A husband and wife from Tilbury celebrated fifty years of marital bliss with a walk down the aisle at the Amazon fulfilment centre.

Surprising staff and fellow tour guests with their love story, Chris and Jim Atkins chose to mark the milestone with a behind the scenes peek inside Amazon.

The tour was made even more special when their son-in-law Paul Atkins-Barker, an Amazon Tour Leader, showed the happy couple around the fulfilment centre.

As a former Telecoms engineer, Jim has a passion for technology innovation and loves filling the home he shares with Chris with the latest technology gadgets. The couple was eager to learn about Amazon’s cutting-edge technology and enjoyed learning what happens when you click ‘buy’.

The couple’s love story started when they were teenagers.

Despite Chris attending an all-girls school and Jim attending an all-boys school, they still managed to meet as youngsters through Chris’s brother.

It was a natural connection from the start and that spark has lasted through fifty years of marriage.

When asked about the secret to a long and happy life together, Chris smiled at Jim and said, “Marriage is about tolerance and accepting the other person for who they are. You can’t change a person, nor would you want to change them because you love them for who they are.”

Both are regular shoppers at Amazon and Christmas is a particularly special time in their household. Chris’s birthday is on Christmas Day, so their home is filled with hidden Amazon boxes waiting to be wrapped for both special occasions. During the tour, Jim joked that one of the best gifts that Chris ever gave him from Amazon was a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

When asked why they choose an Amazon fulfilment centre to celebrate their anniversary, Chris said, “We love learning and enjoying new experiences, so when Paul told us that Amazon was holding public tours in our home town, we couldn’t say no. Plus, what better way to shop for an anniversary gift!”

Blown away by the scale of the building, they noted that they will be recommending the tour to all of their friends. And when they aren’t chasing after their six beautiful grandchildren and two great grandchildren (with another on the way), they hope to return again soon for another inspiring visit.