Stranger gives bride gift during wedding in NYC—later realizes significance

A wedding in New York became even more profound when a stranger approached the bride with a gift.

On TikTok, Shelby Garcia, who got married in Central Park, shared the story of the moment she received the gift and her later realization that it could have been a sign from her late brother, Colby.

Garcia, 26, spoke with Newsweek about the experience and the relationship with her brother that she holds close.

“On September 22, in Central Park at Bethesda Terrace, just under where the musicians play, a woman with an Italian accent walked up to me. She said in Italy, it’s tradition to wear something light blue, and she put the bracelet with the little blue fish on my wrist,” Garcia said.

“I was looking into her eyes and grabbed her hand and squeezed it, thanking her. I did that maybe twice. It felt like a real moment, like she knew me,” she added.

At the time, Garcia didn’t fully grasp the significance of the bracelet, but she felt a connection to the stranger. She and her husband continued with their wedding photos and ceremony, unaware that the encounter was about to take on a much deeper meaning.

While walking to take family photos later on, her photographer struck up a conversation.

“[She] asked me if I believed in heaven,” Garcia said. “Her and I were walking … and she said that lady seemed very intent on giving me the bracelet—and it felt like a sign.”

That’s when the connection hit her. Her brother, Colby, had made her a blue ceramic fish when he was younger. It still hangs in her room at her parents’ house.

“I was surprised to have made the connection, happy to have made it, too,” Garcia said. “I didn’t tell anyone until the brunch after, where I told my husband in hushed tones.”

‘Magical to Me’

Colby died three years ago on October 23. Garcia said that growing up, the siblings were extremely close.

“He took after me. All my beliefs and views became his, too, and he looked up to me. I always knew that,” she said.

The sudden realization that the fish on her bracelet mirrored the one her brother had made left Garcia feeling like Colby was present on her wedding day in a way she hadn’t expected. But it wasn’t the first time he’d proved his presence to her.

Garcia said that since her brother’s death, she’d had other small, unexplainable experiences that she believed were signs from Colby—such as hearing knocks on her bedroom wall, just like the ones he used to make when they were kids.

“This impacted how I feel and continue to grieve in a positive way,” she said.

Garcia said the wedding, which she described as “literally perfect,” became even more meaningful after she realized Colby’s connection to the gift.

“Although it hurts that he wasn’t physically there, knowing he was somehow is magical to me. I try to think of him in a happy way, keep his good stories alive, and this just led me to do more of that,” she added.

Garcia hasn’t been able to find the woman who gave her the bracelet and wishes she could connect with her. But their brief encounter left her feeling comforted and reassured, knowing that her brother was present in spirit on one of the most important days of her life.

“I’ll always be sad,” she said. “I’ll always miss him more than anybody will ever know, but I know he’s around.”