The Heartwarming Reason Why This Couple Canceled Their Wedding

How far would you go to help those in need? Most of us probably wouldn't think of canceling a wedding to support a stranger, but one Canadian couple has done just that. Samantha Jackson and Farzin Yousefian got married at City Hall and are using the money they would have spent on their reception to help sponsor a Syrian refugee family resettling in Canada. Jackson, a public policy doctorate student, told ABC News on Monday that the couple had planned to host their wedding in March. The event would have cost more than $10,000, factoring in the price of the venue as well as the wedding vendors. But the couple decided that the money they'd budgeted for the wedding celebration would be better spent helping others, so they're donating it to help a Syrian family of four settle into Canada. "We realized how all the money we would've put to our wedding would be better used helping give Syrian refugee families the second chance they deserve," Jackson told ABC News. Jackson, who volunteers with the Ryerson University Lifeline Syria Challenge, and Yousefian had seen the heartbreaking photo of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian child who drowned as his family attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea. That image, which made headlines around the world, inspired them to personally get involved. Jackson added that the pair's family and friends were thrilled with the decision, and they contributed to sponsoring the Syrian refugees, too. Instead of offering the couple traditional wedding presents as gifts, guests donated money to the cause. "We thought this really has to be an opportunity for us to really use our wedding as a platform, as a way to make a difference alongside our friends and family in what has obviously become an absolutely outstanding humanitarian crisis," Jackson told Canada's CBC News. So far, Jackson and Yousefian have raised $17,500 to help a Syrian family with a year's worth of rent, clothing, and food. Their goal was to raise $27,000, the recommended amount needed to sponsor a Syrian refugee family of four for that amount of time. If you want to help the couple reach their fundraising goal, you can make an online donation at Ryerson University's website. "We feel like we made the right decision. After our civil ceremony, we felt like it was very true to what we wanted our marriage to symbolize and how we wanted to start new life as a couple," Jackson told BuzzFeed News. "People need to be reminded that a humanitarian crisis requires a humanitarian response."