Dan and I met online and had our first date on the 26th of March 2023, hence the wedding date. Dan took us to an indoor bouldering and rock-climbing park where he was probably hoping that I would “fall” for him quick, after we both turned up 7 minutes early, parked next to each other and walked in together after the awkward “are you Laura?, “are you Dan?” introductions in the parking lot we could already tell there were some similarities. Much to Dan’s dismay he was the only one doing the “falling” on that day.

He was quick to ask for a second date, a simple drink at a local cocktail bar. This turned into bar hopping until about 1am as we talked and drank our way through some of Ponsonby’s finest establishments. From the jump, we were both very honest. We talked about family and marriage and we both got a good understanding of what the other one wanted in life. So by the time the third date rolled around, homemade tacos at my place, this all but sealed the deal. From that point on, it was simply a case of saying “so what are we doing this weekend….

And while Dan still never officially asked me to be his girlfriend, on January 9th, much to my surprise, during a rainy trip to Nazare in Portugal, soaking wet and full of laughter, he asked me to officially be his wife.