Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are based in Wellington and we have a six month old son – Joey. We are a multicultural whānau with Terry being half Chinese and half Pakeha.
I was born in South Korea and grew up in New Zealand. Terry is a pilot at Sounds Air and I am a Foreign Policy Officer at a government agency.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
S: We met on a dating app in June 2018 – Bumble! My first impression of Terry was that he seemed nice and taller than I expected (which was a bonus). To mark the occasion that we met on Bumble, we gave cute honey favours to all our wedding guests that said “Meant to Bee – Susie and Terry”.
T: I was living in the Kāpiti Coast at the time and I was lucky enough to have matched with Susie while I was at the Wellington Airport waiting for my flight to depart to Australia to attend my friend’s wedding. As I was in Wellington, my search radius was within Susie’s search radius and it enabled us to match. When we met, my first impression of Susie was that she was very cute, intelligent and kind hearted.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
S: As super cheesy as it sounds, I actually knew very early on that Terry was “the one”. In the first couple of months of dating, I think we booked our tickets to go to Korea so he could meet my family there. It was a bold move, but when you know you know!
TM: I knew as soon as she paid for the bill on our first date, that she was the one, haha. I would have to say the turning point of our relationship going from a girlfriend to the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with was when I saw how kind, loyal and caring she was.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
S: The proposal was a reenactment of our first date. We went to the restaurant and bar we went to on our first date, and went for a walk around town and then ended up outside my work where we first met. I was surprised to end up outside my work on a Saturday, and then Terry was on one knee and pulled out a box with an engagement ring! Of course I said YES and also told him to quickly get up in case any of my colleagues were around.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
S: Words to describe the vision for our wedding would be: cultural, classic and inclusive. Embracing our different cultures was important. To embrace my Korean heritage my Mum and I wore hanbok (Korean traditional attire). To embrace Terry’s Chinese heritage we had a Chinese tea ceremony. The Chinese tea ceremony symbolises the union of two families. Also, we went with a peach colour palette and tried to keep our style classic. Perhaps most importantly, my family (including my Dad and Grandmother) and friends in Korea, abroad and Auckland could not attend the wedding due to COVID. So we had pre-recorded messages playing at the wedding reception to ensure that those who could not attend were included and were part of our special day. Our videographer (Issy – Aaron and Isabel Wedding Films) was awesome and helped us to put the pre-recorded messages together. While not having my family attend the wedding was hard, the pre-recorded messages were really heartfelt.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
S: We focused primarily on having good food, drinks and capturing our special day. The food at Rose & Smith was phenomenal – we still get positive feedback on the pork and kimchi bao buns and smashed cheeseburgers. We also had a gelato cart which was a HUGE hit as it was the perfect day for gelatos in the sun. I was adamant that we had to have the BEST photographer and videographer. Lucy Li (our wonderful photographer) captured our wedding beautifully and promptly, and I was able to quickly share the pictures with my family and friends offshore who were waiting with anticipation to see the photos.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
T: The groomsmen and I were staying at a different accommodation to the bridal party. On the morning of the wedding we chilled out and relaxed, until all of a sudden we looked at the time and it was getting pretty close to the time of the wedding ceremony. So we all rushed to get ready. Tying the bow tie took the longest time! I knew I should have practiced days before but it slipped out of my mind. The groomsmen tried to help me and we resorted to looking at multiple YouTube videos until we finally got it sorted in the end. It was definitely the most stressful part of the day and thankfully I had the support of my trusty groomsmen, otherwise it would have been a bit embarrassing arriving with no bow tie!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
S: I had three dresses! Two of the dresses were designed and made by the talented Helen at Helen Forster Bridal. I had a lot of fun at my fittings. My first dress was a classic dress with a long train and veil that I walked down the aisle to. It was inspired by my Grandmother’s wedding dress. My second dress was my Korean traditional dress – hanbok, which I wore for the Chinese tea ceremony. Finally, my third dress was a shorter dress that I could move around freely for our first dance. I absolutely loved all three of my wedding dresses! Terry on the other hand kept it simple, with one classic suit from Working Style.
Venue, planning and catering: Rose and Smith / Videographer: Aaron and Isabel Films / Photographer: Lucy Li Photography / Celebrant: Wendy Morrison Celebrant / Entertainment: DJ Luke / Flora: He Putiputi / Cake and macaraon: Finom / Stationery and Signage: Terry’s talented sister – Lessa / Did you have a registry? Travel Registry / Accommodation: Tarureka / First Dance: First Dance Wellington / Honey favours: New Zealand Honey Traders / Gelato cart: Daisy Days / Bride’s dresses and veil: Helen Forster Bridal / Groom’s suit: Working Style / Bride’s ring web + insta: Village Goldsmiths / Groom’s ring: Tiffany and Co / Bride’s shoes: Mi Piaci / Groom’s shoes: Windsor Smith / Makeup: Susie’s sister – Gene / Bridesmaids make up: Kate Keogh / Hair: Dollhouse Do / Fragrance: Chanel / Bridesmaids attire: BLAK / Groomsmen attire: Rembrandt
