A bride from Liverpool went viral after attending her wedding celebration without the groom. Katherine Jones, a 26-year-old entrepreneur, hosted her three-day wedding celebration in Tuscany just days after her fiancé left her.
After spending 18 months planning every detail and investing thousands of pounds, her partner of six-and-a-half years abruptly called off the wedding. Instead of letting the venue and her guests' travel arrangements go to waste, Katherine flew out to Italy with 30 of her closest friends and family and went ahead with the party.
Viral TikTok story
Katherine shared her story on TikTok and soon gained thousands of followers. She appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (August 26), where she received a round of applause from hosts Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley before the interview began.
"It was only five weeks ago. Your life has completely turned upside down. What a woman you are, Katherine," Ranvir began. Richard then asked, "Did you even have to think about it? You must have been in agony."
'The party's still on'
Katherine replied: "I was devastated. He told me the night before the decision was made, but I tossed and turned all night and just decided there and then [that] it carries on. It has to. It's seven days away, and it's all paid for. Everyone's booked their flights, there's no option."
Katherine explained that she had been dumped by her partner in the evening. She phoned her mum and sister the following morning, before they shared the news with the rest of her family and friends. "She phoned them straight away and said, 'The party's still on. So, if you would like to come, it's still happening,'" Katherine added.
In-laws not invited
But not everyone was invited. "[My prospective in-laws] didn't come. Seriously, nothing against them. It was purely that it would have reminded me of him, and that would have upset me further," Katherine said. "So, I just said, 'Let's just keep it to us'. So, it was just my friends and family."
During the party, Katherine's mum and two sisters made a speech. They spoke about her childhood and her achievements as a businesswoman. "They were very much bigging me up and trying to make me feel happy," she shared.
Ranvir then said, "There's something in this. I think you should have a wedding for yourself, where you invite everybody and you celebrate brilliant, strong women, and men if you want too, for being [like], 'Well, I'm on my own but I'm here.'" Richard joked, "You are a textbook example. You don't mess with a Scouser." Ranvir concluded: "Katherine, we wish you all the very best."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am.
