A reunion worth recording.

A couple’s 1966 wedding vinyl recording was reunited with its rightful owners after being mistakenly sold at a Texas thrift store. 

Katie Ornelas bought a record from a thrift store in Austin and was surprised when she opened “The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn” slip to find “Phil’s and Donna’s Wedding.”  

She started up her record player and heard a recording of wedding vows, prayers and cheers.

“We put it on, and we were just instantly, just connected with that record and wanted to make sure it found its way back to its family, because it was in a different sleeve,” Ornelas told local news channel KXAN-TV.

“So we anticipated that it’s probably missing its owners.”

Determined to reunite it with its family, she shared her story with the media, hoping to track down the owners.

Her efforts paid off when the story was spotted online by the daughter of Phil and Donna Schmidt. 

Donna explained that the couple married in 1966 in Los Altos Hills, California, before moving to Austin. There, Donna’s husband, Phil, taught at the University of Texas for over 40 years.

When they relocated to Denver in 2022, they held an estate sale, during which their wedding record was accidentally sold with their jazz collection. 

“We had an estate sale that cleared out everything from our home that wouldn’t fit in our new apartment,” Schmidt said.

“We had a large record collection and somehow our wedding vinyl made its way into a jazz cover. Makes me wonder what other treasure we left behind?”

The return of the record was especially meaningful for the Schmidts, who’re planning a major milestone next year.

“What a gift for us to have this recording back in time for our 59th next year!”