Toronto couple Samantha Jackson and Farzin Yousefian had planned a big traditional wedding for May 2016.
The venue was booked, the guest list of 130 drawn up and the caterers were already working out the menu.
But, their involvement with the Ryerson University Lifeline Syria Challenge, which raises money to help refugees settle in Canada, and then the heartbreaking photo of drowned Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach, prompted a change of heart.
They decided to cancel the big wedding and use the opportunity to fundraise instead.