Melvin Lubbers is 91 years old, and his wife Nancy is 87 years old. They met at a skating rink when Nancy was only 16 years old and have been by each other’s side ever since. Nancy wore a $35 dress she had purchased for the occasion when the couple married in a church in 1952.

Anna, their youngest granddaughter, wanted to photograph her grandparents in their wedding gowns so that they could celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary together.

Anna stated that her grandparents had very few wedding photographs. “At first, I thought it would be cute to photograph Grandma in her gown, and then my mother, Melissa, tracked down Grandpa’s army uniform so he could wear it.”

And Nancy thought it was a fantastic idea, and she relished the opportunity to wear her wedding gown to commemorate the occasion. “We had a great time remembering our wedding day, and the photo session was a lot of fun,” the bride and groom said, gazing at each other in their wedding photos.

The couple now lives in South Dakota, where they have 5 children, 12 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren. The couple’s response to the question of what the key was to a prosperous and long marriage is as follows:

“You won’t always agree, and occasionally you’ll have a dispute; but, when you have one of them, you sit down and speak about it and come up with a solution; and after it’s settled, don’t bring it back up.”