That kiss goodnight and strong communication is what they think makes a strong marriage.

"It's important to be honest and talking to each other but (we) always kiss good night and say I love you. That was the advice my mum and dad gave us," she said.

Ruth and her husband Gordon celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary on Caulfield Cup Day despite it being a few days after the date on their marriage certificate.

"We married on October 17 but we celebrate it on Caulfield Cup day. It means more to us because it was Caulfield Cup Day when we married and I was late for the wedding because of it," Ruth said.

"My future father-in-law was a bookie and he warned me not to get there before the Caulfield Cup had run. So we did several blocks around the cathedral waiting for 3pm to arrive.

"By the time I got there Gordon looked at me and said 'where have you been?' But it was a pretty special day and I finished up crying at the end of the aisle."

The marriage at Bendigo's Sacred Heart Cathedral was followed by a wedding breakfast at Ruth's mum's house in Breen Street before the couple travelled to Sydney for their honeymoon.

"Mum catered the whole wedding and we all pitched in and had a lovely wedding breakfast," Ruth said. "There were probably 70 or 80 people there but when you have a big family, there's a lot of relatives."

Ruth and Gordon meet through work at Marshall's Fruit Shop in Pall Mall.

Gordon worked there before joining the Navy but he was a regular when he was back in Bendigo.

"I was always in there and she chased me down," he said. "She has always been very easy to get along with."

Ruth said Gordon caught her eye quickly.

"This sexy little sailor used to come in to see his friends and I thought 'yeah, he's nice'. He was shy and took some tempting," Ruth said. "I would have been attracted to the sailor's uniform but more than that, he was such a quiet, gentle person, I thought that was nice. He was very polite and well mannered.

"One of the guys teed up a blind date and the rest was history from there."

Together Ruth and Gordon have four children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

They will celebrate their 60 years together with family and friends this weekend.

"When get to 60 years, you've done most of the celebrations already," Ruth said. "So we will have an open day for friends and family out on the patio. Anybody who knew us and liked us can come and say hi."

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