22 November 2021
One day, two weddings, two very content couples! Regis Sandgate Griffith in Queensland wanted to put on a magical day for a few of our residents and their partners. Couples Ivan and Lyn, and James and Sue, both renewed their wedding vows at a memorable and beautiful ceremony at the Home. The whole Home celebrated after the service with a garden themed tea party, serving up tasty cakes and drinks for all the guests.
Ivan and Lyn celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary earlier this year and they wanted to renew their wedding vows at the Home where Ivan lives. Lyn expressed that ‘Our ceremony was like a dream, it was perfect in every way, thank you everyone.”
Lyn and Ivan met at a tennis game in Yaapeet and it was love at first sight – Lyn told us that she still gets goosebumps whenever she reminisces about their first encounter. Their first date was at the local movie theatre in Rainbow and they both enjoyed a milkshake during the intermission. Not only this, but they even shared their first kiss that night! To Lyn and Ivan, loves means “security, a sense of sharing, friendship and tolerance.”
James and Sue married in 1972 in a local church in Melbourne. James is originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland and arrived in Australia in 1970 after retiring from the Royal Air Force. Sue is from a farming family in the Goulburn Valley in Shepparton. With them both being lovers of movies, they spent their first date at the drive-in in James’s little VW Beetle.
When asked what advice they’d give on having a happy marriage, Sue said “marry an Irishman, they are lots of fun.” For Sue and James, “love means sharing and a lot of giving. Making the most of everything you can.”
