032324_RV_Z01_c_Brides V3

Good things come to those who wait,
and for Roberta Wills of Sibley and
Larry Post of Ocheyedan, the wait
resulted in what they described as the
“best day ever.”
Despite each of them spending over five decades
in Osceola County, the pair crossed paths but never
met directly.
“I knew very distantly Larry was part of northwest
Iowa from working at Sibley Super Foods
for 30 years, but personally I didn’t know him,”
Roberta said.
They do recall seeing each other at Sibley Specialty
Care while visiting their mothers at the longterm
care facility.
Roberta received insight of what was to come
on two different occasions from two friends in her
women’s Bible study group in Sioux Falls, SD.
“In their prayer they had for me they voluntarily
just said, ‘Roberta, I just wanted to let you know
something, that your life is going to change.’”
Her thoughts soon went to her work situation at
Super Foods as she found out a week later that the
business was sold.
The day of the ownership transfer, her cousin
came into the store. She was dating a friend of Larry’s
and said, “Hey, we know somebody you could
date.”
Larry called a few weeks later, but they did not
meet for about six weeks because he broke his leg
and wanted to wait until he could drive.
“He kept pursuing me and then by the first
weekend of January 2023, we went out for breakfast
at the Breakfast Barn in Spirit Lake. We were
together ever since then,” Roberta said.
The proposal came while on a sightseeing trip
to Duluth, MN, and up the North Shore of Lake
Superior to Split Rock Lighthouse.
“He brought something in a bag, and I thought
Larry Post of Ocheyedan and Roberta Wills of Sibley
share a quick kiss after exchanging their wedding vows
during a ceremony on a cold winter’s Saturday, Jan. 20,
2024, at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sibley.
he was just going to give me a picture like he normally
did,” Roberta said. “But when we got up on
the lighthouse observatory, I turned around and he
had made a sign saying, ‘Roberta, will you marry
me?’”
As planning began, the couple asked church
members, friends and others with experience with
weddings for ideas and vendor suggestions.
“And we went to a couple bridal shows in Sheldon
and Sioux Falls,” Larry said.
Decorations centered around the colors moss
green, charcoal gray, winter white and silver.
“The best advice I got when I did plan was, ‘This
is your day. You do it the way you want to,’” Roberta
said.
Larry said the most important to them was a
family and friend-orientated event.
Roberta found her dress in Orange City, following
the suggestion of one of her aunts.
“I also looked in Spirit Lake and Spencer,” she
said. “I’d eyed a couple, but I thought well, I just
better go with the advice before I make a final decision.”
With a wedding date of Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024,
Roberta’s primary requirement for her attire was
long sleeves.
Roberta selected the moss green color for the
bridesmaids’ dresses and the attendants picked out
the style they preferred.
A recommendation from the bridal shop for
the florist across the street in Orange City ticked
another box on their to-do list.
Larry found the vocalist, who was a friend at
work, gave his input on ideas and helped complete
the last-minute details.
The couple sought additional ways to make their
day their own and honor the memory of their
parents, Robert and Gerry Wills and John and Dorothy
Post.
Roberta designed her ring, influenced by the
style of a friend’s wedding ring, called a past, present
and future diamond ring. The diamonds came
from New York and the jeweler who created the
ring to fit their description was in California.
Her necklace worn for the wedding incorporated
a ring from her dad, passed on from her grandfather.
“Our song was ‘My Only Love’ by Jimmy Fortune,”
Roberta said. “It was a favorite love song of
18 BRIDES & BOUQUETS | SPRING 2024