New Jersey

Couple Reunited With Wedding Photos That Washed Up in Strangers' Driveway During Sandy

A New Jersey couple about to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary has been reunited with their lost wedding photos, just one day after NBC 4 New York aired a report about a Staten Island couple who found the pictures while cleaning up after Sandy.

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Dominic and Patricia Guinta found the 53 black and white wedding photos while starting the process of remodeling their garage after Sandy flooded their Seaford Street home. They reached out to NBC 4 New York in the hopes of locating the owners.

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On Tuesday, Patricia Kearns' daughter called her to say she was watching NBC 4 New York's morning news show "Today in New York" and saw her parents' wedding pictures flash across the screen.

Kearns was speechless.

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"I saw the pictures, and it was just amazing," she said. "I broke down crying, because we don't have most of our pictures."

NBC 4 New York delivered the photos to Kearns and her husband Paul in their Teaneck, New Jersey, home Tuesday.

"I can't believe this," she said. "I'm just overwhelmed."

The couple, who are celebrating their anniversary next month, were overwhelmed with emotion as they shared memories of their wedding with their granddaughters.

Patricia Guinta had guessed the photos were taken in Brooklyn, where she grew up. Sure enough, the wedding had taken place in the borough where Patricia Kearns also grew up.

"That's in Brooklyn, honey," she said to her granddaughter as she pointed to a photo. "That's where Nonni lived, that's where she was brought up."

A Staten Island family is hoping to find the owners of a set of wedding photos that washed into their driveway during Sandy. Stacey Bell reports

As for how the photos wound up on Staten Island, the ringbearer in the photos is a nephew of Kearns -- and a neighbor of the Guintas. Derrick lives on Neptune Street, just a few blocks away from the Guintas' Seafoam Street home.

"I think they probably floated out of his house," said Patricia Kearns.

Now the pictures are back where they belong.

"I'm gonna be sitting here for the rest of the day and probably tomorrow, looking at my pictures," said Patricia Kearns.

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As for the strangers who worked so hard to get the precious wedding photos back to her, Patricia Kearns said, "I just want to give them a hug and tell them how much I appreciate what they did."

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