just over a week, £6,927 in donations has been donated from people across the world.
One donor wrote on the GoFundMe page to say: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. You deserve someone so much better than that.
Good luck for the future Hun."
Another donor wrote: "Your story absolutely broke my heart but I’m so proud of you going ahead and enjoying the day with the people who love you the most. You deserve all good things."
Her story has touched hearts all over the world with people donating from the US, Canada, Poland and Australia.
Before planning her wedding - which cost £12,000 - Kayley had been saving for a house and has said she plans to put the money raised towards her dream home.
She said: "I couldn't begin to thank people enough for the kindness they have shown since my story came out.
"Seeing your kind words has carried me through this challenging journey and the fact that people have donated is astounding and I thank every single person who has. "Thank you to everyone who has taken their time to read my story.
"Just remember that moments like this don't define you, but how you overcome it does."
As a result of her wedding day, Kayley never got to go on her honeymoon to Turkey, but was in for another shock this week when she was given an unexpected gift.
She appeared on This Morning earlier on Monday wearing her wedding dress - and hosts
Holly Willoughby and
Phillip Schofield announced she would be receiving a gift of £2,000 to go towards a "honeymoon".
Phil informed Kayley - who was joined on the sofa by bridesmaids Jordie Cullen and Katie Stead - travel company Hays Travel are giving Kayley £1,000 towards a trip of her choice with This Morning deciding to match it too.
Speaking on the show, Phil said: "Well done you, that's really seizing the day, isn't it?
"I think you need that. Get away and switch off," Holly added, before giving a tearful Kayley a hug.
Grateful Kayley agreed with the hosts, nodding and saying: "I do. I need to get some sun, so thank you so much." The groom has refused to comment.
Related links:
