A Falmouth couple who had just six weeks to plan and organise every detail of their wedding, will be celebrating their 50th anniversary on Friday.

Reg and Pearl Sleeman have her mother to thank for pulling off the daunting task of ensuring everything was in place for their big day on October 17, 1964.

The couple had announced their engagement and Mr Sleeman, who was a scout master with 9th Falmouth Baptist Scouts, then went off on jamboree.

“When I came back after a fortnight, my entire wedding had been arranged,” he said.

The rush to marry was driven by the chance to rent a home in Lambs Lane which was being vacated by a friend who was off to teaching college. With Mrs Sleeman’s mother on the case, the couple needn’t have worried though.

They tied the knot at Penwerris Church and had their reception at the Palm Court Hotel, which has since been demolished.

They then moved into the house at Lambs Lane which became the first of 12 homes the couple have shared. They have lived in Manor Crescent for the past three years.

The couple first met through Mrs Sleeman’s elder brother, David, who was friends with her future husband.

It wasn’t until several years later, though, that romance blossomed after they met again at a dance at the old Drill Hall in Bar Road.

Mr Sleeman had been a joiner with builders Grey and Connley and his wife a hairdresser at Vogue in Berkeley Vale.

Giving up hairdressing when she started a family, Mrs Sleeman later worked in the kitchens at Beacon Junior and then St Mary’s Schools. Her husband went on to work at Wheal Jane, Courts Furnishers, Carclew Builders and finishing as a maintenance man at the Falmouth Beach Resort Hotel.

Away from work, Mr Sleeman, 74, has been an avid supporter of the Falmouth Spring Flower Show where he was show director for over 25 years and is now its chairman.

The couple share a passion for gardening and also enjoying walking with their cocker spaniel, Jessie.

They have two children, Kathryn and Paul, who has a two-year-old daughter, Holly, with his wife Helen.

They will be celebrating their golden wedding with an open house next week with friends and family. As for the secret of a successful marriage, Mrs Sleeman, 71, said: “I know it’s always said, but you do have to give and take in life and you have to tell one another everything – be honest with each other.”

Mr Sleeman agreed: “You don’t keep secrets because they will come back to bite you.”