Today is a special day for three Otago couples who have ties to Balclutha - all three will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversaries.
Doug and Shirley McNutt, Alison and Ron Grant, and Jim and Stella Taylor were all married on May 3, 1952.
The Grants know both the McNutts and the Taylors and were amazed when they realised all three couples would celebrate diamond wedding anniversaries today.
Doug and Shirley McNutt's meeting was not a chance one - family connections brought them together after her sister married his brother.
The couple had a five-year long distance relationship, while Mrs McNutt (now 81) worked as a doctor's and dentist's assistant in her home town, Dunedin, and Mr McNutt (now 90) who grew up in Patearoa, ran the farm near Balclutha he owned with his brother.
They were married at the Church of Christ in Dunedin, at 11am on May 3, 1952, three hours before fellow South Otago couple Alison and Ron Grant tied the knot further south.
The McNutts lived on the Balclutha farm, before shifting in 1962 to Paretai near Balclutha, where they continued farming, then moved to Wanaka in 1983.
They have three sons and one daughter, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Although they said there was no real secret to their long union, not arguing and not giving up on marriage as readily as some couples did today played a part.
"We took the vows, and we vowed to stay together," Mr McNutt said.
The couple plan to celebrate the milestone with friends and neighbours at their Wanaka home today before hosting a family lunch on Saturday.
Balclutha couple Alison (81) and Ron (88) Grant grew up in Clifton, South Otago, on neighbouring farms. They married in Waiwera South at the Upper Presbyterian Church about 2pm on May 3, 1952.
The couple ran the Grant family farm - growing sheep, beef and crops - at Clifton until retiring to Balclutha in 1987.
The couple have five sons and 16 grandchildren.
Both Mr and Mrs Grant said they were surprised they had reached 60 years of marriage.
They have no special plans today to mark the milestone, but will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends at the South Otago Town and Country Club in Balclutha on Sunday.
Jim (86) and Stella (85) Taylor were married at a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, on May 3, 1952, and also plan to celebrate the milestone at the South Otago Town and Country club on Sunday.
The couple first met in October 1943 through a case of mistaken identity at a railway station - she mistook him for a cousin when she arrived at West Kirkbride, they got talking and hit it off.
The Taylors moved to New Zealand in 1963, moving in 1968 to Balclutha, where Mr Taylor worked as a registrar.
The couple have three sons and one daughter, and seven grandchildren.
While it did not feel like 60 years since their wedding, the Taylors were looking forward to celebrating their diamond anniversary with their family.
"It's very rare to have all the family together. We will all be there, apart from one grandson who is in China at the moment."
And the secret to 60 years of wedded bliss?
"Tolerance and a bit of give and take," Mrs Taylor said.
