Video is for the birds

I am working on a wedding video. I have been working on said wedding video for months.
I have never encountered so many technical difficulties and bizarre error messages like I have on this video.

I have spent countless hours on this video. I would say probably 80-100 hours without any hesitation or exaggeration. I was within reach of being done. I mean, one evenings worth of work left and it would be finished.

I left the video for two weeks while I started the show I am working on. But this weekend I thought I would get back at it and finish. Well guess what. The files wouldn't work. They wouldn't open. "The project could not be loaded, it may be damaged or contain outdated elements." Ceremony GONE.
I spent that whole night working on fixing it. Googling the error message. Trying what it suggested. Install, uninstall. I even tried installing it on my lap top as a last resort. NO GO.

So I have asked everyone I know for help over the last few days. Everyone has horror stories.

Tonight. I got back in the saddle. Still gone. Oh well. Go to the other file - the before the wedding getting ready. At the very least I will export the video and have that one in my hand. It opened the file no problem - but wait - the file is empty. What do you mean empty - there is nothing in it - it is like I opened a new project!
Are you kidding me. #$#%#%#*&%$@#*&(#%$&@(#$*&!@#(!*$)*^%$&#*(@(#$*%&$#@*!(*#&$%$#*&$%^$
Okay. So I had a little cry over it. No big deal.

I google some more.

I restore my computer to the day before I finished the file.

Still no go.

I text Jason (we are working on the wedding together) "all is lost. I give up"

He texts back an equally optomistic responce as I search "recover" for the tenth time.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess the restore brought up auto saved files.

I now have both files. I have backed them up on both of my external hard drives and on my CPU.

I am very happy right now (and exhausted over all of the anguish that it cost).
Only another eight hours wasted with no results.
At least I don't have to start from scratch!