The bride, of course, wore white. When Joy Sanders married John Kostyniuk on April 19, 1952, she was - by news accounts of the day - a "lovely picture" in a "gown of imported white lace and net with fitted bodice and bouffant skirt, fashioned with peplum front and full train."
Orange blossoms decorated the headpiece and veil; a bouquet of pink roses, lily-of-the-valley and stephanotis completed the outfit.
In her hands, she carried a small lace handkerchief, an heirloom gift given by her grandmother when she was born.
These details and more - including descriptions of each member of the bridal party, right down to the mauve-gowned flower girl - were reported in Vancouver newspapers following the big event.
It was an important wedding in the growing community where both John and Joy were familiar faces - one article characterized it as "one of the most socially notable weddings to take place in South Burnaby."
Earlier articles had announced the engagement: "Well known Burnaby pair betrothed" and "Joy Sanders to be Primrose Day bride" are just two of the headlines preserved in a family memory album.
Joy was born in Burnaby in 1927.
The population at that time was just over 20,000, and much of the city was still undeveloped forests - a far cry from today's highrises that run through the main corridors of the city.
The family home was just north of Kingsway on what is now known as Sanders Street near Kingsway - and yes, it was named for her parents, Lawrence and Elsie Sanders, who were early Burnaby pioneers.
Later, the Sanders family moved to a large home at Victory and Jubilee, and when Joy grew up she worked at Burnaby city hall as the switchboard operator where she became widely known as the "Burnaby Hello Girl."
John had moved to Burnaby to attend barber school, coming from Vancouver Island where he'd grown up. He would later own and run a barbershop at Royal Oak and Kingsway; when the pair were first married, they lived in the back of the shop.
The two crossed paths at dances that were held at Jubilee Labour Hall (a building that has its own unique history as the site of early political organization in the city) and soon hit it off.
Daughter Sheryl O'Toole tipped the NOW off to the approaching big day.
Her parents, now in their 80s (Joy turns 85 today, April 13, and John will be 88 in the fall) still live in the home on Portland Street that they moved into in 1958.
She and her sisters, Daryce and Adele, were raised there and all three are still in the metro Vancouver area: Sheryl lives with husband Al in Surrey, Daryce and husband Paul are in North Delta, and Adele is in Coquitlam.
In all, John and Joy now have five grandchildren: Megan, Danielle, Laura, Christopher and Celina. Megan lives in Burnaby.
The entire clan will be gathering for a private family brunch to mark the big day later this month - and, fittingly, it will take place in Burnaby, at the Riverway Golf Course.
It will be a slightly more intimate gathering than the party that kicked off their marriage six decades ago on that spring day in 1952.
After the ceremony at All Saints Anglican Church (which still sits today at the corner of Watling and Royal Oak), the 150 guests reconvened at Joy's parents' home a few blocks away for the reception.
Childhood friends and lifelong family acquaintances toasted the bride and groom; one guest reportedly even sang two solos to the new couple, I'll Walk Beside You and I Love You Truly. The minister who had married them told the gathered guests about his own link to the Sanders family: his uncle had performed the marriage ceremony for Joy's parents 37 years prior.
John's parents travelled from Vancouver Island for the event - at that time, the crossing took five hours from Victoria to Vancouver - and telegrams came from England to congratulate the young couple.
Afterwards, the two flew to Reno, Nevada for a honeymoon before returning to Burnaby to start their married life together.
Sixty years later, they don't travel quite so far from home - but each day, they head over together to a nearby Tim Hortons for a cup of coffee.
Keep an eye on upcoming editions of the Burnaby NOW for future instalments in our Then & NOW series.
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DATELINE 1952
In 1952, the year that John and Joy Kostyniuk married in All Saints Anglican Church at the corner of Watling and Royal Oak, Burnaby was still enjoying the postwar boom years with growth throughout the city and a population nearing 70,000. Burnaby Hospital opened in the fall, with 125 beds. In February, Elizabeth II became Queen after the death of her father, King George VI and Canada won a gold medal in hockey at the Oslo Olympics. In B.C., W.A.C. Bennett became premier in August and the first CBC television station went on the air in September.
