Bride glad mum saw her 'big day' before dying despite groom not showing up

A bride who decided to go ahead with her wedding celebrations after the groom ran away has made clear she has no regrets for one very good and heartbreaking reason.

Kayley Stead and her partner got engaged in August 2020 after four years of dating, but on the morning of the wedding, Kayley learned the groom had left with his groomsman and hadn't returned.

She was, naturally, stunned and heartbroken at first, but rather than let her big day go to waste, Kayley decided to make the most of all of her plans and celebrate with her loved ones around her.

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She danced her way to the top table at the wedding to Lizzo's uplifting track 'Good As Hell', and replaced her first dance for a boogie with her dad, brothers and the groomsmen to 'Love You To The Moon and Back' by Dolly Parton.

Kayley cancelled the honeymoon after being left at the altar, but her decision to persevere with the day was celebrated as she appeared on This Morning after the 'wedding'.

On the show, hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield revealed she could go ahead with her honeymoon thanks to a £2,000 gift from the chat show and travel company, Hays Travel.

However, all of Kayley's plans were put on hold at the end of 2022 when her mum, 65-year-old Dee, passed away.

The bride explained: "I haven't cashed the honeymoon in - my mum passed away, which has been another horrible thing."

Though Kayley admitted her last few months have been a 'rollercoaster', her experiences have made her even happier about her decision to go ahead with her wedding and have the opportunity to 'make those memories' with her mum.

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"She got to see me dancing with my dad - who always said he wouldn't dance at my wedding!," Kayley said. "When one door closes, a window opens. And I want to pull that window open as much as possible, and soak up all the sun."

With her mum in attendance, Kayley enjoyed her wedding entrance, meal, speeches, dances and even posed for professional photos.

She's not spoken to her runaway groom yet, but she's also not ready to start dating again and instead wants to just focus on herself.

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"I'm not ready at the minute, especially after losing my mum. It was weird going out without my engagement ring. I just need to focus on myself a bit more," she said.

"I'm not Kayley-and-someone-else now. I'm just Kayley. I've had incredible highs and incredible lows. In fact, I'd love to go back and do the whole wedding on my own again, as I am now. I think I'd enjoy it 10 times more!"