Last December, on their ninth anniversary of friendship Mereoni Tuikoro and Danny Threapleton vowed to share eternity together as husband and wife.
Mereoni, 37, hails from Lawaki, Nakasaleka, Kadavu with maternal links to Galoa, Tavuki, Kadavu. With three brothers, she is the second eldest.
She was born in Suva and raised in Nabua and Newtown. Danny, 31, is from Portsmouth, England and arrived in Fiji in 2012 as a volunteer for Think Pacific.
They met in January 2014, on Danny’s second trip to Fiji while working as a Project Leader for the same organisation.
It was at a house party thrown by their mutual friends, Alice and Harry Hunter, that their love for each other sparked.
“We would usually hang out together as friends whenever we would all go out as a group,” Mereoni said.
“By the end of 2014, we were both single so we decided to take a chance on each other and go out on a date right before Danny had to return to England.”
Their first date was at Cafe Victoria where they had a ‘Super Pack’ dinner of fish, chicken, chips and tartar sauce in a woven basket.
“We stayed in touch while he was away and carried on when he returned to Fiji the following year.
“We decided to move in together after dating for two years.”
Mereoni said while she would worry about inconsequential stuff, Danny was always cool, calm and collected, which provided the perfect balance between them.
“We both love to listen to music and we are both homebodies at heart.”
Danny proposed to Mereoni in 2022 when only the two of them were alone at home.
The duo’s wedding was held on December 10, 2023.
“We were looking forward to finally getting married to each other after years of being together, and after more than a year of wedding planning,” Mereoni said.
“I have previous experience as a styling and event coordinator so I made a vision board of how I wanted everything done for our wedding.
“I had lots of help from my husband (then fiancé), my close friends, our Fiji and UK-based family, my workmates as well as our wedding vendors.”
It was a simple and intimate wedding with white florals and hints of masi print in the decor, held at The Uprising Beach Resort in Pacific Harbour.
“No traditional ceremonies were done. We simply wanted to get officially hitched and to just enjoy the day/night with our nearest and dearest,” said Mereoni.
The couple said two of the most memorable experiences they had encountered since their wedding were taking a road trip around Viti Levu and finally sharing the same surname.
“Don’t stress over little things, especially when it comes to wedding planning and your big day. Always choose each other and God.”
