wedding - ENDPIN PHOTO

Terry & Brenden : Wedding

When my sister first called me to tell me that her fiancé wanted to get married on a gondola, I laughed. My first comment was, are you going to have one of those guys in striped shirts warbling out O Sole Mio? “It’s not funny!” she wailed. And she was right. It wasn’t funny. It was genius. Well, maybe not quite genius, since I don’t want my new brother-in-law to get a big head, but it was pretty damn memorable.

Terry and Brenden met when I was sixteen. Yes, SIXTEEN, as in about half my lifetime ago. I remember her coming home from a party at her friend’s house and saying that she met this guy who looked like Ethan Hawke (I still don’t see the resemblance, but hey, that’s probably a good thing these days). Amazingly, they kept in touch while Terry finished college and then made the move back to LA.

Lisa & Tony : Wedding

She was beaming with pride. It was like she couldn’t help but smile and enjoy the celebration that was about to commence. And why not? She, joined by so many loved ones, was about to watch her granddaughter get married.

About a month after their destination wedding in Cabo, Lisa and Tony were gracious enough to host a reception locally in San Diego for friends and family who weren’t able to make the trek down south. Among these guests was Lisa’s grandmother, who was overjoyed to see live footage from the ceremony in Cabo. Lisa and Tony’s videographer did such an amazing job with the wedding video that I felt like I was actually in Cabo all over again.

Anita & Sujit : Wedding

The day I met Anita, I worried I had made a horrible impression. Edwin and I had headed up to Boston to visit our good friend Sujit, and by 10pm, we were exhausted. Anita came over to Sujit’s apartment to meet us and hopefully head out for some fun, but instead found us immobile on the couch and half asleep. She was a great sport and sat with us for a bit, chatting and trying to keep us engaged, but she was probably wondering how Sujit could have such boring friends.

Helen & Keith : Wedding

“Isn’t Helen and Keith’s wedding over Memorial Day weekend?” I asked Edwin. Memorial Day was now just under two months away, and we hadn’t yet received an invitation.

“Maybe we’re not invited,” Edwin shrugged. No wedding to attend over Memorial Day weekend? Not only would we be able to take a mini-trip to celebrate our anniversary, we could take some extra time and celebrate Edwin’s 30th birthday as well! I started planning the weekend in my head.

And then it happened. Helen and Keith’s wedding invitation arrived – we were invited after all! Along with the invitation was their website information, and on it, I found this when I clicked on the link to Keith’s groomsmen:

Screenshot

I laughed out loud when I read this. This, I think, explains why the invitation came rather close to the wedding date. Since Edwin is a friend of Keith’s, we were on the slow side of the wedding, and well, as the note says, Keith lags.

Helen and Keith’s wedding was one of the most breathtaking I’ve been to. The views, the location, the food, the drinks – everything was more than I expected. I think I was having such a good time enjoying the food and company that half the time, I forgot to pick up my camera! Plus, among Keith’s friends are quite a few photography buffs, so I may have felt a little intimidated and inadequate. Yeah, I know, something I need to work on.

But I did manage to get a few shots in…

I love how all the Chinese women are hiding under the fans.

Helen Laughing

And this is clearly not the best photo I’ve ever taken, but something about the glow of the light and the blurred shadows makes me feel something for it.

The best part of the wedding was that Edwin and I experienced our first photobooth! We weren’t being particularly creative, but here’s what we did:

Danielle & Edwin Photobooth-1

Someone asked the guy manning the machine how many people they’ve ever managed to get into the booth. He answered nine. The boys then proceeded to cram TEN people into the booth, with the groom right smack in the middle. Overachievers.

Photobooth Jam-1

Lisa & Tony : Wedding

I’m not sure if I can say that I’ve ever seen two people happier to get married. Really. The amount of excitement and buzz in the air was a magical thing to experience. Lisa and Tony were finally getting their big day.

I’ve traveled to attend weddings before, but this was the first time it was for a destination wedding. Needless to say, I was excited. “We’re going to Mexico!” I told Edwin when I got our invitation.

Then swine flu hit. And for a few short days, Lisa and Tony thought that they would have to postpone their big day. Lisa was clearly disappointed, but was handling it all with grace. Thankfully enough, swine flu fears were averted and the wedding was on!

Having a destination wedding was definitely a great way to celebrate. It was refreshing to be able to mingle with the other guests beyond just at the wedding, since we had all weekend to get to know each other. And with the excuse of turning the event into a vacation, people flew in from as far as Beijing and South Africa to enjoy a lovely weekend with a glowing couple. By the end of the weekend, I felt like I had gone to college with Tony, lived in South Africa with Lisa, and grew up with Lisa’s brother!

The newly minted Mr. & Mrs. Chen did a fabulous job keeping guests busy with fun events. Here are some of my favorite photos from the festivities…

Welcome to Mexico!

The welcome dinner next to the hotel palapa

Welcome Dinner Food

Tony’s cousin, Jeff, brought 70 of these colorful parasols with him all the way from Beijing for the wedding ceremony. Now that’s love!

Lisa couldn’t have been happier with her hair and makeup artist. She said she knew it would be good because he would do something, take a step back to assess his work, and then break into a little grin of approval at himself before continuing on. And he did a mighty fine job, if I do say so myself!