TSA Employee Rescues Bride's Wedding Dress Left at Airport Security: She 'Saved' the Wedding

Georgia Slater
·2 min read

Kiyoshi Hijiki/Getty

A New Jersey TSA agent saved a passenger's wedding day after a key element of her big day was left at airport security!

One day before Narolin Cepeda was scheduled to get married in Ohio, the bride and her family passed through Newark Liberty International Airport to hop on a plane with all their wedding essentials — including Cepeda's gown.

While going through security, Cepeda's mother accidentally left a roller bag that contained both the bride and her mother's gowns behind.

Christopher Cepeda, the bride's brother, quickly contacted the TSA’s Lost and Found Office but wasn't optimistic that he would get an answer, as the average response time was about five days, he told the Asbury Park Press.

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"As soon as I submitted the request, we lost hope of retrieving the luggage in time for the wedding," Christopher said.

Luckily, the email fell into the hands of TSA administrative assistant Loletta Nathan-Gordon, who was quick to spring into action.

"She called me immediately after the request and I was ecstatic to hear from TSA so quickly," Christopher recalled.

Nathan-Gordon explained that she received the email at 11:54 a.m. and by noon she had already confirmed that the roller bag was still at the checkpoint.

Scott Olson/Getty CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 02: Passenger go through TSA screening at a nearly-deserted O'Hare International Airport on April 2, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The airport, which typically serves 8.2 million passengers a month, has closed two of its seven runways as the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced air travel. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

After having a colleague pick up the bag and bring it back to her, Nathan-Gordon immediately arranged for the suitcase to be shipped overnight with early delivery.

The official was eager to help as she "could only imagine how stressful that would have been for me if my mom would have left the dress behind," she told the Press.

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"I would have freaked out," Nathan-Gordon said.

The suitcase arrived at Narolin's at 8:55 a.m. the following morning just in time for the wedding.

“She literally saved my sister’s wedding,” Christopher added. “If it wasn’t for her, everything would have been a disaster.”