Love is not a flash in the pan, it's a slow simmer.
At least that's how it worked for Napier couple Dawn, 88, and Jeff Laurent, 90, who celebrate 70 years of marriage today.
Their journey began when they walked down the aisle nine months after locking eyes during a dance at Foresters' Hall, Dickens St, in 1943, although there is no tale of a romantic proposal to speak of.
"He just told me we were going to get married and I agreed," Dawn says. "It was during Lent so we needed get permission to get married, we were strict Catholics in those days."
Jeff was 20 at the time, his young wife just 18. Their wedding day went by in a blur though the bride does recall running 30 minutes late to St Patrick's Church in Napier.