New husband and wife donate and serve reception food at Ohio shelter

Tyler and Melanie Tapajna started married life off by sharing their joy with others through plates of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and green beans.

The Parma, Ohio, couple planned their August wedding before the coronavirus pandemic, hiring a DJ and ordering catering from a food truck called Betty's Bomb Ass Burgers. They had expected to celebrate with 150 friends and relatives, but had to scrap their big wedding because of COVID-19. The Tapajnas decided not to cancel the catering order, though, choosing to serve it at Laura's Home, a shelter for women and children run by the City Mission in Cleveland.

"You can definitely give back in times like this," Melanie Tapajna told CNN. Tyler and Melanie tied the knot in front of immediate family members spread out in their backyard, then went to Laura's Home, where the new husband and wife added face masks, gloves, and hair nets to their wedding attire. They served 135 women and children, and Rich Trickel, CEO of the City Mission, told CNN nothing like this had ever happened before at Laura's Home.

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"It was really unbelievable, especially when you think of many of our clients, the women and kids that are in our building, possibly have never been at a wedding like that before," he said. Catherine Garcia