78-year-old woman rewears gown for 60th wedding anniversary
It’s the wedding dress that has spanned generations, and even six decades later, it is still Carol Bates dream wedding dress.
Carol, now 78, remembers the day in 1957 when she walked into The Wedding Bell in Tacoma, Washington, and saw the white lace gown.
“I found the dress of my dreams,” she said upon seeing it.
Thirty years later, Carol’s daughter wore the dress to her own wedding.
Twenty years after that, Carol wore the dress again for her 50th wedding anniversary, and just this past weekend, she donned the lace gown again for her 60th anniversary.
In the very dress she had walked down the aisle in for the first time, Carol renewed her vows with her husband Bob Bates, 86, in front of friends and family.
Carol says she plans to wear the dress for her 70th anniversary, too.
Carol met Bob when she was 14 years at old at a dance party with her parents. They married and went on to have four children.
"He's my first fellow and my only fellow," Carol said, adding, "I must say our love is as strong or stronger than it ever was.”
The couple also offered their advice for making love last as long as they have.
"Number one, we're not afraid to voice our opinion, but we respect one another and just because we have a different opinion, it doesn't mean we don't love one another," she said. "We've learned that we all make mistakes. We admit our mistakes. We ask forgiveness, and we get up and we go forward."
"The days sometimes seem a little long, but the years have just flown by!" she added.
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