A Turkish bride and groom opted to feed 4,000 Syrian refugees instead of holding a traditional wedding reception.  Fethullah Üzümcüoğlu and Esra Polat weighed feeding their family and friends against feeding those who are hungry, displaced, and traumatized.

“Hopefully this will also give the start for other wedding dinners to be held here with our brothers from Syria,” the groom said.  Nearly four million Syrians are now living outside their country in harsh, humiliating, and even inhumane conditions, having fled the civil war that rages there.

You can read more about the couple’s special day here, which they turned into a special day for thousands.  And if you’re planning your own wedding and are inspired by this couple to help out those in need near you, all the better.