The Sunderlands who renewed their wedding vows in Sunderland with lots of other Sunderlands watching

A gathering of Sunderlands happened in Sunderland on this day 35 years ago.

This, in 1991, was the day the American Sunderlands met the Sunderland Sunderlands - in Sunderland.

To explain more, John and Janis Sunderland, who lived in San Jose in California, were about to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

But they wanted to do it in style and decided that the best way was to do it in Sunderland, England.

And to make the day even more special, John and Janis planned to renew their wedding vows with some very special guests.

They invited lots of other people who also had the surname of Sunderland to join them for the vow renewal which was held in St Peter’s Church, Monkwearmouth.

John spoke to the Sunderland Echo at the time. He told us: “The idea started when we renewed our vows after five years, and we thought what should we do for the next five. So we decided to do it in Sunderland.”

Janis said: “We are very impressed with Sunderland and we have made so many new friends.

“We are pleased by the generosity of the people of Sunderland. They could certainly teach San Jose a lesson in how to treat its guests.”

Tell us if you were one of the Sunderlands who were at the special occasion and what you remember about the day.

As a reminder of Wearside life in 1991, this was also in the news.

The race was on to complete a £1.5million facelift for Roker Park by the start of next season.

At least 1,000 seats would be lost, including the director’s box, to make way for enlarged gangways and a new entrance.

Sunderland’s Vaux Brewery was officially the tops in quality. The brewing giant and its sister brewery, SH Ward and Co of Sheffield, have won a top international award for the quality of their brewing processes.

Arctic winds made for the coldest Wearside start to June since records began more than 100 years ago.

Temperatures on June 2 dipped to eight degrees - making it the coldest June day in the 1900s.

We would love to hear from people with items of nostalgia to share from the Wearside and County Durham areas.

Whether it is sport or news from a bygone era, get in touch and tell us more by emailing [email protected]