Philadelphia couple recovers stolen wedding album with help from SEPTA

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- For a young Center City Philadelphia couple, this is a tale of lost and found. It is maybe the most romantic case of lost and found we're ever likely to know.

You get one chance at a wedding; once chance at the perfect shots to embody the day.

"Everyone says, 'Oh! It was the best day of our lives.' But I feel like every day is the best day of my life with him," says Brittany Ellis.

Gavin and Brittany Ellis were married on July 28, 2018. Their day was perfectly captured in an album they curated themselves.

But the album was swiped from their front steps.

"I called FedEx, they said we have to contact the Chinese shipping company, they have to contact the manufacturer and then file a police report. So, it was just back-and-forth for everybody. We just said, 'We're not getting anywhere with this,'" said Brittany.

One replacement and nine months later came a tweet from an unlikely place: SEPTA.

"I thought it was a phishing scam at first. They said we have a report of a lost item at a station that I've never been to before," said Gavin Ellis.

It came from the Frankford Transportation Center. Specifically, Ashley Lee, a customer service agent for the last 11 years. An unmarked box was found onboard a train and dumped into the lost and found. Inside the box was a book of precious memories.

"They were so beautiful, truly a wedding one would dream of. Britney's gown was gorgeous, Gavin was like her knight in shining armor, you could see the joy in their eyes. It was really amazing," said Lee.

Their first names were the only distinguishing feature. But Lee said, after hours of searching pictures, "We found a photo of the party favors and the groom had his full name!"

"Our seating cards were all metro passes. The one for Gavin, because he's from Philadelphia, was a SEPTA Key," said Brittany. "So it's funny that SEPTA found it."

"It's just wild," Gavin said.

"It's kismet," Brittany said.

The couple was reunited with their album that same day.

"I presented it to them and they were looking at each other like, 'How?'" said Lee.

"I'm screaming, I'm crying, it was so nice!" said Brittany.

Who swiped the precious package? It's not known.

But what's important is that it got into the right hands - a woman dedicated to going above and beyond.