Drew and Kayla Gottfried thought their wedding video was lost forever.
A family friend had recorded their event on July 20, 2007, but when they tried to get their video digitized as a DVD after their honeymoon, they were told the tape was blank.
While they were disappointed about their loss, they went on to welcome two children and enjoy married life.
They had no idea their luck would turn around almost 14 years later. Their video had been sitting in a box safe and sound at Life Bible Church in Harrisburg, Oregon.
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Drew and Kayla Gottfried lost their wedding video in 2007. While they were disappointed about their loss, they went on to welcome two children and enjoy married life. (Drew Gottfried)
"A different friend from the church is the one who found it and told me," Drew, 35, said in a phone interview with Fox News.
"He was just going through old tapes of the church and he found one and saw that he recognized us from the video," Drew explained. "He didn't even know that we didn't have our videos. He just found it and messaged me and said, ‘Look what I found.’"
Instead of alerting Kayla right away, Drew decided it would be best to surprise her on their 14th wedding anniversary.
He rented out a local movie theater and arranged for a private showing. On the big day, he kept Kayla in suspense.
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When they were tucked away in the theater, Drew aimed his phone camera at Kayla to capture her reaction.
Almost 14 years after the Gottfrieds lost their wedding video, Drew, 35, found out the tape had gotten mixed up in a box at church. (Drew Gottfried)
"I couldn’t even begin to think of a movie that he would be so excited to watch," Kayla, 34, told Fox News. "I thought, ‘Shoot. What if I am not as excited as he thinks I’m going to be?’"
But, her worries were put at ease and were quickly replaced with joy when the trailers concluded and their wedding video began playing onscreen.
"When our video popped up, I was so excited. I just couldn’t believe it," Kayla said.
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It didn’t take long for the tears to form in between her laughs of disbelief – all of which Drew has captured on his phone.
@earthsassassin A surprise 14 Years in the making! #weddinganniversary #love #happiness
♬ original sound - Drew Gottfried
Drew shared the clip with family and friends on TikTok and it immediately went viral. Currently, the clip has more than 6.1 million views and 16,600 comments from users who were touched by the Gottfrieds’ special moment.
"Imagine never seeing your wedding playback for 14 years!!!!! The pain you helped her heal omg," one commenter wrote.
"She just fell in love again when she realized the effort you put in," another user shared.
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Drew said he and his wife never expected their video to take off as it has.
"Reading the comments has been really fun," he added. "It seems like just about everybody has gotten their own little bit of joy from seeing her reaction to our situation."
Drew and Kayla Gottfried tell Fox News they have gone on to digitize their recovered wedding video. (Drew Gottfried)
Now the Gottfrieds have multiple, digitized copies of their wedding video saved and they said they’re holding it close to their hearts.
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"This is by far the biggest surprise," Kayla told Fox News. "There have been other little surprises. But, I’ve just learned to not ask questions and just go with it. It always turns out specular."
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