The letter was handwritten by Angela’s father, who has since died. Photo: Nikki Hogan.
A chance find inside a second-hand book has led to a wedding invitation finding its way home, nearly 50 years after it was first sent.
At a Lifeline BookFair, one book caught Nikki Hogan’s eye – a vintage book on macrame, wrapped in plastic with a bright orange cover.
Inspired to start learning the craft, she picked it up and brought it home, where it sat on her shelf for several months.
“I haven’t picked up macrame as yet, so I decided to put it on my eBay account,” she tells Region.
“I’d opened it and saw that this lovely wedding invitation had been stored inside the front cover.”
She decided to return the handwritten invitation to its previous owners and shared it in a Canberra Facebook group.
“I think I posted on Sunday afternoon and by Monday night we had found the family.
“I think part of the appeal was it was a local story … I’ve always said Canberra is two degrees of separation, not six.”
Nikki says some people quickly recognised the name and used other context clues to find the family.
Even though the invitation was written (and delivered) in the pre-Internet era, it was technology that brought it home.
“It was evident that it was a Canberra occasion … She [Angela, the bride] isn’t on Facebook. Somebody had recognised the surname and knew her brother.
“They tagged him in the post, and that’s how he got hold of me.”
The two exchanged several messages before he passed his sister’s contact information to Nikki.
The invitation was discovered inside this book in a chance find. Photo: Nikki Hogan.
It became one of what Nikki calls “one of those lovely, serendipitous moments” as Angela was visiting Canberra at the time.
“She now lives in WA … she came to my house that night and picked it up.”
“I’m not sure if she is as sentimental as I am, but it was just lovely to have that community connection … I think it just brought back some fond memories for her.”
She also said the two women were able to have a chat during the collection.
“Angela did tell me that she hadn’t wanted anything fancy, but she had always wanted to get married in that particular chapel. The little gold painting on the invitation is the chapel itself.
“That was her only request while her parents were arranging the wedding.”
And while it’s unknown how the book on macrame (and the invitation) was donated to the book sale, Angela has a theory.
“It was probably when her father passed away that they had to clear out the house, and that’s when the book probably got donated,” Nikki says.
“That’s her guess as to how it ended up with me.”
She has her own theory for why so many people became invested: it was just a nice story.
“I’ve noticed a lot of posts [in local Facebook groups] recently are about people’s cars getting hit and no one leaving notes, and all these negative things.
“I think people just really responded to it being a wholesome thing to do … and those Canberra connections are strong.”
The Vogue Guide to Macrame is still available on eBay.
