Says Lauren: ..."We dated for a whole 6 months(!) before getting engaged… sometimes when you know, you know."
As told by Lauren Kinkade-Wong:
My husband, Gerald, and I met in early 2003 at the party of some mutual friends which was held at a restaurant called Oiwake in J-town. We dated for a whole 6 months(!) before getting engaged… sometimes when you know, you know. His proposal was very sweet, though I was so excited I have no recollection of what he said. But he had taken me to Disneyland (one of my favorite places) and in our hotel room overlooking California Adventure and their electric light parade, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.
Our wedding took place at Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes on Sunday, December 5, 2004… which happened to be a day of monsoon-like torrential rain that lasted from sunup until well into the night. I had a feeling months in advance that it was going to rain on our wedding day, and asked our site coordinator what their backup plan was for our outdoor ceremony. She promised me it would not rain on my wedding day as it had NEVER rained on any of her brides' wedding days – despite my pleading for a Plan B, she insisted that Plan A would be more than sufficient. Luckily, the day of the wedding the coordinator we hired (separate from the site's coordinator) sprung to action and put together a BEAUTIFUL last-minute Plan B inside our reception hall – when I first saw it I cried because it was so beautiful. Had this been presented as an option, I would have chosen it over our Plan A.
Despite the weather, it was a perfect day. We had no no-shows at our wedding, and (almost) everything went off without a flaw. One minor issue was that we forgot our favors back at our apartment. I wasn't too worried about it and figured no one would really care that they didn't receive a favor, but my husband was so worried I would be upset he asked two of our dear friends to miss the wedding ceremony, drive the 45 minutes back to our apartment, grab the huge box of favors, and drive the 45 minutes back to the wedding. They made it just as dinner was being served – we were so grateful for their willingness to help!
We had 153 guests at our wedding – I'm not sure how or why I still remember that number, but it is engrained in my brain. I did everything I could to pull off a cost-efficient wedding, and luckily we were very successful. What should have been a $60,000 wedding we were able to pull off for about $35,000. My dress was an Oleg Cassini from David's Bridal, though it didn't look like a DB dress. Our flowers were beautiful white roses which adorned the head table, and the centerpieces as well as my bouquet. The bridesmaids, who all wore crimson red dresses, carried bouquets of red roses. The groomsmen wore simple black tuxes.
Our honeymoon was two days after our wedding. My husband hadn't traveled much and had never been outside of the continental US, so we decided to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon. It was a beautiful trip for that time of year as the weather was bright and sunny compared to the dreary and cold weather of LA.
MARRIAGE WISDOM:
Many people have a notion, and further to that many people try to give the impression that marriage is perfect, but that is far from the truth. Marriage will have its ups and downs – some times are great, and other times you have to work hard for it. But if you are with the right person, that's what makes it perfect – there is no one else you would rather take that journey with. There was a line I heard in a movie that you never see the hard times in a photo album – only the good times, for those are what get you from one difficult moment to the next. But that's also what makes you grow stronger as a couple. So weather the hard times because they will make the good times that much more worthwhile. :)
My husband, Gerald, and I met in early 2003 at the party of some mutual friends which was held at a restaurant called Oiwake in J-town. We dated for a whole 6 months(!) before getting engaged… sometimes when you know, you know. His proposal was very sweet, though I was so excited I have no recollection of what he said. But he had taken me to Disneyland (one of my favorite places) and in our hotel room overlooking California Adventure and their electric light parade, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.
Our wedding took place at Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes on Sunday, December 5, 2004… which happened to be a day of monsoon-like torrential rain that lasted from sunup until well into the night. I had a feeling months in advance that it was going to rain on our wedding day, and asked our site coordinator what their backup plan was for our outdoor ceremony. She promised me it would not rain on my wedding day as it had NEVER rained on any of her brides' wedding days – despite my pleading for a Plan B, she insisted that Plan A would be more than sufficient. Luckily, the day of the wedding the coordinator we hired (separate from the site's coordinator) sprung to action and put together a BEAUTIFUL last-minute Plan B inside our reception hall – when I first saw it I cried because it was so beautiful. Had this been presented as an option, I would have chosen it over our Plan A.
Despite the weather, it was a perfect day. We had no no-shows at our wedding, and (almost) everything went off without a flaw. One minor issue was that we forgot our favors back at our apartment. I wasn't too worried about it and figured no one would really care that they didn't receive a favor, but my husband was so worried I would be upset he asked two of our dear friends to miss the wedding ceremony, drive the 45 minutes back to our apartment, grab the huge box of favors, and drive the 45 minutes back to the wedding. They made it just as dinner was being served – we were so grateful for their willingness to help!
We had 153 guests at our wedding – I'm not sure how or why I still remember that number, but it is engrained in my brain. I did everything I could to pull off a cost-efficient wedding, and luckily we were very successful. What should have been a $60,000 wedding we were able to pull off for about $35,000. My dress was an Oleg Cassini from David's Bridal, though it didn't look like a DB dress. Our flowers were beautiful white roses which adorned the head table, and the centerpieces as well as my bouquet. The bridesmaids, who all wore crimson red dresses, carried bouquets of red roses. The groomsmen wore simple black tuxes.
Our honeymoon was two days after our wedding. My husband hadn't traveled much and had never been outside of the continental US, so we decided to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon. It was a beautiful trip for that time of year as the weather was bright and sunny compared to the dreary and cold weather of LA.
MARRIAGE WISDOM:
Many people have a notion, and further to that many people try to give the impression that marriage is perfect, but that is far from the truth. Marriage will have its ups and downs – some times are great, and other times you have to work hard for it. But if you are with the right person, that's what makes it perfect – there is no one else you would rather take that journey with. There was a line I heard in a movie that you never see the hard times in a photo album – only the good times, for those are what get you from one difficult moment to the next. But that's also what makes you grow stronger as a couple. So weather the hard times because they will make the good times that much more worthwhile. :)
2014
Lauren continues....
This year marks our ten year anniversary. Gerald and I now have to daughters, Sabrina – who is almost 6, and Katelyn – who is 2 1/2. Each day is a new and exciting and I love him even more now than I did ten years ago. I am the luckiest woman to be his wife, and we are looking forward to many, many more milestone anniversaries.
Lauren continues....
This year marks our ten year anniversary. Gerald and I now have to daughters, Sabrina – who is almost 6, and Katelyn – who is 2 1/2. Each day is a new and exciting and I love him even more now than I did ten years ago. I am the luckiest woman to be his wife, and we are looking forward to many, many more milestone anniversaries.
Lauren founded Divine Events in 2009, but has been coordinating weddings for the past ten years.
Divine Events provides full-service and day-of coordination, helping clients to execute beautiful events from start to finish to realize the event of their dreams. www.DivineEventsbyLauren.com
Divine Events provides full-service and day-of coordination, helping clients to execute beautiful events from start to finish to realize the event of their dreams. www.DivineEventsbyLauren.com