A Bride and Groom’s Unbelievably Generous Act at Their Wedding

A Turkish bride and groom ditched the usual wedding banquet and instead wore their finest wedding threads to ladle up food to 4,000 Syrian refugees.

Fethullah Uzumcuoglu and Esra Polat decided to pool the money their families had dedicated for their wedding and instead feed thousands of needy men, women and children. They tied the knot in Kilis, near the border over which tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled their war-torn country.

In one photo that has been circulating online, the pair is seen dressed up and standing behind a counter dishing out food to an elderly woman and others.

#Turkish bride and groom distribute food to 4000 #Syrian refugees instead of their guests on their #wedding day. pic.twitter.com/wSapqmGMZf

— Dr. Muzakkir (@DrMuzakkir) August 3, 2015

A flood of heartwarming messages to the newlyweds has been pouring in from around the world, including those who say that starting out with such a generous spirit means their marriage will certainly be blessed.

Now this is a marriage that will be blessed. @rConflictNews @alina_mmz @DrMuzakkir https://t.co/Iqi2o8Ifhj

— Dean Malik (@DeanHMalik) August 4, 2015

@rconflictnews @drmuzakkir @charleeg75 hard to believe good people like this still existed

— Roshan Perera (@PereraRoshan) August 4, 2015

@kimseyokmu You restore my faith in the human race. Bless you.

— Andy Waters (@Wornpick) August 5, 2015

Britain’s Telegraph reported that the idea to share the wedding joy with refugees came from the groom’s father, Ali Uzumcuoglu, who told the Turkish newspaper Serhat Kilis that he hoped their act would inspire other couples to do the same.

The bride told the news site i100 that she at first was “shocked” by the idea.

"I was shocked when Fethullah first told me about the idea but afterwards I was won over by it. It was such a wonderful experience. I’m happy that we had the opportunity to share our wedding meal with the people who are in real need," she said.

"Seeing the happiness in the eyes of the Syrian refugee children is just priceless. We started our journey to happiness with making others happy and that’s a great feeling," the groom said.

Other guests were also recruited to dish out food with the help of the Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu.

“For us, it was an interesting wedding dinner,” the groom’s father said.