Once upon a time…
maxine June 12th, 2008
Courtship:
I had been living in Los Angeles for 8 years. I went to college there and stayed to work. I loved L.A.
Collin hated the very thought of L.A. He swore never to live there, and only to visit when absolutely necessary. He had sold nearly every earthly possession to live in New Zealand for a short while with his friends. It was at the end of this stay that he realized the Lord had different plans for him: he was to end up in the very place he hated most for reasons known only to God.
Having sworn off dating and marriage until at least his mid-thirties, Collin moved to L.A. early 2006, purchased a scooter (”That’ll fend the ladies off!”), and sought out temp work. We met on his first Sunday at church.
After a month of friendship, we began dating. Collin took me out for boba and pho on our first date, and we quickly realized just how much we had in common - it was a little ooky, actually. It still kind of is.
The Proposal:
Collin proposed in June, after only 3 months of dating. I had always made fun of people who got caught up in these whirlwind romances, citing that every couple should date for at least four seasons and a road trip before making any eternal decisions. I guess the joke’s on me, because I joyfully agreed to marry him after such a short time. Collin would say that the proposal itself was a bit of a debacle, but I loved it. So what if I was in a bad mood from sitting in traffic all afternoon? Collin surprised me with the ring at the Venice Canals (of Los Angeles, of course), and it was perfect.
The Wedding Day:
We were sealed in the San Diego Temple for time and all eternity on Saturday, September 26, 2006.
It was a long day, starting at 5:30AM for my hair and make-up appointment. Unfortunately, the lady was an hour late, which made us a little late to our own wedding. She also did a horrible job - nothing like what our practice appointment had produced, since my normal lady had gotten into a car accident the night before and couldn’t make it. I fixed my make-up in the car on the way to the temple, cried when I looked in the mirror at the temple and saw the big Texas prom queen hair she had given me, then had my friend Julie fix it in a hurry. Once that little hiccup was out of the way, everything else went beautifully.
The ceremony was short, but meaningful and beautiful. Yes, I cried. So did Collin.
Our photographer was Vietnamese, and he had a very limited English vocabulary, so pictures afterward were amusing and highly entertaining. After that, it was back to Collin’s mom’s house for the daytime reception. We had planned this one ourselves for our friends and Collin’s family. We went with a vintage carnival theme, since our invitations were a little whimsical anyway. I made a cupcake cake with orange-cardamom cupcakes and chocolate cinnamon cupcakes. We had a candy buffet with pink and brown candies for the guest favors. Collin’s sister Whitney had painted various signage for us, as well as a lovely photo-op stand. There were balloon animals, a caricature artist, 1920’s jazz playing in the background, handmade caramel apples, a popcorn bar with heirloom popcorn and toppings of choice, and a gourmet hot dog buffet for lunch. We had a ton of fun, and we hope everyone in attendance did too.
Afterward, we drove up to Los Angeles for our formal evening reception. This was to be a traditional Chinese wedding banquet, complete with 10-course meal and karaoke (even though I had requested no karaoke). All my Chinese relatives came, along with a few of our closest friends. The night was magical - complete with an… interesting M.C. who kept tying in the “East meets West” theme she had concocted in her mind. It was wonderful to see our friends and family all day. I know this is a day we will never forget, mostly because we were having so much fun ourselves!
The Honeymoon:
We flew to Hawaii the following morning for a cruise around the islands. It was the perfect vacation for us. Still coming off the stress of wedding planning and severely jet-lagged, we were at liberty to stuff ourselves silly with copious amounts of food, then retire to bed at 7:00PM before even getting dessert, only to wake up at 4:30 each morning. It took half a week for our bodies to finally adjust. We visited all the main islands, but Kauai was by far our favorite. We rented a car and drove around the entire perimeter of the island, stopping here and there to take pictures and hike a little. We saw some famous waterfall from some ’70s t.v. show. Then we decided to hike down to it, right past the “Do Not Enter” signs. The hike was steep, muddy, and full of mosquitoes. By the time we were done, we were covered with over 40 bites each!
Happily Ever After:
Now we live in Utah, the one place I swore I would never live, and loving every minute of it! Collin is back in school studying computer science. I am so proud of him for sacrificing so much for our family! We have a beautiful baby boy, and we’re loving our life together. And that is our story.