A woman has sparked a debate for still having her wedding reception after one of her guests nearly died during it.
In a video posted to TikTok on January 17, Kat Divone shared her response to a clip posted by @odditieinthemaking, who asked: “What did you do at your wedding that made your family members upset?”
“I kept the reception going after one of our guests died in the photobooth,” Divone said.
The video has over 2.9m viewers, so far, with TikTok users in the comments saying that they disagreed with Divone’s decision to keep this party on.
“Sorry but I think I’m team family on this one,” one viewer wrote, while another said: “Oh wow, usually side with the bride but girl no.”
Others were also shocked by the fact that this incident even happened.
“BRO WHAT,” a TikTok user said. “I mean there aren’t many things I’d stop my wedding for but someone dying is definitely one of them.”
However, there were a few viewers who understood why Divone didn’t want to stop her wedding reception.
“The average wedding costs 20k,” a comment reads. “Unless it was an immediate family member I’d have continued too.”
As many of the comments of this video were TikTok users asking how the assumed death at the wedding happened, Divone posted a story about it the following day.
In the clip, Divone explained that the guest was her 27-year-old cousin-in-law who has a “pre-existing heart condition.” While this cousin was in the photobooth, Divone and her husband heard a commotion.
“Her pre-existing heart condition acted up,” Divone explained. “Cardiac arrest, bam, on the floor, not breathing, 911.” This guest, who had “no pulse” at the time, was brought into an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Once she left, someone came into the bridal suite asking Divone what she wanted to do. In response, Divone said that she wanted to “keep going” since the guest just left for the hospital.
“At this point, I didn’t realise the extent of her s***,” the TikTok user added.
While she still continued her wedding, one-third of Divone’s guests left to go to the hospital.
Divone then revealed that despite what she said in her initial TikTok, her cousin-in-law didn’t “stay dead,” as they fitted a pacemaker for her the next day. She prefaced that this family member was doing fine and was now married herself.
Although this situation is over now, it appears that Divone may have some regrets about how she handled it. In the comments, someone asked: “Did you guys like not care about her at all? I just… I can’t imagine.”
“It was an impossible decision,” Divone wrote in response. “One that with the hindsight I have now I probably wouldn’t have made. But can’t change it now.”
The Independent has contacted Divone for comment.
