A family in California turned sorrow into joy after their daughter's fiancée broke off the engagement.

Kari Duane's eldest daughter, Quinn, had planned to be married on Saturday but on Monday her fiancée had cold feet and cancelled the wedding.

However, the deposits were already paid and the plans set. So Kari decided to use the opportunity to host a feast for the homeless community in their hometown, Sacramento.

"When I found out on Monday that the wedding would not be taking place, it just seemed like, of course, this would be something that we would do to give back," Kari said.

"We were like, OK then, we are going to serve," she told Buzzfeed News.

Through connections with local homeless shelters, the event was advertised and around 90 adults and children attended.

"To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind," one attendant, Erike Craycraft told KRCA, a local news site.

Sacramento's Citizen Hotel served its four-star food in abundance and what was intended to be a wedding reception was instead filled with the town's destitute.

"When you're going through a hard time and a struggle for you to get out to do something different and with your family, it was really a blessing," said Craycraft's husband, Abdullah.

"This is not coming out of our kitchen. We love our chef Leo, but he wouldn't be preparing nothing like this," homeless mother Tamara Dotson said of the food served at the local shelter.

Although they were able to provide for many, it was still a painful night for the Duanes and the bride-to-be stayed at home with friends.

"I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her," said Kari, who ran the evening. "But I will take away something good from this."