A couple celebrates their 63rd anniversary with a touching photo.
Shalyn Nelson wanted to giver her grandparents something that would last forever for their 63rd anniversary.
She’s a professional wedding photographer and arranged a glamorous photoshoot for her maternal grandparents, Billy Wanda and Joe Ray Johnson.
She also went the further step of setting up her grandmother with a new gown, professional makeup and styling and floral arrangements for the shoot, courtesy of her network of professional friends.
Nelson shot the couple at their ranch in Jewett, Texas, “where they’ve worked their entire lives.”
Billy Wanda told ‘Shalyn, this is the most action he’s gotten in a long time. Shalyn answered, That’s what granddaughters are for.
The pair is still very much in love, as is evidenced by the photo set. Nelson said, “It was so awesome seeing them so excited and flirting. They just looked so in love.”
Nelson asked her grandparents to write love letters to each other, a theme she’s hoping to expand into a series with other couples and eventually, a book.
The Austin, Texas-based photographer, who’s expecting a child with her husband of seven years, said her grandparents taught her that “marriage is forever.”
But, she added, “No marriage is perfect … they’ll be the first ones to tell you that.” Still, Billy Wanda and Joe Ray “just never gave up on each other.
They’re just the best people I know and they just set a really good example for me and my family.”