COUNT DOWN!

How it all began...

It was more than 7 years ago and I was finishing up my senior year of college at UCI and was living in Newport Beach with 5 other guys. It was here that I would meet my future wife for the first time. Erica was only 2 houses down the street and she was sharing a house with 4 other girls. I would later find out that she was also a psychology major just like me, stranger yet was that she was also part of the Greek system (I was a Phi Psi, and she was a Delta Gamma), and for some reason I had never seen her around campus, trust me if I did I'd remember that face...After a couple of dates, we officially became a couple on December 31st, 2001.

The Beautiful bride.

Erica is the daughter of two wonderful parents, Jose and Diane. She's the oldest of three kids, Celina (middle) and Christopher (youngest). She grew up in Whittier, where her parents still live. After graduating from UCI, she worked at a special school assisting children with ADHD. She's now persuing her Masters in social work at Long Beach State.

The super duper awesome groom!!!

I hate talking about myself...but I love writing about me :) I'm the older of two boys (Carlin is my younger brother) from Vietnamese parents (Thu "Tom" and Bonnie) who emigrated to the US after the Vietnam War. We grew up in Garden Grove and later in Anahiem. Since graduating from UCI, I've been working in advertising where I'm a junior copywriter.

How I popped the question.

Since Erica and I met in Newport Beach, I thought it was only appropriate to propose there. With the help of a ton of friends (Mike, Joanne, Tiff, John Jo, Jackie, Lance, Jerami and of course Kari), I planned to ask the most important question of my life on a boat ride during the annual Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Harbor. I had Jackie and Lance pretend that they were the ones planning the boat ride and coincidentally had room for just two more people. I was stuck in New York at the time for work and had to coordinate with everyone 2 thousand miles away. Two days before coming back, Erica gave me a call and asked if I was interested in joining the group, of course I said yes. At the same time I needed to figure out how the announcement would be made, so I planned to have my cousin Mike and his wife Joanne help make a sign that would hang from one of the many bridges over the Harbor. The day of the proposal, Mike and I scouted for the perfect location and decided a bridge on Lido Island would do the trick. Joanne and her master craftsman skills constructed a giant sign from a white bed sheet, black felt, six hundred Christmas lights and a car battery. With everything in place, all I had to do was make sure I didn't lose the engagement ring in the harbor, crash a boat that I had never driven before and figure out where the hell that bridge was again, no pressure. After steering the boat aimlessly, we finally came under the bridge where Mike, Joanne our other friends Tiffany and John Jo (now engaged) were holding up the beautiful sign. The funniest thing was Erica saw the sign, read it out loud, laughed and had no clue that it was for her! It wasn't until she looked over at me and saw me on one knee did it hit her. The second funniest thing was our friend Roula also had no clue that I was going to propose, we thought it'd be cool to keep her in the dark too. And the rest is history!

For a nominal fee, I can send you the exact blueprints to this plan for your very own proposal.

The Reyes and Nguyens

The Reyes Clan + Ree

Ree, me, Celina, my mom Diane, Chris and my dad Jose last Christmas.

The Nguyens + Me

Ree's younger brother Carlin, his mom Bonnie and the both of us at Mike and Joanne's wedding.

Our families meet for the first time...

Since my family is Mexican and Ree's is Vietnamese, it only seemed appropriate that we had Italian food. We had dinner in Brea. Ree's Aunt Tammy, Uncle Alex and his father Thu are are shown here.

The 'Maids.

Sista's!!!

Celina, The Maid of Honor

My younger sister by four years, loves art, music and theater.

Me and Mo.


Monique
Monique and I met and became friends while working together at the UCI Child Development Center. She is great with kids and also loves to shop and travel.



Someone tell Kari the mic's off.

Kari loves to rock out!

A college friend and roomate, who loves to sing in her spare time. She is a stay at home mom to 6 month old Brooke.

Roula with her matching red cup.

Roula, a friend since college, is a Marriage and Family Therapist. She loves the outdoors and going to the beach.

Tanya caught in mid stir.

Tanya and I have been friends since college. We lived together in Newport Beach for 3 years and were roomies for 1. My fellow Cal State Long Beach 49er, just graduated from the teacher credentialing program. She loves camping and traveling with her husband Dustin.

Me and Jackie rocking the horizontal stripes.

Jackie (Teacher of the Year)
I met Jackie as a sophomore in college, we became roomates, and the rest is history. Jackie is an amazing teacher and very soon to be mommy!

The Groomsmen

Viet and Pete. During high school football season, I would bring these guys water.

Best Man, Petros aka Peter.

Peter and I have known each other since middle school, and played high school football together, actually he played, I watched from the bench (Damn you Coach Nance!). He's a proud Greek American, and claims to be a descendent of Zeus, the Greek God of the sky. When he's not firing lightning from his eyes, he's in school studying to become a doctor.

Mike and some lady with a big stick .

Best Man Part Deux, Mike.

Mike and I are cousins, kinda and have known each other since we were kids. We both went to UCI and joined the same fraternity. He and I shared a bedroom in Newport that eventful year when I met Erica. I like to also take credit for introducing him to his wife Joanne when we were in college.

Viet putting the moves on Erica.

Groomsman Viet.

Viet and I first met in middle school when he wanted to kick my butt while I was waiting in line for sloppy joes in the school cafeteria. We eventually worked things out and became close friends in high school and even fraternity brothers in college.

Danny flashing gang signs to his birthday cake.

Groomsman Danny.

Probably the second best dancer I know (I'm first), Danny is the perpetual bachelor. We went to college together and were roommates for two years on 29th street in Newport Beach. Danny loves Myspace, Facebook, and my face. If you ever need to find the guy during the wedding, it's a safe bet to look towards the dance floor...where I'll be giving him lessons on how to "Serve" and not "Get Served".

John Jo, about 3 and half minutes before he curls up and falls asleep.

Groomsman John.

John and his now fiance Tiffany were the ones who risked their lives along with Mike and Joanne holding up the giant "Will U Marry Me" sign. Not only were they atop a bridge 30 feet above the water, but the gusting winds made that awesome sign an even awesomer sail, and if that wasn't enough... rain was beginning to soak the hundreds of Christmas lights that were connected to a car battery.

Chris demonstrating his crane kick.

Groomsman Chris.

Erica's baby brother is currently a sophomore at UCLA in the school of arts. From what Erica has told me about Chris, he used to be in Karate when he was younger and liked chasing squirrels at the park. Since our wedding's going to be outdoors, maybe he can use his knowledge of martial arts to knock down a tree and get to those wiley rodents.