Couple celebrates 55 years of marriage by recreating their first date
A couple who are celebrating 55 years of marriage this June decided to fete the milestone by recreating their first date.
Elmer and Fran Armstrong met outside a local Steak 'n Shake, near St. Louis, Missouri, in March 1962. After a sour conversation -- in fact, Elmer Armstrong said his future bride and her best friend "sort of ignored me" -- the girls realized they had a mutual friend with the future husband.
After Elmer Armstrong tried and failed to date Fran Armstrong's best friend, the friend said, "'Why don’t you leave me alone and call Fran?'"
"So I did and it’s been downhill now for 56 years," the grandfather quipped to ABC News.
The Armstrongs would eventually wed on June 22, 1963.
To celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary, their granddaughter, photographer Courtney Stepp, wanted to do something special for the couple. So she thought of recreating their first date inside Steak 'n Shake.
"I just wanted to do something different from everything," Stepp, 24, told ABC News. "I just really wanted to show the world that true love can really last."
About two weeks ago, the Armstrongs and Strepp went to a local Steak 'n Shake -- not the one where they initially met.
"The one where I met her is closed now. It closed down years ago so we had to pick another one," Elmer Armstrong, 75, explained.
During the photo shoot, the two even ordered what they originally ate -- a hamburger and a strawberry shake.
Stepp said she loved how the photos turned out.
"I can cherish these photos forever now that I’ve created these," she said.
Her grandparents also loved the now viral images. It especially makes Elmer Armstrong proud: the father of two children and four grandchildren, including Strepp, is also a photographer.
Elmer Armstrong hopes the photos can inspire others. In fact, he's learned a "big" lesson after being married for nearly 55 years.
"The wife and I ... we have our arguments, but we try not to go bed mad at one another," he explained. "The biggest thing that both of us have learned is to forget about it. If something goes wrong, and you get it straightened out, don’t hold a grudge. Get over it and move on."
