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Planning a wedding often comes with its fair share of surprises. Between coordinating vendors, confirming guest lists and managing last-minute details, couples learn to expect the occasional hiccup. But for one Kansas bride, the biggest surprise arrived not from a wedding supplier \u2014 but from the mail.<\/p>\n
Just over two weeks before she was set to fly off and exchange vows in Vatican City, Katrina Badowski opened a letter from the Wyandotte County District Court, as seen on a viral TikTok video. Inside was a jury summons informing her that she had been randomly selected for jury duty.<\/p>\n
At first, she wasn\u2019t alarmed. In fact, Badowski said she had always been interested in serving on a jury and had never received a summons in more than a decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it deeply ironic that I haven\u2019t been summoned for jury duty in over a decade, as I would genuinely welcome the opportunity,\u201d she told PEOPLE. \u201cI\u2019ve always thought it would be fascinating to experience that civic responsibility, particularly for a complex or high-profile case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked at the date.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe odds of being called on the exact day of my wedding feels like one of those moments where the universe has a sense of humor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ignoring a jury summons wasn\u2019t an option, but neither was reporting for duty. Badowski and her fianc\u00e9, Billie Rodriguez, had already finalized flights, accommodations, vendors and a ceremony at Saint Peter\u2019s Basilica in Vatican City, making it impossible for her to be in two places at once.<\/p>\n
Still, with so many wedding details demanding attention, the jury notice briefly slipped to the bottom of her ever-growing to-do list.<\/p>\n
When Badowski revisited the summons<\/a> several days later, she immediately contacted the Office of the Jury Clerk. She explained that she would be getting married in Italy on the day she was ordered to report.<\/p>\n![](\"\/\/image-2.apost.com\/media\/articletranslation\/2026\/09\/11\/12\/d25cdba45ead6ec1f89bde8e7b307b2a_500x1.jpg\")
(YouTube)<\/span><\/p>\n