Against all odds, 173 pictures were extracted from the sandy camera.
When high school sweethearts Heather and Kole decided to tie the knot, they thought there was no better to be married than the beach.
The couple had a picture perfect wedding in Laguna Beach, where they and their guests placed their cameras and purses on a nearby sea wall after the ceremony.
But the good time came to a grinding halt as a wave came crashing down, taking with it all the precious items stowed in what they thought was a safe place.
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The devastated bride and groom jumped in the ocean after the camera, but it—and the once-in-a-lifetime moments captured—were gone.
Two months later, however, their luck would improve.
Alex Noble and his girlfriend Maria were strolling down the same beach when Alex stepped on something.
“I realized that it was a camera,” he told Inside Edition.
Read: Photographer Snaps Incredible Wedding Photo Of Couple In Women's March
The couple gave it to Maria’s brother, who against all odds was able to extract 172 pictures from the sandy camera.
Nick put the photos on Facebook, where a friend of a friend recognized the bride.
“I screamed and yelled ‘Kole! Someone found our pictures!’” Heather told Inside Edition.
The newlyweds were stunned.
“There are not enough words to say how grateful we are,” she said.
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