The way he tells it, Fred Blesedell swept his wife, Anne, off her feet.

The 91-year-old in the purple bow tie claimed Anne fell in a room full of sheets.

Like Superman, he said he swept in and caught her before she hit the ground.

“That’s a baloney story,’’ 86-year-old Anne Blesedell said. “He followed me and wanted my telephone number. I didn’t want him to follow me home, so I gave it to him.’’

In 1953, they met at the old Boston City Hospital laundry.

“I met her between the sheets,’’ Fred Blesedell said with a wink. Anne just shook her head.

For their first date, he took her to see the Vincent Price horror film, “House of Wax.’’

It was a test, Fred said. Either she’d stick around or she wouldn’t.

When asked how long they’ve been together, Anne gave the sign of the cross.

“Sixty-one years,’’ Anne Blesedell said. “He’s a good one.’’

Marriage takes work, or so they say. But 75 couples who gathered Thursday at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel make it look easy. They were there to be honored at the Mayor’s 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration, a luncheon thrown by the Elderly Commission. All have been married for 50 years or more. All enjoyed a three-course meal, music, and dancing, and received a set of engraved champagne flutes and a certificate signed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

The longest-married couple at the event, Yet Chen, 86, and Wing Tswang, 84, got to cut the cake. Originally from China, they’ve been together 68 years. Their marriage was arranged by their parents.

Through a translator, they said they met when he was 19 and she was 17. They soon got used to each other’s presence. Chen said they learned to be patient, to be understanding, and to respect each other’s feelings. They have two sons and two daughters, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

“There’s no secret to it,’’ Yet Chen said in Chinese.

Although dancing ability and a sense of humor don’t hurt, according to Moira Raftery, 76, of Jamaica Plain. She met her husband, John Raftery, now 75, at a New York ballroom in 1960. She donned a black dress Thursday morning as she did the day they met.

“He saw me across a crowded room,’’ she said. “I was beautiful.’’

He was funny and made her believe he was from Ireland, speaking in a thick faux Irish brogue.

At the end of the dance, he said “Ha ha, I’m from Boston.’’

They danced again Thursday to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.’’

Rosey, 74, and Joe Ryan, 77, of Charlestown also met dancing — 59 years ago.

“She caught my eye. She caught a lot of guys’ eyes,’’ Joe Ryan said. “I won out.’’

He called her “the best person I’ve met in my life.’’

Jimmy, 76, and Patti Sartori, 72, of East Boston met on a ski trip to Vermont.

To this day, they’re always together. He’s the quiet one. She always finds someone to talk to. Even when he worked long hours on weekends and holidays as a corrections officer, they would find time to go on dates. Tuesday nights instead of Saturday.

“If something’s broken, you don’t just throw it away,’’ Sartori said. “You fix it.’’

Agreement helps, according to Mary Silcott, 77, and her husband, Alson, 80.

“We agree on everything,’’ she said. “We go in the same direction.’’

That journey has taken them from Canada to Aruba. They love to travel.

But home was always Dorchester. It’s where they were married in 1959 and where they have lived for more than 50 years. Despite life’s trials, tribulations, and tragedies — they lost a daughter — they’ve remained each other’s constant.

Next to them, Arcenia Ruth Allen, 76, and Collin Allen, 79, commiserated.

They lost a son. They remain thankful for each other, for their children, 11 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren.

She met Collin when he was 14 and she was 12 at the 10-cent movie in Norfolk, Va.

“I don’t know what he liked about me,’’ Arcenia Allen said with a knowing smile. “My legs.’’

Collin Allen nodded.

As for their marriage?

“I just keep washing dishes and don’t say nothing,’’ Collin Allen said, looking at his wife.

Aside from that?

“A lot of respect,’’ Arcenia said.

Cristela Guerra can be reached at cristela.guerra@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristelaGuerra.