TBA
Lu and Joe
Very honored to be invited to Joe and Lu's long-awaited big day! They had a wonderful ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, with just less than 50 of their closest family and friends in attendance.
Lu's father, Joe's mother and father, and several members of their extended families were in attendance, along with friends and coworkers. I'm not quite sure how much socializing I missed as much of it was in Mandarin and Cantonese, but it was clear everyone was very happy to see Lu and Joe finally wed. Mike and Jarett both stood up as Joe's groomsmen, and first and foremost among all of us friends/coworkers, I think Mike was closest to shedding a tear or two.
Cocktail hour was twice as long as the ceremony itself, and no one was going to complain about an open bar, let alone the wonderful view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Los Angeles' famed "May grey" and "June gloom" made for perfect temperatures outside as everyone caught up and many of us met for the first time (especially Lu's family from overseas), then we moved inside as lunch was made ready.
Fortunately or unfortunately, we were a big group at the wedding: 21 of the 47 of us were all from UCLA (or significant other/child/etc.). Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, this might have been the biggest gathering of us in recent memory, with the Kong family, the Tran-Chen family, the Chen family, the Horinouchi family, the Lee family, Walen and Lisa, etc. all in attendance. Was great to see everyone again, especially given how much all the kids have grown; AJ and BK are now in high school, the Kong kids are old enough not only for the dance floor but to want to join the adults in toasts, and of course, Baby Austin, Trandrew and TiffA's new baby.
Wrapped things up with cake cutting, a last-minute speech from Mike, and after Joe and Lu's wedding was over, one more stop at the lobby bar/restaurant with Wally and Lisa to take in just a bit more of the view. Randomly running into an entirely different group of friends who were also at the Ritz-Carlton for an unrelated event was the final bit of excitement as well.
Congrats, Joe and Lu!