DREAMY WINTER MATERNITY IN OAK GLEN @ 2019 Sun & Sparrow // Family, Maternity & Newborn Photographers in Southern California
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FROM THE BRIDE AND GROOM :
Christopher: “I planned an amazing proposal for Laura – a scavenger hunt! Shortly after leaving for “work,” I met Laura’s sister outside our apartment to hand over the first clue. I knew the day was guaranteed to go off without a hitch.”
Laura: “I was lounging in our apartment when I heard a key turn in the lock – was Christopher back from work so soon? Instead, my sister appeared to set me on a scavenger hunt! The clues were hidden in meaningful places around our apartment, each representing something important to our relationship. Once I found them all, they fit together to make a map (seriously, this guy is creative!) that directed me to my nail salon.”
Christopher: “I had an hour to kill before finalizing things at the nail salon, so I decided to get some work done at a nearby Coffee Bean. Bad call. When I returned to my car, a small glint caught my eye through the door window: my car keys, sitting in the cup holder.”
Laura: “Meanwhile, I was getting ready and having a great morning!”
Christopher: “Waiting for AAA to arrive was the most stressful part of the day. Until I had to watch the technician try and pry my door open… to no avail. The clock was ticking, but thankfully, he worked his magic just in time for me to get out of there before Laura arrived.“
Laura: “My sister and I were pampered with a lovely manicure when the owner told me to close my eyes and reach out my hands. I was expecting an extra massage, but instead I got another clue! This led me to USC, where Christopher and I met. Once there, I found him sitting where we shared our first kiss.”
Christopher: “We took a walk around campus, ultimately ending up at the spot where we first met. Handing Laura her final clue, I got down on one knee. The message read, Will you marry me?, and her answer was…”
Laura: “Of course!”
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Fairytale inspired Southern California engagement // ©2017 Sun & Sparrow wedding and engagement photographers
For almost our entire lives we grew up only three miles apart and somehow didn’t meet until college. It was the beginning of our sophomore years, and I went to the spot where my friends and I met up together the year before. To my surprise someone else was sitting amongst my friends.
Being the mild tempered person I am, I asked the guy what he was doing in my spot. He said he knew my friends, and we carried on in conversation about our classes and birthdays – not only did we share two classes, but we found out that we had the exact same birth date! We walked to class together and said we’d see each other the next day.
The next day came, and I had sat across from someone in class I swore I knew from somewhere. It was Andrew, but I guess I blanked on meeting him yesterday. For the next few months we hung out between classes, playing card games, sharing a love for math and science, and having a great time becoming close friends. Andrew comes off as shy to most people but opened up with me. On October 17, 2009, Andrew and I became a couple of lovestruck college sweethearts.
On the day Andrew proposed, we planned on going on a hike that morning, but it rained so we cut the hike to a walk and headed to breakfast at one of our favorite diners. Afterwards Andrew suggested we go to different spots we’ve visited in the past to walk around and look into hiking later when it isn’t as muddy.
We went back to his parents’ and waited for the Raiders playoff game to start. We couldn’t watch the craziness anymore, so I suggested we go out to the coast and check out the sunset. He happily obliged.
We get there and walk around for a bit. He then suggests that we cruise the PV coast – one of our favorite past times. Right as the sun was just about gone Andrew starts talking (while driving):
“Honey, my love, Christina Gayle, I wish I could take you to my favorite place and do this there, but a favorite place doesn’t exist. I’ve loved having you by my side for all of these years. My favorite place is wherever you are. I love you, so will you be my wife?”
I started to cry happy tears and said yes, of course. He pulled over and formally asked me to be his wife slipping on the most sparkly, perfect ring. Earlier this year on January 7, Andrew and I started the beginning of the rest of our lives.
We cannot wait to share in our love with our family and friends at our wedding next summer!
Boho Engagement in Los Angeles // ©2018 Sun & Sparrow Los Angeles engagement photography
FROM THE GROOM // We met in college. It was the first couple weeks of our freshman year at UCLA and we were trying out the Wushu Club. We met after practice when we sat down in a circle with newly-met friends and introduced ourselves to each other. Even then, I thought that Eileen had a unique personality and perspective on life. It was part of the reason she was always pleasant to be around. We grew closer during our sophomore year when we spent a lot of time talking about our lives and aspirations in the stairwell balcony of our dorm building. It was one of the nicest places to watch the sunset because of the solitude and clear view of the westward skies. We would talk for hours during the sunset and we would later meet each there again to talk more before saying goodnight.
I love Eileen’s personality. To me, Eileen has always been a bubbly, joyful person. She has this disarming personality that makes you feel comfortable being around her. There is no judgement or silent bitterness because Eileen will accept and love who you are as her friends. She is filled with optimism and love that she doesn’t hesitate to share. This manifests in her helpful nature too because she’s always offering help to her friends when they need it. At times, Eileen can also be super random, but in such an adorable way. Whether it is making cheesy puns/jokes or making quirky dances and expressions. It makes me want to give her a big hug!
For my proposal, I brought Eileen to Hawaii on our first big vacation together. To keep it a surprise, I intentionally misled her into thinking that we were going to Alaska! I had planned out the whole trip so Eileen wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I decided to ask on the 3rd day of our trip. That morning I planned for us to go on a hike. Long story short, our rental car got towed, but a very kind restaurant manager helped us out and we got to our hike! We were only a little delayed, but I wanted to be back at our resort by sunset. Our relationship developed during our time watching the sunsets in college. I thought it would be meaningful to watch it one last time as a boyfriend-girlfriend couple. It was how we began so I wanted it to be a part of how we would start our journey into marriage. Anyway, while we were walking to the exact location that I had chosen on Google Maps (never been to Hawaii before after all!), Eileen was looking for pockets to put her phone since she was wearing a beautiful sarong. She instinctively slapped my pockets and had actually slapped the ring box! She initially thought that it was our action camera, so I tried playing it off and thought it worked. Instead, Eileen surprised me later by revealing that she knew it to be a ring box based on her sensory perception and my nervous answer! She had shown me a selfie video that we took while walking to the Google Maps location; in the video, she would silently freak out whenever I looked off into the distance, since she was also nervous herself!
When thinking about our wedding, I am most looking forward to seeing and feeling the emotions of the day with Eileen. I want to see the excitement and joy in her expressions. We have spent so much time dreaming about our future together that it is hard to believe it is almost here. This wedding is going to be a culmination of the love that we have shared for the past several years. I hope to see the joy in her eyes when we realize how much we love each other.
FROM THE BRIDE // Andy and I met in our first year of college. We started as friends after both of us joined the UCLA Wushu Club (performance-based Chinese martial arts). After being friends for over a year, we began to grow closer as we spent more time learning about each other. We would meet up when the school day ended and spent hours together. On many early evenings, we watched sunsets together in the stairwell balcony of our dorm building.
Andy soon became the best part of my day, and the sweetest person that I had come to know. He always thoughtfully and generously gave his time and heart to see me smile. One of the first gifts that he had given me was a sketch of a willow tree – which was my favorite tree – drawn with my hometown as the setting. On Valentine’s Day in 2011, he made a bouquet of paper flowers for me after I had once mentioned how much it saddened me to watch flowers die.Before going home during an uneventful weekend went home April Fool’s Day came, and we met up at the stairwell balcony again. I played a prank where I told him that I was moving to another college….in another country. Andy later told me that he got really sad and almost confessed to me right before I blurted out “APRIL FOOL’S!”. It wasn’t very nice of me, but it warms my heart every time that I recall his sentiments and emotions at the time.
Our beginning was sweet and fun and filled with wonderful memories. Somewhere along the way, we realized that we had embarked on a journey and we never looked back. I sometimes feel like I have known him my whole life. Our “official” dating anniversary is May 15, 2011, but our relationship flourished gradually. There was no “first date,” and I am sure that he did not explicitly ask me to be his girlfriend (or vice versa). Instead, it was a steady pursuit, and constant, gentle force that we somehow just knew was so natural, and beautiful, and so right. It has now been 7 years since May 15, 2011. On every 15th of the month since then, we would wish each other “Happy 15th” – most of the time, he remembers first and calls me at midnight even after he had initially gone to sleep. “Happy 15th, Eileen. Happy (x) years and (y) months. Happy (z) months.” So far, I have received his 84 wishes of a happy 15th. I love that Andy upholds this tradition with me. It is not in the numbers that we find meaning and excitement; it is in our unspoken stories of any single day in this period of time and the way that we celebrate all of them with intention with our spoken wish. On our next 15th, we will be flying out for our honeymoon!
I love Andy for his humble and ever-growing heart, for the tender way that he takes care of me, for the way that his gentle smile brings me home. We have so many memories together through the years, and I am filled with joy to continue onto the next adventure in life together. Our wedding will soon be here. My heart overflows with excitement and anticipation as I think about experiencing all the moments of the day together. I look forward to our entire wedding ceremony, especially our vow exchange. There is so much beauty in committing our lives to each other. On our wedding day and into our marriage, I pray that we keep our hearts open and connected and always guided by our love for each other.
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