Golden celebrations for couples who married on same day

Sisters Catherine and Jennifer Hume first met best friends Douglas Wilson and Robert Forrest at a dance in Glasgow’s Majestic Ballroom.

Both couples would later tie the knot on August 28, 1971, at the same ceremony in the city’s Springburn Hill Parish Church.

Catherine’s daughter Karen said the reasons behind the couples’ double wedding were mostly financial.

Douglas and Catherine Wilson

She told The Gazette: “Back in those days, it was the brides’ parents who paid and, since both of them were planning to get married around the same time, I think they thought ‘Why not kill two birds with one stone?’

“I think it has been their friendships more than anything that has played a part in the success of their marriages. Throughout the years, I remember our families would go on holiday together to places like Majorca.”

As well as sharing the same wedding day, both couples have four children, who share the same consecutive birth years.

In another bizarre twist, Catherine’s children – Stuart, Derek, Stephen and Karen – are the opposite genders to Jennifer’s children Joanne, Louise, Laura and Gareth.

Robert and Jennifer Forrest

The two couples are now planning to celebrate their Golden Wedding anniversaries together later this month by taking a week-long trip to Llandudno, in Wales, for a coach tour and to see extended family.

Paisley couple Jennifer and Robert, aged 72 and 69, went to Llandudno for their honeymoon and held a separate celebration several weeks ago with their four children and eight grandchildren, when son Gareth was home on leave from serving with the RAF in Cyprus.

Meanwhile, Catherine and Douglas, aged 70 and 71, held a small family gathering at their Renfrew home on Saturday to celebrate their 50 years of marriage, joined by their four children and nine grandchildren.

Both couples married on the same day

Karen said: “They’re ecstatic to reach their golden anniversaries. They’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have wished them well.

“My parents do the Linwood Parkrun every week and my mum has ran around 140 times, while my dad has volunteered at Parkrun 151 times.

“They were both at Parkrun on their anniversary and the organisers shared their pictures on Facebook, so my mum has been a bit taken aback by the number of people wishing them well.”