Love is never too late.
Two New Jersey natives know that sentiment all too well. At 83 and 93 years old, the couple is getting married 64 years after they first met.
Joe Potenzano, the 93-year-old groom, is getting married for the very first time.
“I began to feel that loneliness that only comes at 90 years old,” he said.
His bride-to-be is 83-year-old Mary Elkind, a widow.
“I had a couple of friends that said to me, ‘Are you crazy? Why are you getting married? At this stage you’re getting married?’” Elkind said.
“At my age, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get shot down,” Potenzano said.
The couple met in 1959 at Potenzano’s sister’s wedding. Potenzano was the best man, and Elkind was the maid of honor.
“She’s a nice-looking girl,” Potenzano recalled. “But I didn’t know too much about her background at the time.”
Potenzano went on to join the Army, and Elkind became a ballerina at Radio City Music Hall.
“I was always very close with the family, and he was always there,” Elkind said.
And it was at a family function last year that the retired engineer invited the widow out for coffee.
“It took a lot of courage for me to say that because I never did it before,” he said.
Both families are gearing up for the wedding in October.
“I say this unashamedly. I fell in love with her, and she told me she fell in love with me. What else do you want?” Potenzano said.