When Bronia Tindall and Fabrizio Clementi tied the knot in New Zealand, they noticed something that unsettled them — a homeless man sitting just outside of their venue. They weren’t disturbed that the homeless man was so close to their magic day, but rather than nobody seemed to be lending him a helping hand.
The couple quickly sprung into action, heading over to the homeless man’s location and offering him a big piece of their wedding cake. When they were leaving the church, the couple noticed the man sitting barefoot in the grass across the street.
56-year old Miller Patane explained that he had been homeless for more than three decades. He also thought the couple was about to ask him to leave the vicinity.
“I was a little bit nervous. Not very many people are kind to me,” Patane says. “That lady that got married, she was kind to me.”
Patane admits that it was tempting to grab some of the cake that was set out during the wedding. Resisting temptation ultimately paid off for him when bride Tindall brought him a piece of cake and groom Clementi offered him cigarettes.
“‘Thank you very much for helping me,’” Patane said to the couple. “I hope they have a long and fruitful life.”
The newly married couple had no idea that wedding photographers Ben Franks and Steve May documented the exchange.
“We captured this moment after the ceremony,” Franks and May wrote in a Facebook post. “This just reflects the generosity and spirit of two very special people who take the time to really help people in need. It’s impossible to witness a moment like this and not be emotional.”
After the photo went viral in New Zealand, a reunion was orchestrated between Patane and the couple, who are now moving to Rome.
Patane hopes the exchange will shift opinion among some people. “Don’t judge people,” he says. “Because every man has a story.”
We wish this generous newlywed couple and long and fruitful life together.
