Baby Boomers'

Age is no obstacle for love & marriage

Is there ever a right time for love & marriage? It’s such a cliché that when you come from a certain era in your life you are expected to hang up your propriety and conform to what a younger generation expect of you. There has never been an age group like the baby boomers, who’ve spent their lives stepping outside the rules book to liberate themselves for free speech and love. Life has changed dramatically over the past 5 to 6 decades, women are now accepted as equal in most western society, same sex relationships are valid in most humanity and an undercurrent energy has been broadcast enabling divorcees, widows and widowers and same sex couples the freedom to announce their love and celebrate it without shame.

Finding yourself a fresh love later on in life or simply wanting to reaffirm your devotion to one and other after re-evaluating life when the kids flew the nest is not uncommon these days. There are many ways you can do this but as mature people, the story is much less about the glitz of a big party but more about the intimacy of the words spoken to each other in a memorable and stunning location.

It’s all about you.

As a celebrant I love to officiate a special union particularly between two people in the baby boomers age group, where experience means these couples know exactly what the reality and legal implications involved are, balanced with the love and affirmation they have for each other.  A marriage or re-affirming ones vows is a statement to the world, that what ever they have faced together to this point, or are likely to face in their future, they do so with complete acceptance of the certainty and challenges of old age.

One of my very first experiences in organizing a wedding in the Abel Tasman National Park was for a delightful couple, Mike and Julie. They had both experienced failed marriages but in an unexpected chance moment Julie met Mike in a bus stop on the way back from work.  Mike was reading a story about New Zealand in a news paper, by coincidence Julie had just returned from a trip there. It was a place Mike always wanted to visit which sparked a conversation. As the bus arrived Mike quickly wrote his telephone number on the paper in the hope Julie would call him to continue the stories he had so enjoyed.  Cutting a long story short Julie and Mike got engaged and their choice of location to have an adventure elopement was easy, it had to be New Zealand.

I become good friends and kept in contact with Mike who was always so kind in sharing their story. Sadly Mike passed away due to illness shortly after which affirmed to Julie why they got married at such a late stage in their lives.

Read more here page 46 & 47. One Smile Magazine.

Another couple I was blessed to marry was Dave and Jane who had a 60 year romance, in one way or another with their paths crossing multiple times before they finally realizing that they wanted to make it official. Dave and Jane love only the simple things in life and that was exactly how they celebrated on a stony beach at the Motueka Sand Spit with two good friends as witnesses.

As we mature, life teaches us that our heads and hearts stay youthful while our bodies tire. Finding someone or being with another who gets it, really does enhance the quality of ones life. We don’t love any less, we don’t laugh any quieter, our tears are still wet, our hands maybe weaker but they still long for a firm grip. These are all things we need a significant other for and it’s worth finding a way to generate those pleasures in life together as a married couple.

With every celebration I am part of I feel blessed, couples arrive as strangers and leave as friends. I get to be part of one of the most important days in their lives in the most beautiful place in the world. The choices are massive, from mountain tops to glistening beaches, hop fields and orchards, lime caves and rose gardens, the list is endless, coupled with a delightful picnic and captured in film for ever.  Thank you for choosing The Dream Maker.

We've enjoyed lots of unique and beautiful moments with our more mature couples