Their height made Wayne and Laurie Hallquist seem like a good match when they met years ago at a Baptist single's club, and on Thursday they were matched with something else – the title of world's tallest couple.
Guinness World Records gave that towering distinction to the Hallquists in a ceremony under the marquee at its Hollywood museum, where the couple arrived in a white limousine, with Wayne sporting a tuxedo and Laurie in a white wedding dress.
The Hallquists, who live in Stockton, California, measure a combined 13 feet and 4 inches, or 407.4 centimeters to be exact, with Wayne standing 6 feet 10.4 inches and Laurie 6 feet 5.95 inches.
Wayne is a telephone company splicer and Laurie is a realtor who advertises herself as "head and shoulders above the rest."
Their height brings both perks and downfalls, as Laurie explains.
[Wayne and Laurie Hallquist, World’s Tallest Couple]:
"No, you know, everyone wonders if we have extra tall counters in our house or you know, we obviously have vaulted ceilings. And, other than that, buying clothes tends to be a little bit of an obstacle but we've figured all that out. And some of the advantages are just, it's a whole different perspective up here and we can find each other quite easily in a crowd."
"We can see several people going bald that might not know it at the moment."
The Hallquists have been married for seven years, but it took them until this year to contact Guiness.
The couple said they were discouraged at first from seeking the world's tallest couple title because they looked online and saw a man and a woman each standing over seven feet (213 centimeters) had married in the 19th century.
Only this year did they realize they could compete in another category: world's tallest living couple.
They contacted Guinness, and the organization had the Hallquists measured recently by a doctor, with a notary on hand to make it official.
World’s Tallest Married Couple set Guinness World Record 2011 Video.
