Do you recognize these brides and grooms? Videographer wants to find couples in lost wedding footage
SUMMIT, New Jersey (WABC) -- A wedding is usually the event of a lifetime and most couples want to preserve the memory with a video of the special occasion.
But for nearly scores of couples in our area, the videos they paid thousands of dollars for were never seen and thought to be lost forever, until 7 On Your Side went looking.
We are trying to find couples who were married in 2015 or 2016 and hired a company named Stix Productions based in Summit, New Jersey. While researching our story for one viewer, we learned the owner of the video company died suddenly and tragically. But we happened to find thousands of hours of raw footage showing dozens of weddings, and we're anxious to reunite brides and grooms with their precious memories
"I was in shock. I screamed from excitement. I had to pull over," Jill Siev said.
It was a moment three years in the making. It's when we found the former blushing bride's long-lost, never-seen wedding video -- years after she tied the knot on Long Island.
"I've got it all right here, it's all raw footage," said the videographer and owner of George Segale Studios, who's tasked with matching up raw wedding videos with brides and grooms.
"It was a tragedy, something we don't like to talk about," Segale said.
In fall of 2016, his friend, fellow videographer, Eddie Aghahowa, fatally shot his wife, Julie Matte, and then killed himself. His company, Stix Productions, was in the process of scoring and editing dozens of wedding videos.
Segale says he's wading through thousands of hours of footage.
Many couples, like Jill and Jared had no idea their videographer had died.
After the violent crime in October of 2016, the Matte family says they actually found wedding videos belonging to seven or eight couples. But they approached Segale - asking him to go through the computer drives to help reunite additional married couples with their priceless videos.
"Not a lot of people know that I have the footage that they're looking for," Segale said.
What he could salvage he secured. But the clips are only labeled by brides and grooms first names he's never met. He had no phone numbers or addresses.
While interviewing Segale -- we unexpectedly found Jill and Jared's wedding video files, randomly checking the first of five recovered hard drives.
"7 On Your Side, you are incredible!" Siev said. "You guys are the only people that helped me."
And Segale is hoping other couples will find their happily ever after as well.
"I want people to know, I might have it (their wedding videos). I'm not promising you, I do, but there's a good chance," Segale said.
There are wedding videos that were lost but found. But we need your help reuniting brides and grooms with their priceless videos.
Here are some of these "lost" wedding videos:
Take a look -- if you know any of the couples please contact 7 On Your Side Producer Steve Livingstone at steve.j.livingstone@abc.com. He'll help put you in touch with the videographer who may have your wedding video.
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