A bride who was jilted by her husband-to-be on their wedding day has told how she feels “amazed” by the reaction to her experience months after she decided to go ahead with the reception party. Kayley Stead, 27, was left at the altar by her fiancee, 24-year-old Kallum Norton, in September last year but went ahead with her wedding bash surrounded by family and friends. Now, seven months after the two were due to tie the knot at Oxwich Bay Hotel in Gower, Swansea, Ms Stead has reflected on her refusal to be broken by the day’s events.
She spoke about the event with New Zealand media firm Good Lad in early April.
Speaking to the organisation, she told how she was forced to decide whether to continue or abandon her big day on September 15, 2022.
She chose to forge on after her boyfriend of nearly four years disappeared on the morning of their wedding.
The then bride-to-be was talking to her sister while having her makeup done when she received the news that Mr Norton had gone for a drive.
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Despite being convinced that he would return, he never did.
But, undeterred, she decided she would spend the day celebrating self-love with her family and friends, many of whom came to the Welsh venue from Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere in the UK after years apart due to Covid,
She walked into her reception to Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” flanked by her bridal party and spent the evening dancing with her loved ones.
She and her loved ones created the “best party I’ve ever had”, one she would “go back and do again”.
Ms Stead reacted to Good Lad’s video post via her Facebook profile, saying she was happy to see her story continues to strike a chord.
She reacted to the post saying: “Still amazes me that my story lives on.”
The insurance clerk has experienced a fair share of heartbreak since last year, as she lost her mother, Dee Davies, in January.
Ms Davies died on January 15, leaving behind a loving family, and Ms Stead has credited her mother’s influence for her strength on her wedding day.
In a Facebook post on February 6, she said she was glad her mum lived to see her on the big day.
She wrote: “I was always proud of what I achieved from carrying on with the party when I got left, but since my mother’s passing its made the even more special.
“It’ll be something I can always look back on and treasure the moment I got to have with my mam and family!
“My mam go to be by my side the whole way through, she was my biggest cheerleader and will forever be my best friend.”
