Real Wedding: Indiana & Simeon – Photography by Frank & Peggy

Simeon and I were introduced by a mutual friend three years ago at a restaurant in Auckland. I was catching up with friends and he was with colleagues. It wasn’t love at first sight, but I remember thinking that I’d never seen such a well-dressed, stylish man!

We kept bumping into each other at parties and birthdays over the next year and a half and our friendship slowly grew into something more. On an Auckland summer’s day, Simeon asked me on our first date. Lunch turned into dinner and we’ve been inseparable ever since. We were engaged at the end of January and didn’t want to wait until the following summer, so we tied the knot in June. I truly believe that the longer you have to plan, the more time you spend overthinking things and feeling pressure to make changes that, deep down, you don’t really want. Our short engagement meant there wasn’t any time for things to go horribly wrong — although I did laugh when, the day before the wedding, my dad mistakenly bought 100 of the wrong variety of pears for our place cards. Poor mum spent the rest of the day driving around fruit shops trying to locate the correct pears. I’d stumbled across the Quay Project in Auckland, and from the moment Simeon and I first visited the space, we fell in love with its exposed concrete and brick walls, wooden flooring and high ceilings. It felt like the perfect mix of quirky and elegant. We did the styling with help from our parents. Our friends played a significant role, too. The night before, we decorated the reception tables with eucalyptus leaves foraged from a friend’s garden, pillar candles and golden bosc pears with place cards tied to each stem, while Simeon’s mum took care of the candles in the church. My mum is Australian so the eucalyptus leaves, which were also in my bouquet, paid homage to her and my late Gran. The golden bosc pears were a nod to dad’s family heritage in the fruit and vegetable business, and they’re a symbol of prosperity in Chinese culture. Seeing the reception décor come together was a highlight. We wouldn’t have changed a thing. Our friend Lucy made our delicious three-tier wedding cake of carrot, chocolate and Guinness, topped with a kumara and citrus layer in honour of Simeon’s favourite food – kumara! Walking down the aisle, I couldn’t stop smiling. We’re constantly laughing and teasing each other. Married life has been amazing. We bring so much joy into each other’s lives.