After 50 years of marriage, Carolyn and Kelly Gay decided to recreate their wedding photos — with Carolyn in the same dress she wore in 1971.
Carolyn and Kelly Gay, 70 and 76, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary by returning to DSM First Church in Des Moines, Iowa, where they got married 50 years ago on March 12, 1971.
Three years ahead of their milestone anniversary, Carolyn decided that she wanted to do something special for her husband Kelly Gay, according to CBS affiliate WLNS.
“At one point in time, I thought, ‘Oh it’s just 50 years. Let’s just go out and eat dinner and call it a day,‘” Carolyn explained to ABC affiliate WQAD.
“Then I thought, ‘Really, for the number of people that got married the last 50 years, there aren’t that many people that are still with the same original person.”
Carolyn eventually decided that she wanted to celebrate by putting on their wedding attire and recreating the photos they took on their special day in 1971.
In order to make the sweet surprise happen, the Des Moines resident reportedly reached out to Sam Hoyle with Two Hoyles Photography.
Determined to make the photos as similar as possible, Carolyn spent the last three years growing her hair out to the length it was in their original images.
When the time finally came to surprise Kelly with the gift, he said it was completely unexpected, WQAD reported.
“We’ve been married 50 years and she’s probably kept one secret from me and this was it,” Kelly told the local outlet.
In the side-by-side photos, Carolyn and Kelly wore their wedding attire and posed in exactly the same ways as they did 50 years ago.
Carolyn told SWNS that the church has undergone a few changes over the years, but recently went back to its original colors.
“It’s amazing as it was the same color as 50 years ago,” she said.
Once they got to the church, Carolyn said the photos were “so much fun to recreate. It took about an hour to an hour-and-a-half, to take the new pictures, and it was just a fun time.”
Hoyle was even able to recreate a double-exposure shot that the pair snapped on their wedding day, according to WLNS.
“People are looking for good news and something to aspire to,” Hoyle told WQAD. “What better to aspire to than a happy couple 50 years on from their original wedding date lovingly looking at each other again like it was their first day? Hopefully, that comes through in the pictures.”
What are your thoughts?
Image Credits: Two Hoyles Photography
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