Jimmy and Eleen took a trip to the Bahamas last week and I had the sneaky suspicion that he might be proposing. Today I spoke with the man himself and I was right! I am happy to announce that our Jimmy and Eleen are engaged! He proposed to her on a small pier and of course she said “Yes”.  Woohoo! Congratulations!!
Today was such a nice sunny day. Luckily, I got to spend most of it outside. At 11:00 am, I met up with Sandy for brunch. We went to a place called Rockwell’s Bakery and Cafe in Orange (Villa Park) and I had some of their corned beef hash and eggs. Mmm…
Afterwards, I drove up to Santa Monica to pick up Brother and we went to The Getty Villa with some tickets that Ben gave him. Ben and his girlfriend Tiffany were working there today and we wandered around looking at the Roman and Greek art. We spent probably a good 30 minutes there before heading out. Last time I was there was about 10 years ago and I don’t think I’ll need to go back for another 10 years.
For dinner, we drove up PCH towards Ventura and ate at Neptune’s Net. I’d heard about it and seen in featured on the Food Network but never thought I’d have the opportunity to go there. Well, today was the day and the drive was totally worth it. When you first walk in, it’s a little intimidating with all the bikers hanging out in the front with their hogs and crotch rockets. But when you go inside, it’s your average order and pick-up kind of joint. We ordered from both the boiled side and the fried side. The first round was the 1/2 pound of peel-and-eat shrimp. It was so tasty and almost didn’t need the the lemon, butter, and cocktail sauce on the side. We then waited another 20 minutes for the fried round to come out. We had a plate of battered fish, fried shrimp, and fries with a side of tartar sauce and more cocktail sauce. With some Coors Light to go with it all made it simply perfect. After our meal, we Froggered across the street to check out the beach. The water was pretty flat but there were quite a few surfers out still. We took a few photos and headed back to Santa Monica.
After I dropped Brother off, I drove up to Hollywood to meet up with our wedding photographer. He emailed me yesterday offering to sell me my negatives at a discounted price. His business partner died in a terrible car accident a few years ago and he had been running the business ever since. I guess it was time for him to call it quits and move on to other things so he contacted me. So, now I own my wedding negatives and I can do whatever I want with them. Seems silly in way considering everyone shoots digital now.
So that was my Saturday in a nutshell. Here are the photos from today. And here are Brother’s photos.
Jason and Jia married aboard the Camelot last night in Newport Beach. The day started with lots of last-minute activity and lots of photo-taking. The boys got dressed at our house while the girls got ready at The Fairmont. The hotel was quite nice and made a good backdrop for their formal photos. Later at the Camelot, family started to arrive and more photos were taken. As guests arrived, there was a lot of excitement in the air in anticipation of a lovely evening on the water. Jia looked so pretty and Jason was pretty pumped up. As soon as we departed the dock, the wedding ceremony began. There were plenty of cheers and photo flashes as the wedding party walked down the aisle. Dad’s sermon was lengthy but very touching and gaves us a couple chuckles. In the end, the youngest Lao got married and we gained a new family member. Afterwards, there were more photos, hors d’oeuvres, and then dinner. The end of the night was a little rushed with such a short amount of time left for the cake cutting, toasts, and a little dancing but we all had a great time. Great job on the toast, Jes. And congratulations to Jason and Jia! Here are the photos.
Oh yeah, Happy Chinese New Year!
Bang and Vyl got married today at the James Leary Flood Mansion in the heart of San Francisco. After a dreary day on Friday, the sun came out and made the day perfect. To top it all off, it happens to be Fleet Week in SF and the Blue Angels flew over the city all afternoon. Vyl looked so elegant and just smokin’ HOT in her white mermaid-style gown and pink sash. Bang was glowing and wore a matching pink tie. The ceremony took place in the Grand Hall that overlooked the bay and rolling hills of SF. Their vows were very touching and the party was ragin’. By the end of the evening, everyone was nice and toasty and I took over 500 photos. Congratulations you two!! Have a great time in Asia!
Here are 190 of the photos. Enjoy.
This is Bang, Jes, and Ryan pretending to be wedding guests.
On Friday, Jes and I drove Jimmy’s Subi into the city to take care of some pre-wedding stuff. Our first stop was the tux shop where the tux guy that Bang BOUGHT his tux from didn’t remember him. What an *ss. The guy was so obnoxious and kept checking out Jesse’s butt when he tried on the tux. Anyway, we ended up having to pay an arm and a leg for parking there for an hour, which didn’t make that errand any more pleasant.
Since Jes had a 12:30 conference call, we didn’t really have a chance to eat anything…except for the can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli that we found in Jimmy’s cupboard. That was yummy, by the way. So, we stopped for lunch on the way to rehearsal. We found a place called The Grove and the turkey, avocado, bacon sandwich on sourdough was so good. It really made me miss San Francisco or just living in a city where you can find quality food like that. The interesting part about that place was when we walked in, there were people seated along the wall on a long bench all with their laptops out on the tables. It felt like study hall and I had forgotten my textbooks.
Rehearsal was at the Flood Mansion on Broadway and Fillmore. It’s a hundred-year mansion that is now an all-girls private school. The wedding will take place on the main floor in the hallway. There’s an awesome view of the city and the bay since it’s at the top of the hill. We got to see Big Yao (Bang’s dad) and he was so happy that his only son was getting married. I gave him a big hug and said, “Congratulations!” and he said, “Oh, THANK YOU THANK YOU!” Big Yao’s so proud and excited.
Once that was done, we had dinner at PPQ Dungeness Island. It’s a Vietnamese seafood restaurant that gave us bibs and we grubbed on crab (of course), pork, beef, and garlic noodles. Afterwards, we decided to head back to Jimmy’s since I was tired, Huy and his sisters’ flights were delayed, and Jes wanted to go back and WoW-it-up.
Patty and Johnny got married on Saturday at Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach. The day started at the Irvine Marriott where the girls got ready. Hair and make-up were done by about 2:00 pm and Patty was ready by 3:00 pm. At 4:00 pm the bridal party squished into the limo and rode off to the wedding site. Seven Degrees is an art studio that holds lots of special events, especially weddings. The ceremony was on the roof where the sun set behind us. Mochi and Fuji wore fancy outfits and had to be dragged down the aisle. Mochi practically mowed the rose petals down to the altar. Patty and Johnny looked so excited to be getting married.Â
Cocktail hour was on the roof with a complete martini bar. By then, my feet hurt so bad and I realized that I forgot my flipflops at the hotel. DOH! Anyway, the wedding was really nice and the decorations were to the nines. It was also a casual high school reunion with girls I hadn’t seen since Juliet’s wedding three years ago. Some hadn’t seen each other since high school. I had to make the bridesmaids’ speech and was so nervous. Luckily I pulled it off and Jesse said I did well so I think I did ok. He’s the only one who would tell me if I blew it. Johnny and Patty did such a great job coordinating all the flowers, colors, and everything else. Johnny had his Martini Menu for all to try and the ice cream cake was yummy. At the end of the night, we held sparklers for them as they ran down to their limo and took off. Congratulations, you two!!
Here are the photos.
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