The best man's role is to plan the bachelor party, support the groom throughout the planning process, get fitted for a tux, hold the rings for safekeeping, sign the marriage license, give a toast at the reception and...save the day in the event of disaster? Cameron Scheuplein went above and beyond the call of duty for his niece, Christina Scheuplein, and her husband-to-be, Ray De Santiago.
Photo courtesy of KTLA-TV
KTLA-TV reports that Christina and Ray's home in La Puenta, California was burglarized last Saturday — just one week before their wedding was supposed to take place — along with seven others in their neighborhood. (The intruder slipped in through an open bathroom window while the couple was out.) The $6,000 they had stored to help pay for day-of expenses was gone. What made the situation even more dire was that Ray had lost his job just two months prior, so the newlyweds-to-be were already struggling to make ends meet.
Panic-stricken, they immediately went into crisis management mode and thought of ways they could slash costs. They were prepared to cut flowers from the event, have their friends man the bar and rush to get a relative ordained since they could no longer afford the officiant they had booked. But before they could do all of that, Cameron had one last-ditch idea that would change everything.
He created a fundraising page on gofundme.com, spreading the word to friends and family members about what had happened and urging them to help donate whatever they could towards the wedding. "I’ve always been fond of social media and I figured maybe I can use these tools to help my friends,” he tells KTLA-TV.
Photo courtesy of Cameron Scheuplein
The outpouring of support was overwhelming — one stranger even donated $2,000. In just three days, Christina and Ray surpassed their goal by raising $7,175. Now the couple can not only go through with their original plan to get married at a villa in Sierra Madre, but they also plan to use the additional funds to purchase a home security system.
The bride tells Good Morning America that she's overwhelmed with emotion: "We went from a period of devastation to going on and being able to do these wonderful wedding things without having to stress. I can’t express my love and emotion for everybody that came through for us. I still am in so much shock about how all this came about."
Thankfully, Christina and Ray's story has a happy ending, but other nearly-newlyweds aren't as lucky. There are numerous reports about nearly-newlyweds who were robbed while they were getting married (including Michael Bublé!) or had their wedding gifts stolen.
Here are a few preventative measures you can take to help protect valuables:
- Ask or hire someone you trust to house-sit for you on the big day, even if you have a home security system.
- Consider purchasing wedding insurance — policies may cover stolen gifts as long as they're reported immediately.
- Delegate a loved one to serve as the gift attendant during the wedding and store all of the presents in a secure area.
—Stefania Sainato
- Anonymous's blog
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