NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — A North Tonawanda couple that lost everything in a house fire plans to thank Western New York for their support during an interview with NBC’s Hoda & Jenna on Tuesday.
Bailey Godwin and Michael Lekanka are high school sweethearts and have been together for 10 years.
Michael proposed to Bailey in 2019 during a trip to Colorado, they have been planning their dream wedding in Costa Rica ever since.
On December 11 just weeks before their wedding, while visiting a friend in Rochester they learned their home on Sweeney Street caught fire.
"We got a phone call from my cousin saying the house was on fire and all we could do was look at each other, we didn't know what to do or what to say," said Michael.
While going over the list of important things in the house, Bailey remembered her wedding dress was inside.
Thanks to a gofundme, the community raised nearly $18,000 for the couple.
Once word got out about her wedding dress, women Bailey had never even met offered her theirs.
"At first it was complete strangers just offering me their dress and dresses they wore and had memories in," said Bailey.
Thankfully, Bailey's wedding dress was saved from the fire, but it needed a good cleaning. The men and women who fought to put out the fire that night, paid for the dry cleaning.
"She said the North Tonawanda Fire Department called Colvin Cleaners and asked if they could pay to clean my dress," she continued.
It’s just one of the many acts of kindness they say they've experienced like these past few weeks.
"It's unbelievable it leaves you speechless," said Michael.
It’s a message of gratitude they plan to share with America while on the Today Show with Hoda & Jenna on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
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