It is a lovely coincidence that Ronnie Murray, the man who spent his career recording people’s very special wedding days, has celebrated his and his wife Theresa’s remarkable 70th wedding anniversary.
For over 50 years, Ronnie worked as a renowned wedding photographer in Newcastle, a business in which he worked alongside his daughter Liz until the business closed 10 years ago.
Last Thursday (21 May) was the 70th anniversary of Ronnie (91) and Theresa’s (88) special day.
“There can’t be too many people who have a 70-year anniversary”, Ronnie said.
Such is the significance of the date, a platinum celebration, they received a card from the King.
Ever the one for a joke, Ronnie said: “That was a big surprise. I couldn’t believe it. I thought ‘What do I owe Buck House now?’
“When I saw that it was a card, I shook it to see if anything fell out.
“I heard he was in the town. I thought he would have called!”
To mark their 70th wedding anniversary, they are going to have a celebration this week with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He and Theresa had six children: Christine, Avril, Gordon, Karen, Shirley and Liz, and 10 grandchildren, as well as great-grandchildren.
Ronnie and Theresa were married on the 21st of May 1956 in Newtownards and had their reception in Ballymena.
Ronnie is from the Ards and Theresa is from Portaferry and they met at a dance in Ballycran on a Sunday.
“We were up dancing,” Ronnie said. “We both agreed that we would meet on Monday after the dance.
“But then we both had to decide whether we would go or not.”
A year after they met, they got married.
It was a small affair, just four people, Ronnie, Theresa, a best man and bridesmaid.
Weddings were very different in those days.
Theresa said: “People dress more for a wedding now than what they did in our day.”
