FOR her 23rd birthday Yvonne Carss got a husband.
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Now, 65 years later Mrs Carss and her husband Tom are celebrating their blue sapphire wedding anniversary.
The couple celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary along with Mrs Carss’ 88th birthday on Wednesday.
Mr Carss said it was his wife’s decision to marry on her birthday.
“That was Yvonne’s decision but I have never missed an anniversary and we have got on wonderfully,” he said.
Mr and Mrs Carss were married in Kyneton on August 9, 1952.
“It was a big enough wedding,” Mrs Carss said.
While Mr and Mrs Carss have a lot in common, it was dancing that brought them together.
“His brother partnered me when I made my debut,” Mrs Carss said.
“Tom came along for a sticky-beak at how his brother was getting on and apparently he liked what he saw.
“Dancing and music is what we had in common and what bought us together.”
Both Mr and Mrs Carss agreed there was a spark right from the start.
“We suited each other right from the word go. We were good friends and together about 12 months (before deciding to marry) and always knew there was a spark there,” Mr Carss said.
“We danced for years and years years. Every opportunity we had we had a dance. That's where we met.”
In lasting 65 years as a couple, Mr Carss said there was a simple trick to a successful marriage.
“You have got to respect each other before you do anything else. You have to respect each other,” he said.
Mrs Carss said the respect between her and her husband meant they don’t argue.
“We have never had a fight yet,” she said. “We disagree occasionally but he's a softie and gives in all the time.”
Mr and Mrs Carss lived in Kyneton for 75 years and built a house together – literally.
Using sand from a river, the couple hand made the bricks they used in their house.
Their son Paul Carss said his dad use moulds to make the bricks at night after work.
“Mum would take them out of the moulds during the day and they built their house by hand,” he said.
It took Mr and Mrs Carss more than a year to build their home.
“We made the bricks with a machine that made three bricks at a time. The house used 40,000 bricks,” Mrs Carrs said.
Mr and Mrs Carss have also built a family that includes a son and a daughter, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
They celebrated with a lunch at Braidie’s Tavern.
“It was nice to have the family together,” Mrs Carss said.