Gordon and Joan Martin married at Weston Church on October 18, 1952. The couple, who now have three children, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, celebrated the milestone with a "surprise" party thrown by four generations of their family.
However, Mr Martin said the couple had a further surprise in the post, after receiving best wishes from the Queen, Prime Minister John Key, and the New Zealand Governor-General.
"That was a big surprise. I wasn't expecting that," Mr Martin said.
The couple met in 1949, when they both moved to Wellington to work in the Toll House telephone exchange, Mrs Martin said.
"I moved up from Oamaru and he moved down from Kaeo in the far north," she said.
They married three years later, before moving to Weston in 1962, where they ran the town's first supermarket.
The couple also spent 20 years managing campsites around Wanaka together, and Mrs Martin put the success of their marriage down to a combination of the amount of time they spent working together and the willingness to allow each other time to pursue hobbies.
"We have always worked together, but we have also been considerate of each other's interests.
"I like crafts and dancing, and he likes horse racing."
