Wow! It’s been nearly three years since 72-year-old Murphy Wilson and 69-year-old Lucinda Myers–better known as the older couple whose picture went viral–exchanged vows and said “I Do” at the very place their love story began, the First Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Huntsville, Alabama. Here’s to wishing them many more years of marital bliss!
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For those who are saying they are too old, too tired, too independent, or even too fed up to ever find love, think again. Just ask seventy-year-old Cleveland “Murphy” Wilson and Lucinda Myers, who is in her 60s. They admired each other from afar for three years at the Alabama church they both attend, before they started dating. Lucinda had heard she had a secret admirer and she tried her best to look “on point” for him every Saturday, but she wanted him to come to her, not the other way around. All that changed, however, when Wilson missed a few Saturdays and Lucinda felt his absence.
Upon his return, she summoned the courage to approach him and say, “I haven’t seen your beautiful smile lately.” The pair started dating shortly after that and, one month later, he popped the question. Now, they’re planning a wedding for July 29.
Murphy was married for 41 years before his wife died in 2013. He wasn’t looking for love but says it just happened.
“I just know, I knew she was a Godsend,” said Wilson. “She is who I need. She gave me my balance back.”
Wilson said the engagement photo shoot was his daughter’s idea. As for the photo, it was photographer Gianna Snell‘s choice.
Shortly after, the photo was posted on Instagram and it quickly went viral.
“One muggy Alabama evening, I met with a young-at-heart couple sitting on a bench in Big Spring Park,” Snell remembered on her blog. “Even though there was a growing crowd and the band ‘Jed Eye’ was crooning in the background, I could hear this couple’s laughter above it all. With my camera gear strapped to my back and the Huntsville humidity blanketing the late afternoon air, I walked through the park thankful that the torrents of rain from earlier in the day had finally stopped. This was the night for Concerts in the Park; there were hundreds of people there for the live performance. As a photographer, I strive to capture authenticity and genuine expression but I wasn’t sure if this brand-new twosome would be comfortable sharing their “feels” with an audience of people surrounding them.”
“As I approached, I noticed his arm around her shoulders, and she was gazing up at him, smiling as big as the sun. They seemed a bit nervous, but I told them the goal was to capture them doing what they normally do. Relieved, they stood up and waited for me to give them direction on where to stand. As I turned my head to grab my camera and adjust my settings, I heard giggling behind me. I turned back around to see this 70-year-old man inching closer and closer to his 60-something bride-to-be’s side and sliding his hand around her waist, flirting and whispering in her ear. Her giggles let me know that…
… I would not have to prod them to show affection, but on the contrary, I would spend the entire session trying to catch up to what they were doing next. The pair couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. They later shared that it was this gesture, his hand around her waist, several months earlier that was one of the first signs of a beautiful spark between them.”
Snell said she believes the photograph was so well received on social media because, “it gives so many hope that they should never give up on their dream of finding love. It shows us that new love is not just for the young, but for the seasoned. It reveals that its never too late to believe that you will smile again, dance gain, love again.”
“She made the sign,” said Wilson. “I think it was just part of one of the things she thought would be a good idea. So she said hold up the sign and be real excited. Well, that wasn’t difficult with or without the sign. We were excited anyway.”
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