Brenda and Peter Verbeek say they remember their wedding day like it was yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"We had four seasons in one day, didn't we?" Mrs Verbeek, 82, said. "It went from a hot day, to a blowy, windy day and a dusty day.
"It wasn't a very big wedding, but it was still lovely for us."
Mr Verbeek, 88, said he remembered his wife looked a "bit of alright" on the big day.
"I think I married her for her hair," he said. "It was just rusty, you know? A beautiful deep auburn mass of curls."
The couple married on March 30, 1959 in a church at St Arnaud. They then started their lives together in Wycheproof where they raised their six children, before moving to Bendigo in 1989.
Mrs Verbeek said besides the birth of their children, 21 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, the best moments in their lives were their two trips overseas.
"The first time we went in the 1980s, I bought a Tattslotto ticket and we won $6666," Mrs Verbeek said.
"Peter said what are we going to do? Should we get a car? And I had heard about the pilgrimage in Medjugorje and the apparitions of Our Lady there.
"We're both Catholics and our religion has been a really important part of our lives.
"So we went there and it took just that amount of money to get us there, do that pilgrimage in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and come home."
Mr Verbeek then won $15,000 in 2003, which they used for their second European holiday.
That trip included more pilgrimages and some time in the Netherlands where Mr Verbeek originates from.
"We really couldn't have afforded it otherwise because we spent a lot of money educating our children," Mrs Verbeek said.
"We have never regretted that because you can't put a price on education."
Despite the high points, Mr Verbeek said marriage was not always smooth sailing.
"We learnt a few things as we went along," Mr Verbeek said. "After about 18 months, I had to ask is this the rose I married? She had a few prickles.
"But if you didn't have a few problems, how would you know the good times?"
The Verbeeks said there was no trick to their marital success despite how rare it was to make it to 60 years.
"It's not a secret," Mr Verbeek said. "You just fight until you're tired."
"No we actually communicate very well," Mrs Verbeek said. "And we love a good laugh."
"You would be lost without a sense of humour," Mr Verbeek said.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.