Teen sweethearts make wedding anniversary memorable by digging up 12-year-old time capsule

While finding a soulmate and falling in love with them happens naturally, staying in love takes a lot more effort. Not many couples who fell in love when they were young manage to keep their promises of love forever. But when it happens, it's surely worthy of being celebrated. This July, one sweet couple from Minnesota decided to celebrate their wedding anniversary by taking a trip down memory lane. Megan Kunnari Novak–who goes by @mrs.megannovak on Instagram–shared a video of her and her husband, Jon Novak, unearthing a time capsule they buried on an island when they were teens in 2012.

Jon and Megan are teenage sweethearts who celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary on July 9 this year. In the caption of their post, they narrated their heartening love story that has stood the test of time. "On January 10, 2012, as teen sweethearts, my girlfriend and I wrote letters to one another and buried them along with several other mementos in a time capsule on an island in Biwabik, MN," the caption reads. "The location was marked by a unique tree and we promised one another we would go back in 10 years, whether we were still together or had lost touch over the years."

Fortunately, the sweet couple held on to each other for over a decade. "We eventually married and on our eighth wedding anniversary (July 9, 2024), we returned to the island and were able to find and uncover our buried time capsule and read the letters we had written to one another," the caption read. The video shows Jon digging up the dirty box, which had "J+M" written on top of the lid. The time capsule had many handwritten letters, pictures of the couple, a deck of cards and ping pong paddles - all wet and soggy but carrying several beautiful memories. The couple also buried a Mesabi Daily News published on January 10, 2012, to mark the date.

It turns out that the island on Sabin Lake, where they buried the time capsule, held significance to the couple. "We had our first kiss in that area," Megan told WDIO. The couple was overwhelmed with happiness on unraveling the time capsule together, though they weren't sure if their relationship would last 12 years ago. "This was really special for me. It was nice to have some of those moments rekindled," Jon added. The duo hopes to drive other couples to contemplate the idea of growing in love and working toward making the relationship stronger.

Speaking of time capsules, a daughter opened a 25-year-old time capsule that her parents kept safe for their triplets and it turned out to be a wholesome experience. Jamie Poepoe (@jamiepoepoe) revealed the contents of the time capsule on TikTok and it had handwritten notes, customized baby shirts for her and her two siblings, bibs, mix tape and stuffed toys. Similar to Novak's time capsule, PoePoe's parents also included a newspaper from the triplet's day of birth. A wine bottle with a label that read, "Miracles Happen in 3's" was also a part of it.

You can follow Megan Kunnari Novak (@mrs.megannovak) on Instagram for more family content.