Bay couple celebrate 60 years together after arranged marriage
They were born in Cyprus, met in the Free State and six months after that opted to get married in the Greek Orthodox Church in then Port Elizabeth.
And despite Maro and George Koutsoudis’s arranged marriage not being the traditional love story, it has stood the test of time as the successful business owners celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary today.
Maro, 79, said while the decision to marry initially lay with her father, the couple’s choices thereafter had seen struggle, success and becoming inseparable over the 60 years of their marriage.
“We met in September 1963, when he came with his uncle, sister and grandfather to Wepener [in the Free State].
“After the big Sunday lunch, we had coffee and his uncle Angelo asked me what I thought of George.
“What could I say? I was 19 and had been over-protected.
“Then he runs to him [George] and asked him what he thought. And he said that I looked too young.
“His uncle told him that I was 24.
“His sister, Yiota, told me how good he was to the family.
“I was embarrassed and did not know what to say.
“I said whatever my dad said would be OK with me. And the rest is history.”
George, 87, also known as Koko, said he had no say either as his uncle had agreed to the marriage.
Maro said: “We got engaged in October. The shop where George worked in Port Elizabeth was sold.
“He then came to Wepener and we got to know each other by working together in my father’s shop.”
On March 8 1964, the couple had a double wedding with George’s sister, Yiota, and her husband, Savvas Charalambous.
The reception was at the family-owned old Palm Grove Restaurant which was situated at Happy Valley.
“Most of the community was invited. I think it was the biggest wedding at the time.
“It was a Big Fat Greek Wedding,” Maro said.
The family lived in the Free State before settling in Summerstrand in 1984.
“We owned the well-known Port Elizabeth Supermarket and Surf Shop below the old Elizabeth Hotel from 1984 to 1995, when we had to move out.
“George then opened a kiosk at The Boardwalk called Georgie’s Pudding and Pie.
“He also farmed because he loves to grow things.”
The couple, who have one daughter, three sons and five grandsons, said the secret to a long marriage was to compromise and to keep quiet even if you were right sometimes.
“You have to have faith in the Lord,” Maro said.
“Couples should work hard on their relationships.
“Each couple is different, but they should not give up too easily.”
George said his wife had looked well after him over the years.
Their daughter and eldest child, Sue Petratos, said her parents’ marriage taught her that love could grow out of the hardest experiences.
“They always believe in compromise and forgiveness.
“They inspire not only me and my brothers, but also our children, to always put ourselves in other’s shoes before we judge anybody’s actions, and they taught us to be close to our Lord.”
The family is getting together for a big celebration on Sunday.