Timeless elegance: Couple wears original wedding attire for 70th anniversary, lands in ‘People’

In 1952, when Nancy Sauvage exchanged wedding vows with Melvin Lubbers, the write-up in Mitchell’s Daily Republic newspaper like would have included precise details about her gown: a full satin skirt, cinched-in waist, lace bodice and buttons down the front descending from a demure collar.

What no society editor could have guessed at the time, however, is that Nancy’s dress, purchased for about $35 with a $15 veil at a neighbor’s dress shop in her hometown, would make headlines seven decades later.

That happened after the youngest of the Lubbers’ 12 grandchildren, professional wedding photographer Anna Behning, coaxed her grandmother into putting on the wedding dress again during a visit last April. Her mother, Melissa Schutte, had joined her on the visit. She decided Melvin should put on the shirt and jacket he wore as a serviceman during the Korean War.

Behning, never far from a camera, took a series of photos of her grandmother, now 87, and her 91-year-old grandfather in the outfits they had set aside long ago. The photographs illustrated what hadn’t been put aside — the love the couple have shared for more than 70 years now.

Behning posted the photos last year on social media, and her own circle greeted them with enthusiasm. They were shared, and word of the couple’s long marriage — and Nancy’s ability to fit into her wedding dress so many years later — spread outward.

That led to Behning being contacted by a reporter with Caters New Service, who asked to do a story, interviewing the Lubbers via Zoom. Since then, it also has been picked up by People magazine and other outlets.

The attention has been flattering for the Lubbers but also a little overwhelming. They named Behning as their spokeswoman for this story but took the opportunity to say at least one thing they wish they had included earlier.

When asked the secret to a long-lasting marriage, Melvin had replied, “You won’t always agree, sometimes you have a disagreement, but when you have one of those you sit down and talk about it and come up with an answer — and once it’s resolved, don’t bring it back up.” Added Nancy: “Always respect each other even when you don’t agree. Just make the best of your life.”

What she wished she’d included, Nancy told her granddaughter, was this: “People should keep God at the center of the story. That’s the most important part of marriage.”

The Lubbers met at a skating rink when she was 16 and he was three years older. They married Jan. 6, 1952, at First Lutheran Church in Mitchell. She had been raised in Mitchell while he was a native of nearby Alexandria.

Shortly after their marriage, Melvin was called to Korea, where he served as a tank commander. When he returned, they officially began married life. Nancy clerked in a Sunshine grocery store and operated an in-home day care at various times. Melvin was a salesman — first furniture and then Moorman Seed. He also laid carpet and ran a hobby farm with sheep.

They raised five children: Duane Lubbers of Minnesota, Lori Heier of Aberdeen, Dee ­­­­­­Dee Konrad of Tennessee, Dawn Gerlach of Chicago and Melissa Schutte, who lives in Canton. In addition to the dozen grandchildren, they have 21 great-grandchildren, the oldest of whom is about to graduate from high school.

After the wedding, Nancy carefully preserved her dress. Schutte modeled it at the celebration of her parents’ 25th anniversary. Twenty years ago, it reemerged to be put on display when the Lubbers celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Behning was too young to remember that. It wasn’t until two or three years ago she learned her grandmother still had the dress, although it now had been relegated to a plastic tub in their town house garage.

Already close to her grandparents, Behning became even closer during the four years she attended Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell.

“I would go over for Wednesday night steaks,” she said. “Grandpa would set the grill up. It was the best time to get together, and I got to hang out with them on a regular basis.”

Her grandmother is quite outgoing and can carry on a conversation for hours, Behning said. “She’s a cute old lady who can talk about anything she gets excited about.” Nancy and Melvin loved attending their grandchildren’s concerts and extracurricular activities whenever possible. Her grandfather is “stubborn but a big softie at heart. He’s a teddy bear, and he’s got a soft spot for his grandkids.”

That may be why Melvin was willing to put on the shirt and jacket to his old Army uniform. When Schutte first proposed it, he was a little reluctant and then agreed. While the jacket fit, the women rigged up the shirt so just the front was on display, essentially strapping him into it, Behning said.

Nancy had no such problems fitting into her wedding dress. Behning estimates her grandmother as fitting into a size 2 or 4 dress and barely weighing 115 pounds, almost exactly what the scales said when Nancy was 17.

“It was fun to see her in it. She’s just so darn cute,” Schutte said. “She’s had some health issues, it’s been up and down, to see her enjoying that moment and being so proud of it was special. You could see she was having fun. Dad wasn’t quite as excited, but then to see the look, that sparkle in their eyes come out again, it was an honor to me to see that.”

The Lubbers have only a couple of black-and-white photos from the ceremony 70 years ago. Now, they have the dozens that their granddaughter took of an enduring love.

And a spotlight they never expected. Neither Melvin nor Nancy is totally comfortable with the internet — to protect their computer from a hacker, one day they just unplugged it, Behning related affectionately — and the realization that people all over the world know their story is a bit surprising.

In fact, seeing the story posted on a Facebook page prompted Schutte’s husband to note those are his in-laws.

Because of that, the daughter of cafe owners from Nancy’s teen years recognized the former waitress. She sent along photos of a young Nancy in her waitressing apron, photos the family never would have seen otherwise.

The Lubbers can’t clip the story from the pages of a newspaper, the way they could so many years ago with a wedding announcement. People reaching out to them, especially after two years of pandemic isolation, has meant a lot to her parents, Schutte said.

“What’s been most important for them is that people are calling them and talking to them about it,” she said. “They spend a lot of time at home, alone. It’s exciting to see them get excited about it as well.”

The stories still will be preserved in some form, and the wedding dress will remain a treasured family heirloom. When Behning was growing up in Canton, her mother had her paternal grandmother’s wedding dress on display in the family home. Schutte has her own wedding dress too. Someday, Behning would like to showcase her great-grandmother’s wedding dress, her grandmother’s wedding dress, her mother’s wedding dress and her own.

“That would be wild,” she said.