working long days and late nights was certainly not how chienlan wanted to spend her summer. work is good to have, in moderation. the new summer interns were starting, and as the “new meat” was trailed around the office being introduced to everyone, chienlan thought to herself “you guys have no idea what you’re getting into.”
ahren was one of those interns. he didn’t know what he was getting in to and neither chienlan or ahren knew what they were about to get out of this internship.
ahren and chienlan didn’t spend a lot of time together that summer, but one night at dinner with a bunch of friends ahren did something that made chienlan really laugh. he came up with a game that had everyone furiously bouncing gummy bears on a table. now i don’t know if any alcohol was involved, i didn’t get specifics, but if it made chienlan laugh that’s all that matters.
fun and laughter was a great start, but what else would ahren need to make chienlan fall in love with him. would it be his generosity? his really really ridiculously good looks? his sculpted abs? his utter selflessness? would it be his way of making surprising (and hilarious) connections between two completely unrelated things? perhaps it would be his mix of left-brain right-brain-ness, or his love of entertaining friends, or maybe even his famous hamburgers.
for chienlan, it was all of those things, along with ahren’s love of animals, his ability to make the most meaningful comment in a conversation with just one sentence, and especially his ability to make her laugh even when she’s in a bad mood.
brief sidebar here.
one time (before they were dating) chienlan, her room mate, and ahren went on a roadtrip to northern california. while driving, ahren saw a scared dog running on the freeway. without hesitation or regard for his own safety, ahren stopped his car and tried to help the dog. the poor dog was so panicked that it sprinted away from him. luckily the cars zooming by were sparse and none of them hit the dog (or ahren). ahren’s complete selflessness really struck chienlan that day. whenever ahren decided to ask chienlan to marry him, he was going to hear the word yes faster than he ever had before.
ahren’s generosity and selflessness are well documented. everyone that knows him will tell you the same thing, “no, it’s spelled a-h-r-e-n.”
kidding. they’ll tell you that ahren is one of the kindest and most giving people they know, and chienlan is a smokin hot female version of ahren. we knew it as soon as we met them. it was like we were childhood friends. they invited us into their home and garden, offered us wine, and took us on a whirlwind tour of their town. that was for their san francisco engagement session. when we went back for their wedding in palo alto, they picked up right where they left off. they took us all out to dinner at flemings steakhouse (one of my favorite restaurants of all time) on the eve of their wedding and made sure everyone had a great time. it didn’t stop there. on their wedding day, they cared so much about all of their guests that you’d hardly know their wedding day was supposed to be about them. they are both tremendous givers.
ahren and chienlan, we can’t thank you enough for your kindness, your generosity, and your love. you are a couple that is truly beautiful in every way and we wish you a lifetime of happiness together. also, thanks for telling melissa and cornelius about us. you rule!
when kim and i arrived at the westin in palo alto, where everyone was staying, we saw these cool shapes in the lobby. chienlan’s shoes fit right in.
chienlan’s dress was absolutely fabulous! love it!
chienlan didn’t make lunch for her bridesmaids, chipotle handled that. she did however make their exquisite jewelry. chienlan designs is about to be your new favorite jewelry. chienlan also added the shoulder strap and feathers to her wedding dress. her talents know no bounds!
now i know why chienlan did so good in school. she’s always studying. in this case she was looking over her vows one last time.
ahren was looking sharp, chienlan was positively stunning, and the woods made a picture perfect backdrop. with their love of gardening, the valley presbyterian church was the perfect choice for a quiet wedding surrounded by breathtaking scenery.
we love love! your smiles here are awesome you two!
actually, your smiles all day were awesome. happy couples rule!
is it just me, or does ahren seem to smile a little bigger every time he looks at chienlan? that’s love right there.
i have to point this out. here’s the kind of thing everyone is talking about when they say that ahren and chienlan are always thinking about others. they knew their guests might be hungry while waiting for them to get to the reception so they made up little snack packs to hold people over. how cool is that? VERY!
after leaving the church we got commando with the wedding party.
GET TO THE CHOPPA! (one of kim’s favorite movies)
insert funny number one joke here.
our tribute to LOST. did you see the series finale? it’s in the running for best final episodes of all time. so sad it’s over, but we’ll be shooting on their island (aka oahu) in just a few short weeks (sans plane crash). woo hoo!
every bunny loves somebunny sometime.
poppin tha cris
this is ridonculous. capiche ridonculous?
we could have taken pictures of this group all day. everyone was so fun to be around and everyone looked incredible.
i’ve ran the numbers and it is physically impossible for you two to not look amazing.
don’t you just love the cute little ahren and chienlan button? fyi, the cookies contained in this bag were delicioso!
ahren and chienlan made a cool scrapbook with their engagement session photos and all their guests were invited to add a custom scrap to the book.
they said there were 3 different flavors of cupcakes, but i only saw 2. what? i have no idea where all the red velvet ones went.
kim and i thought it only fitting that since gummy bears got you two together, they should be part of your wedding day too. congratulations on finding true love and happiness ahren and chienlan. we love you lots and lots.
no gummy bears (or rings) were bounced in the making of this photo.
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Gorgeous pics…seems like all I ever see is gorgeousness when I come here…setting the bar pretty high for yourselves. :)