Things took a turn in our second year where we went on a beach trip with some of our mutual friends. We got to know each other better from there and quickly fell for each other.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
K: I grew up in Diamond Bar, California and spent most of my life going to school around the area. For college I went to a small liberal arts college in Los Angeles called Occidental College, where I met Rachel. I went to dental school at UCLA and I am currently finishing my orthodontic residency in Arizona. Having grown up in Southern California, I have a lot of pride for LA sports, especially the Lakers and the Rams. I enjoy having an active lifestyle and love playing basketball. However, I do love my lazy side as well, and love staying in, playing video games, and watching television and movies with Rachel.
R: I moved around quite a lot growing up – I spent the first half of my life in Korea until my family moved to Silicon Valley when I was 14. After graduating college in LA, I moved across the country to get master’s degrees in counseling psychology in New York and worked at a non-profit organization, providing therapy for those battling addiction, PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorder. In 2017, when I came back to LA, I transitioned to higher education, now focusing on career counseling for students. I have a huge sweet tooth (good thing my husband is a dentist!) – Haribo gummy bears and Tate’s cookies are my favorite. I love taking long naps, binge watching shows, doing HIIT workouts, and trying out new restaurants with friends.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions? R: I still vividly remember what he was wearing when I first met him – a burgundy v-neck, grey jeans, and blue sneakers. I thought he was cute but nothing more at the time. Then, at the first party we went to that same weekend, Kevin came up to me and asked me to dance with him. I thought we were having a great time until another guy asked Kevin if he could dance with me (shouldn’t he have asked me… not Kevin?), and Kevin just left without asking for my number. A year later, Kevin became roommates with my friend, Preston (one of the groomsmen), and we started spending more time as a group with our friends. After a trip to Santa Monica beach one weekend, where we got to know each other better, he asked me out on a date and the rest is history.
K: We met again shortly after at a party and danced together. She seemed very bubbly and smiley. I remember thinking how pretty her smile was and how jolly and positive of a person she seemed to be. The following times, I remember thinking I wanted to be friends with her and talk to her more. Unfortunately, as overly excited college freshmen, every subsequent time we met each other, one of us was too incoherently inebriated to the point we never really got to know each other better. One time, I spilled some wine on her lounge slippers and wanted to muster up the courage to use this opportunity to talk to her more, but I thought she was mad at me. Things took a turn in our second year where we went on a beach trip with some of our mutual friends. We got to know each other better from there and quickly fell for each other.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
K: I always wanted to do something special at the beach, because that was where Rachel and I first had our special bond together. I worked with this company called the Picnic Collective to design a beautiful setup just for the two of us. I also reached out to her family and friends in Seoul and New York to make a video as they couldn’t be there due to COVID-19. Even though I had prepared a speech and memorized it by repeating countlessly in my head, I was so nervous the entire time and ended up forgetting my entire speech. It all worked out in the end and our close friends were able to surprise her with an engagement party after the proposal.
R: On the last weekend of October in 2020, Kevin had made a lunch reservation at Geoffree’s in Malibu. After lunch, he wanted to go to the beach and walk around. I had my suspicions, because Kevin doesn’t usually dress up but he was wearing a suit that day, and one of my friends took me to get my hair and nails done the day before. When we got to the Paradise Cove, there was a beautiful picnic set up for just the two of us, with a handwritten letter, a photo album, and a video montage of my friends and family from Korea and New York. When he got down on one knee and popped the question, I completely blacked out and don’t remember what he said to me, but there were lots of happy tears and big hugs. After the proposal, we had a mini photoshoot session with a photographer my friend hired for us, and went to a private venue in Burbank to celebrate with our close friends with food, cake, and lots of champagne.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
K: Initially, we were hoping to get married in Fall 2021 at a different venue. However, the initial venue we were looking at shut down during COVID, and Rachel’s family and some of her friends couldn’t fly out due to travel restrictions at the time, so we had to rethink everything. Despite the unexpected changes, we knew we certainly wanted a non-religious, relatively small wedding, officiated by one of our close friends. I left the overall design of our wedding to Rachel since she has an eye for detail, and to this day, I cannot stop thinking about how beautifully everything turned out. One thing that I did want that was sadly not available in Southern California was a beer burro, a donkey that delivers drinks to the guests.
R: From the beginning, Kevin and I wanted something timeless and romantic, and we wanted to keep our color palette neutral. We used different shades of neutral colors including ivory, cream, and light earthy tones to add dimension, and lots of textural elements such as the different types of flowers, the wooden chairs, the linen, and the wispy greenery to make sure the overall design wasn’t too plain or one dimensional while keeping it cohesive.
I am not a huge fan of the traditional bridesmaid dresses. So, instead, I gave a general guideline of what I was envisioning – neutral, soft, floral – and some example photos to my bridesmaids and had them pick out their own dress, because I wanted everyone to look and feel their best and find something they could wear again outside of my wedding. They also chose their own hair and makeup style, shoes, and jewelry, and I absolutely love how everyone looked individually and together as a group.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
K: Rachel and I watch our wedding video all the time, because it brings us right back to that day. One moment that my groomsmen and I have a good laugh about is when we were changing into our tuxes, and because most of us are the same height and size, I was wearing my best man’s tux. I was looking for the cufflinks and other accessories in his bag, and had a mini heart attack when I couldn’t find them. Thankfully, we noticed the mixup shortly after and walked down the aisle in our own tuxes.
R: Our makeup artist had the wrong zip code and showed up over an hour late to the wedding. But being the professional she is, she still managed to finish everyone’s makeup on time. Overall, nothing majorly went wrong on our wedding day. At least not that I know of… and if something did happen, everyone did a great job at handling it without telling me!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
K: Rachel and I wanted a black tie (preferred) affair as we loved the look of a more formal wedding. Since I wear scrubs everyday, this was a nice change to have and something I really wanted!
R: I knew I wanted a clean, timeless design in mikado silk, which sounds pretty simple, but I couldn’t find the one. There was always something I wanted to change about each of dresses I tried on, so when our planner, Sophia, told me about a studio in downtown that only makes custom gowns from scratch, I decided to go with it. I loved that from the cuts to shapes to fabrics, I got to choose every detail of it and it was made to my exact measurements. It was such a fun experience seeing my ideas being translated into a sketch and eventually come to life, and it felt very special to have a one-of-a-kind custom dress designed for my wedding day.
Ceremony + Reception location: Bel-Air Bay Club, @belairbayclub / Photographer + Videographer: Foolishly Rushing In, @foolishlyrushingin / Celebrant: A close friend of ours officiated the wedding, and he is not active on social media / Entertainment: Prokreation Productions, @pkcomedy / Planner: Spark Event Consulting, @sophiakimpark / Hire: (Rentals) Tacer, @tacer_losangeles; (Dance floor) TMMPRO, @tmmprorental / Flora: Blooms by Melly, @bloomsbymelly / Catering + Beverages: Bel-Air Bay Club, @belairbayclub / Stationery: Custom order from various vendors on Etsy – (Menu holders) SoullectiveSpace; (Vow books) TheCozyComfyHome; (Bar sign & place cards) MiscellaneousMethods; (Menu) MutedPaletteDesigns / Registry: We did not have a gift registry. Instead, we included a link to the honeymoon fund we created through Birdie on our wedding website / Bride’s ceremony dress: Custom made gown (vendor has retired since and does not wish to be advertised) / Bride’s reception dress: Fame & Partners, @fameandpartners / Groom + Groomsmen’s attire: The Black Tux, @theblacktux / Bride’s ring: Van Cleef Arpels, @vancleefarpels / Groom’s ring: Cartier, @cartier / Bride’s shoes: (Ceremony) Custom made from Seoul, South Korea; (Gift from the bridesmaids) Dior, @dior / Groom’s shoes: Bally, @bally / Bride’s earrings: Jennifer Behr, @jenniferbehr / Groom’s watch: Rolex, @rolex / Makeup + Hair: Jessica Makeup, @jessicamakeupcom / Bride’s fragrance: Hermes, @hermes / Groom’s fragrance: Tom Ford / Bridesmaid: Everyone picked their own dress
