Ohio newlyweds whose wedding was canceled due to COVID-19 donate their reception food to local shelter

Couple donates food from canceled wedding reception to Ohio shelter

This couple served up a hefty amount of food and smiles. (Credit: The City Mission/Caroline Stoltzfus)

LOS ANGELES - How often do you see a couple wearing a wedding dress and a tuxedo serving food at a shelter?

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced Melanie and Tyler Tapajna to cancel their wedding, and they decided not only to donate food from their reception to a local shelter, but they served it themselves while still clad in their wedding attire.

Photos of the couple serving up food were shared Aug. 16 on the Facebook page for The City Mission, a Cleveland-based group dedicated to helping the city’s hurting and homeless. The couple served their wedding food at Laura’s Home, a women’s crisis center operated by The City Mission.

Credit: The City Mission/Caroline Stoltzfus

The pictures show Melanie and Tyler dishing out food and meeting people at the facility, sometimes wearing hairnets, but always equipped with masks.

Credit: The City Mission/Caroline Stoltzfus

According to CNN, the couple served fried chicken, green beans and other items to a total of 135 women and children.

“We pray this amazing couple is blessed immensely in their marriage, and thank them for inviting our guests to their wedding feast,” The City Mission wrote on Facebook.

Lockdown orders and social distancing guidelines due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have forced many couples across the U.S. to delay or cancel their wedding plans. Still, some have found ways to creatively celebrate their day of matrimony, even if it wasn’t the wedding they initially intended.

In April, a Utah couple held a drive-thru wedding ceremony, where friends and family watched from their cars as the couple exchanged vows.