Staten Island Woman Finds Wedding Dress Lost After Superstorm Sandy

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Staten Island woman has been reunited with her wedding dress that she thought was lost in Superstorm Sandy.

Nicole Pagliaro brought her dress to Hector Pacheco's dry cleaning store after her wedding in 2012. She later learned that the business was destroyed by flood waters and assumed her dress was lost forever.

But it turns out the gown survived.

"Like 95 percent of the stuff got damaged from the water, except that dress because we left that dress in the box," Pacheco told 1010 WINS.

Two weeks ago, Pagliaro spotted the gown in the window of Pacheco's new store while driving by with her husband.

"I would've never noticed it if I was driving by myself," Pagliaro said.

She went to the store with the original receipt and when Pacheco saw her, he exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's you!"

"He gives me a big hug and he's like, 'I'm so happy you're here finally!'" Pagliaro said.

Pacheco lost all of her contact information, but had been saving the dress for her and put it in the window of his relocated shop, hoping she would walk by and see it, Pagliaro said.

Pagliaro hopes that her daughter -- who is now 18 months old -- will wear the dress when she walks down the aisle.

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