“I felt happy and excited. You can see that in this picture,” said James as he held a framed photo of him and his wife Jill in their wedding attire.
The Down’s syndrome couple were in fact the first couple to be wed in Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral.
“I remember, both of them wanted to get married for so long, I was just happy to see their dreams come true,” said Jill’s sister-in-law, Anne-Marie Robinson.
She said, for the wedding, the couple had collected “time credits” from the Lyttelton time bank by delivering community newspapers and gardening.
The bank then used those credits in exchange to acquire professional services from the community for setting up their wedding.
“It was such a fun day.”
Jill said she remembers a funny thing about her pink cardigan she wore that day.
“It was a bit difficult getting into the dress, maybe because I ate too much,” said Jill as she blushed.
However, the couple’s story, started 15 years ago when they first met on a bus. They didn’t communicate much but just looked at each other.
“We automatically married, at first sight, that’s what happened basically,” said James.
A few years later, both of them moved in together along with a flatmate and started living independently, until they got engaged and later married.
“We gradually fell in love, which was quite nice.”
Before the couple met, Jill used to live with her late mother Margaret Jefferies who was well-known in the Lyttelton community for her internationally-recognised initiatives.
Margaret took Jill into her care after her parents divorced and taught her skills for independent living.
“I can cook and can bake. I can swim and do the breaststroke and do the butterfly, and dance.”
James said that Jill had won several medals at regional swimming competitions.
“I remember, my mum taught me piano lessons.”
He said he started playing the piano when he was 15 and then gradually started busking as a hobby.
Jill and James can be seen busking in the streets of Lyttelton, near the farmers’ market.
While James plays a 60-key Casio synthesiser, playing The Beatles music, Jill can be seen energetically dancing in a multi-coloured outfit.
The couple have plans for a special dinner on the Saturday night of their anniversary.
And that means they won’t miss their weeknight viewing slot of Shortland Street.
