'I want love forever': 50 couples celebrate their golden anniversaries in Calgary

As a procession of couples marches under a red and white floral arch to the music of Pachelbel's canon, a young woman runs up to the couple, handing them a rose.

It's a look that has all the makings of a perfect wedding day, but in this case, a wedding day that's been decades away.

On Sunday, 50 couples celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary together at the Chinese Cultural Center in Calgary.

Ray Zhang is president of the Happy 50+ Association, a non-profit organization that supports Chinese immigrants over 50 in Calgary. The group that organized the event.

She said she was inspired to organize the event after the organization went on a group trip to Banff and celebrated one of the couple's 50th wedding anniversaries.

“So we had this idea, why don't we do something big?”

SEE | Calgary couple celebrates 50th wedding anniversary

He said it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the couple and he hoped it would be a day they would remember forever.

“(I hope) they also want to pass all that love on to the next generation.”

Several performances and dances were on the agenda, as well as an address by Liing Zhao, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Calgary.

Niwat and Chanpen Chinarongpinij were one couple who attended the celebration.

Both are Chinese but were born and raised in Thailand and went to college in Seattle without knowing each other's identity.

Then they met on the first day of school. Chanpen said the day was a perfect match.

“Time is passing (quickly) very quickly,” he said.

According to Niwat, it was nice to be recognized for such an important milestone.

“It's amazing, it's amazing. It feels like, wow, you know, it's a milestone to be married for 50 years and to be honored. It's like we just got (married).”

Their advice to newlyweds? Patience.

“You just have to live with patience and you know, care and love each other,” Chanpen said.

Niwat said that Chinese traditions taught them important life lessons.

“We were taught by our elders to compromise and in some cases make sacrifices,” he said.

“If we are to maintain a beautiful marriage, we must learn to forgive, forget, and reconcile.”