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This Valentine's Day, one Euroa couple will wait for just 24 more hours before celebrating their first wedding anniversary.
Jemma and Brian Renden tied the knot on 15 February last year at Temple Kitchen & Co in Euroa to get as close as they could to love's biggest day of the year, which fell on a Friday in 2025.
"Saturday was the better day," Jemma said, recalling the ceremony with enough glee to think it happened last week.
"We had fifty guests and it was a beautiful day."
Jemma's dress was made with encrusted jewels by the exquisite designers at Stellar York in Melbourne.
The couple met while working together in Shepparton, with Brian originally from Undera and Jemma growing up in Euroa.
Jemma took no time on Monday in giving the advice that many singles might not want to hear.
"You have to have the right person," she said.
"People can be frivolous these days, but I believe it is important to stay married for life and work out how to get through the ups and downs.
"Get that person who you can work with because life’s not easy."
The couple have two children, a six-year-old boy and two-year-old daughter, and Jemma said the family has grown the couple's love to become shared adventures.
"He's a great husband and he works hard to be a great father to the children," Jemma said.
"So now we go on family-based adventures, camping with our caravan, or to look at some waterfalls.
"Brian has always been a very loyal person, very forthcoming, he always said it how it was - a spade is a spade and a shovel is a shovel.
"And he has a good sense of humour - that's very important to make each other laugh.
"I make him laugh with my silly comments."
The couple's first date was at a Shepparton pub and Brian was no slouch either when it came to flowers.
"He got me some roses; well, first he presented a single rose and then pulled out a whole bouquet.
"He was romantic."
As she reflected on the success of their love, she returned again to the biggest piece of advice.
"Definitely hold it out for the right person."
