Lauren + Dano by Sapphire Studios - Together Journal

Lauren —— We’re both from New Zealand but now live in Los Angeles. I work in health/wellness and sustainability PR while Dano is an audio engineer who tours with bands. Many people would say we’re pretty different but it works for us (on good days!).

We’re both pretty social people who enjoy good food and wine, the outdoors and live music. We met through a friend when Dano came through LA on tour with a band. Our first meeting didn’t go too well, but it was better luck the second time, at a show in Colorado. Because neither of us expected anything, we were totally ourselves from the start. I remember thinking how funny Dano was, and how much I’d missed the Kiwi sense of humour. Dano asked me all these serious questions and then proceeded to hug me, and I think I knew then that he was pretty keen.

Dano would say he knew this was it at Coachella after too many drinks and a bout of sunstroke! We had numerous geographic logistics to work through but we both knew this was something special. We got engaged in Hawaii in Feb 2020 — just before the world shut down. I’m a bit of a planner and had our whole holiday planned in a Google Doc and Dano kept trying to veer off the plan to have a drink in the park, so I knew something was up. He’d worked with my friend to record one of my favorite songs (If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell), so we were listening to that, a beautifully recorded, engineered and mastered recording. I thought that was the surprise — and then Dano proposed.

Because of COVID, we postponed our wedding twice and changed the venue once. I wanted it to have a laid-back garden feel, with lots of natural elements and colour. Being a bride didn’t come naturally to me, so it was really important for it to be a reflection of me. We’re both vegan and are big foodies so wanted a fully vegan wedding, which was a highlight of the day. Even though it rained, it was a magical day. My father picked me up in his classic car, which broke down on the way to the venue. I was sitting there with the roof down getting poured on. But it all worked out in the end. I knew I wanted to wear a Danielle Frankel dress, something really unique and whimsical.

My reception dress was by the cool brand, Fanci Club, a hot pink see-through dress which I wore with white vintage 70s boots. It was so much fun to wear. Dano had an amazing experience getting his suit made with Zambesi. He was dressed by Dayne Johnston who worked with him from start to finish and made the whole experience super comfortable. He wore his Docs with the suit, which helped him feel a little more himself!