Gorgeous photos of a Spartanburg, S.C. couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary have gone viral.
As WBIR reports, George Brown, 82, and his wife, Ginger, 78, traveled to New Jersey last month to visit family and mark the milestone achievement. What they didn’t know is their granddaughter, who is a photographer, was planning a special event to showcase their love.
“For the truth is that marriage is not a contract, but a covenant. A contract can be broken, but a covenant between God, man and wife is a vow to be honored.”
“I was just blown away that she wanted to go to all of that trouble for us. But you know, you can’t say no to your granddaughter,” Brown said. “I said, for you, Abby, I’ll do anything.”
Abigail Lydick got several vendors to pitch in and provide the essentials for her grandparents’ photoshoot including formal wear, flowers, jewelry, hair styling, and makeup.
“Grandmom was more nervous than anyone,” Lydick said. “She had never gotten any kind of professional hair and makeup done let alone fancy pictures, so we had to reassure her that she was going to rock this thing.”
Once Lydick’s grandmother saw everything come together in the mirror, her nerves disappeared. As for Brown, when he saw his bride, he was shocked.
“There was one picture where they caught me holding my heart. It was the first time I saw her in the dress. I think I said, ‘Be still my heart,’” he recalled. “She looked beautiful in it for sure.”
Once the shoot was over, and the pictures were shared on Lydick’s Facebook page, the images spread quickly all over the internet.
“They have such natural chemistry together that it wasn’t hard to catch a lot of sweet moments,” said Lydick.
As of July 1, the post had more than 46,000 likes, 42,000 shares, and 9,600 comments.
“I had no idea that would happen,” Brown said. “I wanna say I was a little bit breathless. I said, ‘I can’t understand this.’”
Brown, who’s been a pastor for 46 years, believes the whole experience was orchestrated by God.
“It was God’s message through this to the world about the marriage covenant that seems to be so tattered today,” he said. “For the truth is that marriage is not a contract, but a covenant. A contract can be broken, but a covenant between God, man and wife is a vow to be honored.”
The couple shared these three tips for a long-lasting marriage:
- Don’t go to bed angry
- Be willing to forgive
- Maintain a sense of humor
“I think (humor is) what saved my marriage at hard times, ‘cause I could always make a joke at the right time, and you can’t stay mad when you learn to laugh at the punchline. That’s the secret,” said Brown.
Over the course of their 60-year marriage, the Browns had four children, 18 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren.
Their now viral photos are validating the power of love for thousands of people.
“It was inspiring, I think, to most people. And if that did the job then I’m happy,” Brown said.
