Couple celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary by dressing up as bride and groom for Halloween

Keeping up the promise of forever takes a lot of effort and endurance for couples in a marriage. Maria and Norman Leo are one such couple who recently completed their 64th year of marriage this Halloween. Amanda Klingbail (@amandamarieklingbail on TikTok), the couple's granddaughter, posted a heartwarming video of their 64th wedding anniversary celebration at the Halloween party in their senior living home for which they dressed up as bride and groom. 

In this video, Amanda conveys: "My grandparents got married 64 years ago on Halloween. So they dressed as a bride and groom for a party at their senior living home." She couldn't handle her grandma looking too cute as a bride with a bouquet and expressed her emotions by saying, "I can't!" Amanda's grandparents got married on October 31, 1959, unaware that it was a Halloween day. Speaking to Good Morning America about the special day, 91-year-old Norman shared: "It was Halloween and we didn't know it was Halloween. We just got married because the hall was vacant on that date." 

The couple went on to win the "Best Costume" trophy at their senior living home Halloween party and the whole family celebrated them. Amanda took to Instagram to let the world know her grandma Maria's history and how the couple met each other. Talking about her nonna she wrote, "She (Maria) escaped the Germans at gunpoint during WWII, ate dandelions in the mountains to survive and came to America by herself at 22 knowing only Italian. She’s a badass, honestly." Amanda feels happy that her nonna missed the first ship she was supposed to take to America, the SS Andrea Doria which sank and resulted in the death of about 50 of its passengers. She wrote, "If she didn’t come to America when she did, she wouldn’t have met my papa (Norman). Then there would be no Rose, my mom, and, in turn, no Amanda."

Having lived for almost a century, Maria and Norman Leo have five children, sixteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. "Family history is a beautiful thing. I’m blessed to know mine," wrote Amanda, sharing some old pictures of her nonna and papa. Amanda has a daughter, Gianna Rose, who belongs to the fourth generation in this family. Through her Instagram posts, Amanda often shows off to the world the four generations of women in her family.

Norman and Maria have set a great example for the current generation of couples by never giving up on each other for 64 years. Norman's life advice to the younger generation for a successful marriage is simple: to listen to your spouse and get along with whatever they do. His advice may seem like an easy thing to do, but this couple tending to their relationship for more than six decades is quite praiseworthy. 

We live in a generation where promises made on the wedding day become obsolete over the years. Marriages end and families break for trivial reasons. But the generation of our grandparents had the emotional intelligence to lead a happy and content life with their spouses. They have a family-first approach to life and are focused on celebrating even the simplest moments, just like Norman and Maria Leo do.