Lewin Waters and Ian Lee’s love story began like any modern meet-cute – they bumped into each other at an art show in Auckland, got talking, and exchanged Instagram handles.  

“We realised we had 40 mutual friends and had been at the same shows and parties for about 10 years. The universe was clearly waiting for the right time for us to meet. We were both into the same kind of music and had been tattooed by the same people, too,” says Lewin. 

Their relationship moved pretty fast after that. Lewin, a graphic designer, and Ian, an account manager, moved in together within a month and started joking about getting married soon after. Fast forward a year and a half, it became less of a joke. “We made it official and then got married less than a year later. All I can say is, when ya know, ya know!” 

Like many engagement stories, theirs went more awkwardly than expected. “I had envisioned a nonspecific grand gesture, as I knew he had the ring so there was no surprise there. About three days after receiving the ring we were taking a Saturday afternoon nap and Ian unsuccessfully tried to slip the ring on. I woke up and told him to try again but ended up changing my mind because I just wanted the ring at this point – SO romantic. Luckily, he made up for his lack of proposal skills with vows that had even the toughest attendees shed a tear.” 

The vision

Lewin and Ian both saw marriage as a celebration of their love and commitment, and their wedding as a good excuse for a party. “We kept all the bits of a wedding we believed in and cut out all the stuff that didn’t serve us. We just wanted to celebrate our love with our closest friends and family, without the huge price tag and stress,” says Lewin. 

“Ian is Malaysian Chinese so it was really important for us to include his culture in our celebrations. We had dinner and a Chinese tea ceremony the night before so our families could meet properly. We wore traditional outfits handmade from Malaysian Batik fabric which was gifted to us by Ian’s sister.”

For the wedding, they embraced a “slightly kitsch, 60s Vegas-inspired vibe”, which suited the not-so-serious tone they wanted on the night. “We tried to focus on vintage and local because the wedding industry can be so wasteful. Between us we have so many amazing creative friends so we wanted to utilise them too.”

The venue

After considering a venue outside of Lewin’s hometown in Te Awamutu, the couple decided to look closer to town, where most of their guests were based. 

“We discovered Brad’s Warehouse [in Auckland central] and booked it as soon as we saw it. We had both the venue and reception here. With only 60 guests it worked so perfectly with minimal fuss.”

Thanks to generous and creative friends, and Lewin’s graphic design skills, most of the decoration was DIY. “Shout out to my best friend Jess who is an art director in the film industry and helped me pull off a full venue decoration on a budget, which I found out the hard way was MUCH harder than it looks.”

The outfits

Set on wearing vintage, Lewin trawled the internet and any boutiques for the gold beaded vintage dress she had envisioned, to no avail. “I didn’t really want to wear white, but I found a beaded mini from the 60s that was made in Hong Kong in amazing condition and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“I wore my nan’s necklace and my mum’s veil as my sister had done – my parents met in Venice and have been married nearly 40 years so we thought it was a perfect way to honour them and bring good luck for a long healthy marriage.”

For something new, a custom bow made by Gloria, pink platform heels by Paris Texas and rose earrings made by Wellington jeweller Mutation. A dab of Curionoir’s Dark Bouquet finished the look, as did hairdresser Rick from Commune and makeup artist Lauren Bryant, “an old friend from my hometown in the deep Waikato.” 

Ian looked equally stylish in his black suit, handmade from a Tailor Bros when the couple were in Hanoi earlier in the year. “I wore my late grandmother's gold chain and jade Buddha pendant that she’s had since the 40s. I really wanted to wear a belt that resembled a late 80s Hong Kong triad, and a good friend of mine from back home, Terance Chen of Utile Works, made it for me.”

He tied the outfit together with Saint Laurent loafers and a white Sunspel singlet, “cause I didn’t want to look like a real estate agent on my wedding day.” The couple’s rings were made by Melbourne jeweller Halo and Hurt and another talented friend, Jessica Dew of Tamaki-based Screaming Jewellery. 

The ceremony

Even though a ceremony nearly didn’t happen due to nerves, Lewin, being a Leo, wanted the drama of the big entrance. “As a surprise for Ian I walked in with both my parents. Sounds cheesy, but the moment I turned the corner and saw him waiting for me at the end of the aisle was super special. I was worried about falling on my ass in my super high heels, but my friend who was recently married told me I’d forget about the other people and she was right, it was like it was just the two of us there.

“I wondered for a long time what Lew’s entrance song would be and when I saw her walk in to Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, it really made my heart melt,” says Ian. 

The short ceremony was led by a good friend, Alice, who they’d asked to be their celebrant. “It made saying all those things in front of people so much more comfortable,” says Lewin. 

After the proposal, Ian felt he needed to step up with his vows. “The Chinese dialect I speak, Hokkien, isn’t the most romantic sounding language, so I referenced a 1950s Malay legend, P. Ramlee and Lewin’s reaction was priceless.”

The reception party

The pair set up one end of the venue for the ceremony and the other end with the bar and tables for a reception dinner and dance floor. Guests joined the newlyweds for a cocktail hour, followed by wine from Everyday Wine. 

Serving great food was important to the couple – their friends all know they love to eat Italian, so standards were high, especially since Lewin used to live in Rome. “We ended up coming across Passa Passa and [owner] Dan Pinto really delivered, everyone is still talking about it now months later.” 

The couple prepared playlists to match the vibe progression of the night, from chill right up to party time. Big tunes of the day included songs by Frankie Valli, The Ramones, Caroline Polachek and Donnie and Joe Emerson, followed by some hip hop bangers. “Ian’s dad killing the dance floor with my dad and aunties and uncles to some Sean Paul was a memorable one.”

Post-wedding thoughts

“We were extremely fortunate to be gifted $10K from each of our parents, which I always said would be plenty to have a low key wedding. But, we ended up spending the full budget, plus we paid for our outfits on top of that,” says Lewin

Despite going over budget, they don’t think anything was a waste of money: “We decided what was important to us and then we made do with the rest.” They prioritised good food, good drinks, a good photographer [Ophelia from Poet Pictures] and most importantly, a good time.

Keeping their celebration small also meant the couple could plan an “extremely delayed” honeymoon in October, travelling to Japan and Korea.