Golden couple recreate their special day after 50 years

Tom and Pat Colledge first said ‘I do’ fifty years ago on Pat’s 19th birthday.

And, to celebrate their Golden Wedding, the Seaham pair walked down the aisle again to renew the vows they made all those years ago.

This time the Melrose Crescent couple were joined by their family, including grandchildren Jessica Jackson, 25, Edward Jackson, 22, Amelia Donaldson, 13, and great-grandson, Harry Laign, seven, who were attendants and bridesmaids.

Tom, 71, and Pat were originally married at St Hild and St Helen Church in Dawdon, but as Pat now worships at All Saints Church in Deneside, they decided to hold their vow renewal there.

This time around there was a gold theme to the occasion to mark their 50 years, but Pat recreated her original wedding bouquet of red roses.

They had all the trimmings of a wedding, apart from a new wedding ring.

Pat, 69, said: “I have never had my wedding ring off in 50 years, they used to say it was unlucky to take it off, so I just had it blessed.”

Pat and Tom, who met at a harvest festival when Pat was 16 and Tom chatted her up by asking for a cigarette, then took their 170 guests to The Mallard pub for the reception.

The couple’s family had decorated a marquee with lots of golden items, as well as photos and cards from their original wedding day.

Pat and Tom, who have a daughter, two sons and another two grandsons, originally had Pat’s sister, Jean Marrin, as maid of honour, but she sadly died of cancer when she was 40.

One of the last things Jean did before she became too ill, was to do a reading at a family wedding, so Pat decided to have the same reading at her vow renewal so she felt Jean was part of their second big day.

Pat said: “I originally wanted to have a vow renewal for our Silver Wedding, but shortly beforehand Jean was diagnosed with cancer and it wouldn’t have been right if she couldn’t walk down the aisle.

“Then when it was our Ruby Wedding, Tom had just lost his mam. My dad said at the time that we should do it for our 50th, so when it came I just felt like my dad, who died a few years ago, was telling me to go for it.”

Pat said she and Tom, who worked from an electrical company, have had a very happy marriage.

She said: “We have had our ups and downs like everyone else, but I wouldn’t swap it. We have lived in our house for almost all of our married life and we always say even if we won the lottery we could never sell it because there are too many happy memories here.”