A music-loving husband was left in shock when friends and family surprised him with 30 unique vinyl records for his 30th birthday.
Gregory Castel, 30, from Atlanta, Georgia, is a huge music head, his wife Abigail, 29, said, with “truly impeccable taste.”
It was Gregory’s love of music that Abigail noticed when she met him 11 years ago, as she discovered he had a Coldplay desktop wallpaper and liked music ranging from Lupe Fiasco to Etta James to The Marias.
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Given his eclectic taste – and the wide range of Spotify playlists he’s created – Gregory always likes to discuss music with people he meets, as well as check out their record collections.
Abigail said her husband has a growing collection of vinyl records himself, and he had created a note on his cellphone to keep track of the next records he would like to purchase.
With Gregory’s 30th birthday approaching, Abigail wanted to do something special for the big milestone, so took inspiration from a friend’s birthday where they did not want to ask for gifts, but if guests were to bring something, a vinyl record would be much appreciated.
Abigail then secretly got ahold of Gregory’s wish list and created a spreadsheet, allowing friends and family to divvy up which records they would like to buy.
Over a matter of weeks, a collection of vinyl records came together, which Abigail then presented to her husband on September 6.
As Gregory excitedly made his way through each record he loved, his face lit up, with Abigail capturing his wholesome reactions on video.
Each vinyl also contained a note from that person, explaining why they had picked that specific record for him, which saw Gregory take 45 minutes to “geek out” over every gift, Abigail said.
She added: “I just felt so grateful to everyone who contributed – I couldn’t have done it without them.
“The first vinyl in the box was from his parents, and the last vinyl in the box was from me.
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“To be able to give someone something that you know without a doubt they will love, and from people whose lives he has touched from childhood to college to now.
“I just feel so blessed to have married someone who made getting 30 people to contribute to something like this easy, because that’s just the kind of person he is.
“I hadn’t been active on a social platform in nearly two years, but I thought it could spark an idea for someone to do this for a loved one, so I posted it on social media.
“I was honestly blown away at the response – the most common one being, ‘To be loved is to be seen.’
“That’s exactly, and I mean exactly, what I was going for – I’m so glad it resonated with people.”