November 2019

It all started with a slightly unconventional sales strategy.

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At the time, Kerry’s boss had set her a target of meeting two new people in the banking industry every day. Having exhausted the more conventional options, she downloaded Bumble and started arranging drinks with people who worked at banks, reasoning that she could ask a few questions, learn something useful and call it networking.

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Alex, meanwhile, was ready for a date.

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He arrived at Honey Badger after work on a Wednesday night looking great and ready for a fun evening. Kerry arrived intending to have one quick drink, gather some useful banking intel and go home.

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They haven't stopped talking since.

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One drink turned into several, Kerry’s networking agenda disappeared almost immediately, and when they finally realised they should probably eat something, they headed to One Red Dog - the only place they could find still serving food.

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After they had sat down, the waitress came over three times to take their order before they managed to stop talking for long enough to open the menu.

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A few dates later, they were officially a couple.

2020

A few months later, in January 2020, Alex confidently told Kerry that everyone (in the world) was overreacting about this Covid-19 thing and it would all blow over in a few weeks.

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By March, New Zealand was in lockdown.

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Still relatively early in their relationship, they spent the months of Level 4 in separate bubbles getting to know each other over Messenger. Kerry's friends even met Alex for the first time over Zoom during a lockdown birthday call.

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As restrictions eased, they joined bubbles and got to spend more of normal life together. By October, Alex had moved into Kerry's family home in Silverstream, and a few months later they were getting ready for their next adventure.

2021

In February 2021, they moved to Auckland for Kerry's work and got their first place together. Auckland quickly became a city they both loved.

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Later that year came Auckland's very long lockdown, which meant three months of seeing almost no one but each other. They emerged from it stronger than they started, but also very ready to see a bit more of the world.

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By the end of the year, they'd decided it was time for something new.

2022

At the beginning of 2022, they packed up their lives in New Zealand and, in March, set off with plans to travel the world.

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They started with seven weeks in Thailand before realising that long-term backpacking wasn't quite the life they wanted. London had always been an option, so they changed course and decided to move there instead.

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After stops in Berlin and Amsterdam while Alex's UK visa came through, they arrived in London, found their first flat in Hackney and started building a new life.

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They were lucky enough to have Sarah, Mark, Travis, Claire, Yemo and Lauren all make the move around the same time, which made a city on the other side of the world feel like home surprisingly quickly.

2022 to now

London quickly became home, and more specifically, Clapton. Three flats later, they've made their way around Lower and Upper Clapton and now live on the canal overlooking the Hackney Marshes and, much to Kerry's delight, the cows.

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In May 2023, their household grew by one with the arrival of Mouse, their British Shorthair cat, who has since become a hugely important member of the family.

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There have been plenty of adventures along the way. Trips to Egypt, Italy and Spain, snow days in London, Wimbledon, Harry Styles, Coachella, Glastonbury, the Olympics in Paris and Disneyland for Alex's 30th.

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These days, life is very settled. They enjoy dinners out, tennis, cards and board games, and plenty of time spent happily doing their own things together.

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Kerry and Alex are chalk and cheese in plenty of ways. They have very different tastes in music, furniture and activities, and very different ideas about the ideal temperature of almost anything. But on the things that matter, they're remarkably aligned.

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For now, London is very happily home. Whether it will be forever remains to be seen.

18 April 2024

For Kerry's birthday in 2024, Alex arranged a trip Italy, visiting Rome, then Florence - Kerry's favourite city.

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Alex had planned to take her to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset on the evening before her birthday to propose. The weather (and Kerry) didn't entirely cooperate. It was raining on the way there, Kerry was tired and in a grump, and by the time they arrived, there wasn't much of a sunset to be found. However, Alex persisted.

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The silver lining was that the usually packed viewpoint was unusually quiet, and Florence was still looking spectacular below them.

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Alex proposed.

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Kerry said yes.

22 January 2027

And that brings to our wedding.

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Auckland was where Kerry and Alex had their first home together, and it remains one of their favourite places in New Zealand.

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So it feels very special to be coming back to get married here, this time with so many of their favourite people travelling from around New Zealand and the world to join them.

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Seven years on from that accidental first date, they've built a life together that they love.

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They can't wait to celebrate the next chapter with all of you.