Bride lost her fiancé before the wedding — but what she did at the altar left 70 people in tears
When Giovanni Paolo Ronghi died suddenly at 29, just hours before his girlfriend Kaky Daniel’s birthday in 2022, the world went quiet for Daniel, as reported by PEOPLE on Monday, November 24, 2025. Yet there were voices that kept reaching her, showing up, sitting beside her through her pain and silence, which eventually gave her something to hold on to.
For Daniel, it wasn’t a single moment of clarity but a gradual return to herself. She says her friends’ support, along with a growing desire to honor “emotional connection even more urgently,” helped her heal instead of allowing grief to take over entirely. This year, when she realized that her 40th birthday was close, she knew she didn’t want a typical celebration. She wanted something that acknowledged the people who had been with her through sunshine and storms.
An event planner by profession, she created what she calls a “sisterhood wedding,” a ceremony where she exchanged vows not with a partner, but with 70 women who had helped her make it through. “Why shouldn't I say vows to the women who were at my side at the funeral home when he died and who helped me grieve the man I thought I would marry?” Daniel said. “This wedding was my way of honoring the people who loved me back to life.”
“Throughout my life, my biggest loves, my supporters, my protectors, my teachers, my lifelines have always been my friends,” she explained. “I realized that instead of waiting for a romantic wedding to show gratitude, I wanted to honor the people who have been there for me decade after decade.” In November 2025, the three-day, $250,000 event unfolded in Cartagena, Colombia, the same city where her parents were married 60 years ago. A welcome reception at Hotel Voilá opened the weekend, followed by the rooftop ceremony at Movich Hotel Cartagena de Indias, a reception dinner and after-party hosted at Restaurante Donjuan, and finally, a day at the private island Zamaz Barú.
Daniel wore a beaded gown and a custom veil embroidered with the names of her 70 friends, whereas each woman arrived in her own white bridal dress, complete with a gifted engagement bracelet. She skipped the traditional aisle walk and said vows to her gang. “We promised loyalty, protection, encouragement, emotional support, celebrating each other’s wins, honesty, being present, reminding each other of our worth, praying for each other, healing together, and committing to a lifetime of friendship,” she stated. All 70 women said “I do” together, and Daniel went on to add, “I wanted to break the idea that a woman’s biggest moment has to be tied to a man or marriage, I wanted to show that community is real wealth and that friendship deserves ceremonies too.”
Her instinct to honor her friendships also echoes research. According to a study on "Adult friendship and wellbeing," published with the National Library of Medicine in January 2023, friendship is a powerful type of relationship with its own impact on psychological wellbeing. This study shows that friends can significantly reduce stress from painful life events, offering emotional security and a sense of safety during moments that feel threatening or unfamiliar.
The celebrations also included heartfelt tributes for three cancer survivors. In every moment, the message stayed the same: love isn’t lost when a romantic chapter ends. It simply shifts, and sometimes it returns multiplied by seventy.