- Katherine Jones from Liverpool hosted her friends and family in Tuscany
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It was supposed to be the perfect wedding day set in a stunning 18th-century country estate in the Tuscan countryside.
But Katherine Jones' nuptials took a turn when her groom, who popped the question in Thailand after almost seven years of dating, left her one week before their August wedding while their guests were already on the plane to Italy.
Far from letting that ruin her months of planning, though, the 36-year-old from Liverpool declared 'the show must go on', and threw the party she had always dreamed of, with everyone except her fiancé enjoying the free-flowing drinks, dancing and entertainment.
'He told me a week beforehand and then disappeared to work in the south. My mother and I had to pick up the pieces ourselves,' she told 20 Minuten.
Despite initially mourning the end of the relationship, Katherine quickly realised she didn't want to lose out on months of planning and the thousands spent on the wedding and decided to go ahead with the plan alone.
Instead of wearing her wedding dress, which she never picked up from the store, Katherine wore the dress intended for the evening party.
She recalled: 'When I put it on, I just thought, 'So typical of my life. But I'm so glad I'm not marrying such a loser and that I get to experience butterflies again.''
Katherine Jones (pictured), 36, from Liverpool, threw her dream wedding earlier this month - despite her groom breaking up with her
Much of the rest of the wedding went to plan: Katherine had her makeup professionally done in the morning before the party kicked off, her sisters delivered speeches, which included a few updated words of advice ('don't date a dog'), and a singer entertained guests in the evening.
Guests enjoyed a whole weekend of fun, including candlelit dinners and taking a dip in the pool with stunning views of Tuscany's countryside.
While she declined to reveal the cost of the wedding, she explained that her ex-fiancé would foot the bill for the party once their shared home has sold.
Instead of giving wedding presents, guests gave money to help fund the cost of her honeymoon.
She has since enjoyed the trip to Capri and Salerno with her mother, dubbing it a 'mummymoon', and said she plans to sell the engagement ring and dress - but will keep the wedding ring.
Behind the scenes, Katherine admitted to tearing up in between all the laughter - and explained that the hardest part was after all the guests left the wedding.
But another positive from the ordeal is that footage from her 'wedding' has since gone viral on TikTok, with one clip, titled: 'POV: You escaped a divorce,' getting over 7.5 million views.
Viewers took to the comment section to support Katherine, with one saying: 'Kind of chic to have a wedding without a groom.'
Katherine's guests enjoyed a weekend of fun at the villa in Tuscany, Italy
A second wrote: 'Cheaper than a divorce, and you still get swag pics.' While a third added: 'I can't imagine how much pain you're in.
'I know social media is one thing, but that was someone you love and trusted. I'm so sorry you were hurt this way. But I wish you nothing but love and support like the comments are giving you.'
A fourth said: 'Your friends and family are legends for pulling through and making sure you had the best weekend surrounded by good vibes and lots of love. Hopefully he spent the weekend crying into his drink, alone!
Another said: 'You will always be that girl who held her head up high and made the best of an awful situation. Congrats on being amazing!'