The Butterfly Effect
Updated: 5 days ago
How a TikTok Video Led to a Wedding I'll Never Forget
You've heard of the Butterfly Effect right? I'd like to share a story about how the Butterfly Effect made it from Texas to Massachusettes in just three days.
Let’s make something clear right off the bat…I’m never ahead of a trend. Usually, by the time I discover something on social media, everyone is already deep in whatever the trend is. And I’m sort of a timeless classic at heart, so trends aren’t something I try to get to before everyone else. But one night, while scrolling TikTok, I came across a video before it went viral. I had no idea it would lead me to a wedding in Cape Cod or introduce me to a woman whose kindness would touch so many lives and fill my very own heart with a renewed sense of faith in humanity.
The video I ran across showed a young woman at a pawn shop counter speaking with an elderly gentleman. As I watched and read the description, the story began to unfold.
The customer was Donald, a 90-year-old veteran. His wife was living with dementia, and he was working tirelessly to care for her in their home and provide all that she needed without having to move her into a facility. To help pay for her care, he was pawning her wedding jewelry. With no family or children to turn to for support, he was doing everything he could for the woman he loved.
When Donald returned to collect the jewelry, the young woman behind the counter had something unexpected to tell him. The shop was giving the jewelry back and without interest. That simple act of kindness didn’t stop there, she also shared that more than 25 different people, including staff, came together with their own money together to help give just a little more. A total of $1,300…so not only did he get his jewelry back, he also walked away with an additional $1,300 that he didn’t expect that day. And it doesn’t stop there…
I was moved to tears. The kindness among strangers was extraordinary, but Donald’s story also felt deeply personal. My own father had passed away from Alzheimer’s about a year and a half prior. Looking after someone with Alzheimer’s is incredibly difficult, sad, and takes a toll on the caregiver. I knew how painful it was to watch someone you love live with that disease, and Donald’s perseverance to care for his wife until the bitter end was the kind of love movies are made of.
As I often do when scrolling, I went through the comments and the young lady’s profile to figure out who she was. Was she an influencer trying to profit off someone, or just a regular person trying to make a difference? I’ll give you a hint. She was just a regular person in the midst of changing a life and she didn’t even know it.
An Unexpected Offer - While Things Build Under the Surface
As I went to the young woman’s profile to learn more about her, I learned her name was Jenelle, she lived in New England and was simply someone who had done a good deed and shared the story to bring attention to seniors and veterans who are too often overlooked. A bright ray of sunshine in a world we often only hear the bad things about.
A few posts back, I noticed that she had recently gotten engaged.
So...hoping I wouldn’t sound like a complete stalker sliding into her private messages, I reached out. I introduced myself as Kathy, the owner of Plan It With Me in Dallas, told her how much her story had moved me, and offered to plan her wedding for free.
I didn’t know if she would take me seriously or even respond, nor did I realize what was about to happen. While I waited for her reply, her story began reaching more and more people. In just three days, the story went viral. 1.9 million views viral! The story immediately spread across the internet and was picked up by multiple New England media outlets.
The video’s comment section was filled with people who wanted to help Donald. People encouraging her to start a GoFundMe account for him, so she did. Over the next three days, I watched as the fundraiser exceeded a $10,000 goal. Then $25,000…$50,000…$100,000 and $300,000. To date, Jenelle has raised a little over $500,000. Her kindness, and the kindness of everyone who contributed, most literally, changed Donald’s life. You can even hear him say at the end of the video, “If I could get out from under this rock, I could take better care of my wife.” I think it’s safe to say, he’s on his way out.
When Jenelle finally responded, she apologized for the delay as she was obviously busy handling the influx of comments and donations for sweet Donald and his wife. She was thrilled by my offer but explained that she lived nowhere near Dallas but rather than she lived in New Hampshire. That didn’t bother me in the least! I told her that I have family in Boston, and I could combine a trip to see them, with a trip to serve her. More than anything, I wanted to pay-it-forward and take an opportunity to give something back to someone who had given so much of herself to help a stranger.
The Deeper Meaning Behind Why This Particular Story Hit Home
My connection to Donald’s situation began with my father, but it reached back even further.
About 25 years ago, my own sister needed a stem-cell transplant. While the insurance industry would pay for her to be sick and in the hospital, it wouldn’t actually pay for a procedure that was promising to save her life. It was an experimental surgery, with amazing outcomes, but experimental none-the-less, so insurance wouldn’t pay. Isn’t that ironic. Pay for you to be sick but not pay for you to get well…but I digress.
I had put together a series of fundraisers for my sister and the very first one got covered by WFAA, a local station in Dallas. That story was seen by a lady who had lost her grandmother to Lupus, the disease my sister was fighting, and felt compelled to help. This was before social media, so the next morning I got a phone call from a lady that offered to pay for the whole procedure. A week later, that stranger saved my sister and gave a family back their daughter, and two children back their mother. Today my sister is still with us and doing well. While there may be medical ups and downs from time-to-time, she is thankfully doing well. She’s even part of the Plan It With Me team. Check out Kim’s profile on the “Who We Are” page.
Our family knows firsthand what it means to receive such genuine kindness from a stranger. Watching Janelle do that for Donald brought those memories rushing back. It reminded me that one person’s generosity can reach further than they may ever know. Now it was my turn to give back.
A Wedding Filled with Generosity
Janelle and her family welcomed me into their lives, and together we planned her wedding, which took place on October 17, 2026. It was easily one of my favorite weddings to date.
Along the way, other wedding vendors came together to support her, too. Almost every vendor involved contributed in one way or another, above and beyond their paid-for services. All because they were inspired by a single individual, Jenelle. What began with one act of kindness at a pawn shop had become something so much bigger, that everyone wanted to be a part of.
The wedding industry is often criticized how expensive weddings are. And while they are truly expensive, they aren’t expensive because we are all getting rich off of it. Trust me, that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Most of us are just good, honest, hard-working people that have a dream to run their own business and be part of someone’s best day. The reality is that living in general and doing business today are expensive…period. Just staffing alone can drive the price up, but when you add in cost of goods, the prices are quite honestly overwhelming to most. My goal for offering to do their wedding for free, and sharing this story, is that I hope it shines a light on the generous, caring people who work in this industry and who show up for others in meaningful ways. Social media shows us the good, the bad, and the ugly….often the bad and the ugly over the good. Share this story with other’s and let’s push the “good” into the world.
I’ll never forget Janelle, her family, or the kindness and light she shared with the world. I’m grateful I had the chance to play a small part in her story and to help celebrate the love she and Jamie have for each other. Since the wedding Jenelle and I continue to stay in touch and are already inviting each other for visits. I feel like I found a sister that was separated at birth…she just has a wicked cooler accent than I do.
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from all of this, it’s that there are so many good people in the world. One simple gesture can set off a butterfly effect, changing lives and bringing people together in ways none of us could have imagined. Being part of that is something I’ll treasure forever.
Written by: Kathy Bull, Owner
Professional photography by: Fountain Media | IG: @fountainmediaboston
Candid photography by: Plan It With Me
Boy Was I Wrong...
I cannot say enough amazing things about Kathy from Plan It With Me! First, I have to admit something…I was always the person who thought hiring a wedding planner was an unnecessary expense. I genuinely never thought I would need one, and BOY, WAS I WRONG! Looking back, having Kathy by our side was hands down one of the BEST things that could have happened throughout our entire wedding planning process! From start to finish, Kathy was absolutely incredible and played such a huge part in making our wedding day so special. She is professional, organized, thoughtful, and truly goes above and beyond to make sure every little detail is taken care of. Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, and there are SO many things you don’t even realize need to be done until you’re in the middle of it all. Having someone like Kathy by your side makes all the difference. Her attention to detail, dedication, and ability to make everything come together so beautifully are unmatched! Even when things didn’t go exactly as originally planned, including having to move our beach ceremony indoors because of the wind, Kathy helped make sure everything was still absolutely beautiful. Being able to enjoy our wedding day without worrying about every little detail was PRICELESS! But what I really want people to know is that Kathy is so much more than an incredible wedding planner. She is genuinely one of the kindest, most selfless people you could ever meet. After seeing the story of Donald, a veteran we helped through a GoFundMe on TikTok, Kathy was inspired to pay that kindness forward by generously offering her services for our wedding. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about the kind of heart this woman has. She took an act of kindness and turned it into another, and Jamie and I will never forget what she did for us. Her generosity, compassion, and genuine desire to make a difference in people’s lives are something truly special. Our wedding day was everything we could have dreamed of and more, and we are forever grateful to have had Kathy be such a big part of it. If you’re planning a wedding or special event and questioning whether you really need a planner, TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO THOUGHT THE SAME THING — YOU DO! And Kathy is the person you want by your side! Thank you, Kathy, from the bottom of our hearts. Not just for helping make one of the most important days of our lives so unforgettable, but for reminding us that there are still truly wonderful people in this world. We will never forget your kindness, and we cannot recommend you enough! Love, Jenelle & Jamie
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Special thanks to all the vendors that made this special event happen!
Planner: @planitwithme
Venue & Catering: @seacrestcapecod
DJ: @delightdjent
Violinist: Spencer Strings, Wendy Fortin
Bakery: @montilios
Florist: @salt_and_sea_floral
Hair: @thehairhustlerr
Make-Up: @maekalahmakeup
Photo/Video: @fountainmediaboston
Content Creation: @astry.martinezz
Wedding Dress Shop: @sparkbridal
Wedding Dress Designer: @allurebridals
Tux: @menswearhouse
Bride: @Jenelle.marie
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