A family had invested thousands in a wedding - dinner for 200 at the Villa Christina restaurant, complete with gold plates, crystal glasses.  share tweet pin email 
 
 Today Children attend a party that was converted for a celebration for the homeless by a family who donated their cancelled wedding reception. Neither of the Fowlers had worked with "Hosea Feed the Hungry" before but knew about the organization because both of their children — their daughter, Tamara, and their son — had volunteered for the Atlanta-based nonprofit group. "It's a very creme de la creme wedding venue, so to say that you're going to host 200 homeless individuals at Villa Christina -- it sounds like a prank call."  When Willie and Carol Fowler's only daughter cancelled her wedding 40 days before she was set to walk down the aisle, the parents were faced with a venue, food and entertainment that had all been paid for. “In lieu of having all of our friends, and we could have packed the place with just our friends, he opted to have people from shelters be our guests,” he said. FOWLER: Forty days prior to the wedding, when we were made aware that there would no longer be a wedding, it was my husband's idea. "He said he had prayed on it during the night and God had directed him and that's what we were going to do." "We went home that evening and my husband woke up the next morning and I was in the process of cancelling out the venue and he said, 'No, what we'll do is donate it to Hosea Feed the Hungry,'" Carol Fowler told ABCNews.com today. "It's just that wonderful, rewarding feeling," Carol Fowler said. "When they first called, the administration thought it was a prank call because it was too good to be true," Quisa Foster of Hosea Feed the Hungry said. '” 
 
 Fowler said she loved the idea, especially since “we were going to spend this money anyway" with only 40 days left before the Sept. 15 ceremony. It was an eye-opening experience," Foster said. It is a nonprofit organization in Atlanta, Ga., that provides homeless individuals with services and resources. Fowler, who declined to comment on why the wedding was canceled, said her daughter found the experience “surreal but incredibly rewarding.” What made it all the more special was the fact that the party fell on the day before the 70th birthday of Fowler’s husband. Her entire family attended the celebration, including her husband, children and her grandchildren. “Carol and Bill did a phenomenal job of giving back to the community. "When you look at the faces of the women and children and actually participated in the event, they look like you and me," Foster said. Children were greeted by a clown, juggler and face painter. It could have been difficult situation but everyone worked together to make it a different kind of party. Their daughter was also on hand for a day that was "bittersweet but rewarding" for her, Willie Fowler said. "You go to weddings sometimes and you see a lot of people really waste food. Pick up the phone and call your favorite charity and offer it to them," Carol Fowler said. But when a wedding was canceled, the family decided to give it to the homeless. “The feeling was one you cannot explain, to see the faces and hear their thank you’s,” Fowler said of the guests.
– Willie and Carol Fowler were prepared to lose their deposits. Their daughter canceled her Georgia wedding with just 40 days' notice, and the venue, food, and entertainment were already paid for. Then Willie had "a vision," his wife tells ABC News. "I was in the process of canceling out the venue and he said, 'No, what we'll do is donate it to Hosea Feed the Hungry.'" Their daughter had volunteered for the organization, which helps homeless people in the Atlanta area, when she was younger. And that's how, on Sept. 15, the Fowler Family Celebration of Love was born. Two hundred guests were bused to Villa Christina for a four-course meal complete with coconut shrimp and salmon (the 50 kids in attendance got chicken fingers). The family hopes to get sponsors and make it an annual event, Carol tells WBUR. A rep for Hosea Feed the Hungry said the nonprofit initially thought the Fowlers were pulling their leg: "It's a very creme de la creme wedding venue, so to say that you're going to host 200 homeless individuals at Villa Christina—it sounds like a prank call." The Fowlers' daughter attended the event, and her dad says it was a "bittersweet but rewarding" experience; her mom tells Today Tamara found it "surreal but incredibly rewarding." Carol has this advice: "If you have canceled an event, do not walk away. Pick up the phone and call your favorite charity and offer it to them. We're regular, working people and anybody can do this. This is not star stuff." (In Boston, a homeless man who did a very good deed is being handsomely rewarded.)