A canceled wedding ended up being a blessing for dozens of homeless people in Sacramento.
After Kari Duane's daughter, Quinn, called to say that her fiancé had called off their wedding, Duane was determined to find a silver lining. Since she had already paid deposits for the $35,000 affair and still had to take care of the rest of the bills, Duane decided that instead of feeding 120 wedding guests, the dinner would be served to the homeless. "It just seemed like, of course, this would be something that we would do to give back," she told KCRA.
The first person to arrive Saturday at the banquet hall in Sacramento's Citizen Hotel was a woman who resides in a shelter that houses people who are older and no longer able to work, and also can't afford to pay rent. "I was thinking at that moment, if she's the only person that comes tonight, this was worth it," Duane said. The room ended up being filled with families, single people, the elderly, and children. Erika Craycraft and her husband and children, who struggle to eat three meals a day, enjoyed the dinner of appetizers, salmon, tri-tip, gnocchi, and cauliflower. "To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind," she said.
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Duane's daughter found it too difficult to come to the dinner, and stayed home with friends. Her mother was happy to have witnessed the one special thing to come out of the canceled wedding. "I feel a lot of heartache and heartbreak for her, but I will take away something good from this, I will," Duane said.
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