Marie, 93 and Ron, 100 marry at Newcastle aged care facility: Love of the century

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love.

Marie Hill and Ron Hedley are not exactly kids. She is 93 and he is 100.

Love doesn't recognise age. But Marie Hill and Ron Hedley recognised love when they saw it, and each other, at an exercise class in 2019.

She was particularly keen on him.

"She said, 'When are you going to marry me?'," Mr Hedley said. "I said, 'Give me time, I've got to think about it'."

Time catches up with love. And on Sunday afternoon that love led to a marriage, with a commitment ceremony held in the presence of three generations of their families, along with fellow residents and workers at the home.

"We never expected to be coming to a 100 wedding," said Tony Hedley, one of the groom's three sons attending. "But very nice."

Just before the bride appeared, Ron Hedley, resplendent in a blue bow tie, admitted, "I'm a bit nervous."

But the nerves disappeared when the love of his later life appeared.

"In the autumn of their lives, these two beautiful people, Marie and Ron, have found their friendship and care for one another have blossomed into love," the home's chaplain, Pat Betts, told the gathering.

During the ceremony, the couple held hands, until they momentarily let go to slip on their rings - and to kiss. Or as Pat Betts said, "And now the moment we've all been waiting for."

For the chaplain, this was a first, joining in marriage a couple aged 100 and in their 90s.

"I'm very optimistic for this pair, that their love is only going to continue to grow and blossom," she said.

The new Mrs Hedley's granddaughter, Sophia Chakma Hill, said it was a beautiful ceremony.

"I'm really glad to see Nanny so happy with him," she said.

Marie Hedley's son, Glen Hill, said he had noticed the effect of love on his Mum.

"She used to ring all the time, 10 phone calls a day, now it's really hard to catch her when you ring her," he said.

According to the home's general manager, Janet Collins, the couple's love and happiness have brightened the whole facility.

"They just make everyone happy," Ms Collins said. "Anyone who spends five minutes in their company, you can just see it and feel it. It's beautiful."

After the ceremony, Mr Hedley said the event had been "wonderful, out of this world". He said he was still planning a honeymoon, perhaps for a couple of months' time.

But Mrs Hedley had her doubts: "Oh, I don't know if he can stand up to a honeymoon. He's 100. We'll have to wait and see."

Not that they need a honeymoon to declare their love.

"We just get on so well and so lovingly," she said.

Or, as Ed Sheeran sings in the Hedleys' wedding song, "I see my future in your eyes."

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