Flashback: Drowning Just Isn't Fun

I absolutely adore old albums. There is something romantic about them. There is one album in particular that I have always gone back to. It provides me with so much aesthetic and artistic inspiration. The content is genuine, raw and nostalgic. The photos contained within are of my father growing up in Vietnam during the 1940s and 1950s.

Just one page of a magnificent album. It is positively amazing when you realize that these photos survived communist raids and more than a decade of war.

Close Ups of the Photos

My father, his brother and their friends at the local swimming pool. What you can't tell from this photo is that my father couldn't swim at all in those days. In fact, he couldn't even float! Boys will be boys though and he dove in the deep end with them. He would have drowned had his older brother, Luong (who was a champion swimmer) not saved him from the bottom of the pool.

Another shot of my father in his young days.

He probably should have stayed in the shallow end.

I wonder where all those boys are today?

Got H2O Polo?

I hope everyone enjoyed the third installment of Flashback! Check back soon for photos of other members of the family. Contact us if you'd like to be included!

♥ Linda

Gorgeous Groomsmen

Hello Boys!

Unlike the bridesmaids, the groomsmen were a little lower maintenance. There were no boxes, no donuts, no Ken dolls holding up little "will you be my groomsmen?" signs. They were invited via email (communication method of choice by code monkeys). It was immediately decided that we would all convene in Las Vegas for a geeky weekend of fun (Spamalot), eating (mmm, Vegas buffets) and bonding (poolside). We were able to gather nearly all the groomsmen! Kim unfortunately couldn't make it because he lives in Sweden. We weren't able to take Andrew because he's under age. I give you Kevin's entourage!

Amadeus Phan-Thanh
Best Man

Aaron Becker
Groomsman

Ian Ferrel
Groomsman

Kim Ly
Groomsman


Nikhil Gheewala
Groomsman


Andrew Kao
Junior Groomsman

♥ Linda

Wedded: A New Series

We are going to premiere a brand new series in the next day or two. We are really excited about this one and hope to spotlight many happy couples. We are calling it Wedded and it will be comprised of a series of posts on wedded couples on their wedding day! We have some of your photos already, but if you would like to be included, please go to our website and contact us!

♥ Linda

Flashback: Baby Kevin

This photo was previously posted on the Our Story section of the website. I decided to post it again here to give the story behind it!

Kevin's mom is carrying Kevin when he was only a few months old. His uncle in Taiwan was a photographer and decided to take some candid shots of the two in front of a yellow curtain. I absolutely adore how vintage this photograph looks.

♥ Linda

Flashback: Farmer Linda

We're introducing another new series tonight with photos from family members' past! The "Our Story" section of the website ended up being such a big hit that we decided Flashback photos and a story might prove popular on the blog as well. Feel free to comment on the blog posts below!

The first FLASHBACK is a photo of me. I like to call it Farmer Linda because of the pig tails and overalls. I have no clue what the story behind this one is :-( Sorry! Check out the 80s gear sported by my cousins Khoa and Dang.

♥ Linda

I'm Ready For My Close Up Mr. Demille!

As promised, I am about to post a photo of my dress, so read no further Kevin!
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On Thursday afternoon, my mom and I decided to go pick up my dress from the tailors! It still needs to be pressed, and perhaps an extra something in the back, but here's a preview!

Don't worry, there are plenty of surprises ahead (4 more dresses to be exact!).

♥ Linda

Spotlight SoCal: Intro

At least once a week, between now and the wedding, we will spotlight a special Southern California attraction for our out of town guests! Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of sites you'd like to visit. Even if you live in SoCal, perhaps you'll find a hidden gem you've yet to experience!

Check the Calendar on our wedding website for group outings (out of towners as well as locals are encouraged to join in the bonding experience)! Thus far we have scheduled:

• Disneyland/Disney's California Adventure/Downtown Disney/Gardenwalk
• Hollywood & Highland/Universal Studios/Santa Monica Pier (depending on time)
• Relaxing day at a Southern California Beach (perhaps some surf lessons & a BBQ)

Please contact us if you'd like to propose something for a group get together!

Linda on the Paramount Pictures Studio Lot, sitting on the actual bench Tom Hanks sits on in Forrest Gump. I'm doing my best box of chocolates impression. (And yes, you can tour the Paramount Lot too!)

♥ Linda

Kevin Don't Read This!

I was extremely excited when I found my gorgeous Anne Barge gown, a sample, but brand new and in fabulous condition! However, I am a street size 00-0, 2 if it is exceptionally small. I'm also only 5' 1'' on a good day. I knew from the start that I would need a wonderful tailor. I've heard about European Tailoring of Costa Mesa before. They have no webpage but they have a forty year history in the community. They are the preferred vendor for alteration work by most of the high end South Coast Plaza shops such as Hermes, Gucci, Carolina Herrera, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, etc. One of my clients (who used to be one of Columbia's premier fashion designers), recommended European Tailoring to me. After bringing my gown in, I was hooked. Their customer service is impeccable. Their shop is beautiful. And I felt nothing but serenity as soon as I stepped into the shop. Also, it was so cool, because when I walked in, there were photos of the European Tailoring crew with Carolina Herrera, Miss Universe, Allen Schwartz and so many others I can't remember.

The heart is where European Tailoring is located. If you go to the big yellow splotch you'll find a parking structure located across the street from the Westin-South Coast Plaza. That particular parking structure is literally a one minute walk from the shop and European Tailoring will validate your parking for two hours. We ended up catching a lunch across the street near Chat Noir since our parking was already paid for :-)

This is what the shop looks like if you're looking for it as you drive by. If you're coming from the 405 freeway, it should be on your right hand side and if you're coming from South Coast Plaza, it will be on your left hand side. There I am inside!

This is the front of my gown. I wasn't particularly happy about the expression on my face so I decided to cover it up with an even more terrible expression.

Here I am being pinned into my beloved gown.

This is a close up of some of the beading on my gown. Anne Barge really does amazing work.

Here I am having my hem pinned. That broach on the back of my gown was what really sold me on this gown. What can I say? I love my bling!

Here's a shot of my train.

All done! Now I'm going back in the dressing room!

This is my favorite photo because I look normal. You should have seen the expression on my face in the other photos.

It is amazing, but after just one fitting, the dress fit perfectly! Not a millimeter to spare. I just picked up my gown this week! Look for post sometime this weekend with photos of my finished gown!

♥ Linda

Beautiful, Bodacious Bridesmaids!

I have five incredible bridesmaids and one incredible junior bridesmaid. It was incredible fun growing up with them. When it came time to ask them to be my bridesmaids, I knew it had to be something special! So what happens when you let Linda loose at Marukai? She finds fabulous deals! I decided I wanted them to truly be surprised. This, of course, required that I keep the engagement a secret from them as well (only Thanh knew!) I began to craft an idea, it would have to be in a big box (because girls drool when they see a box), it would have to have something delicious (but it would have to keep) and they'd have to go through a scavenger hunt of sorts (because I love games).

Each of the girls received this box, personalized, with their name.

Rhinestones dotted each and every "i" with love.
Inside was a Barbie doll in a pink bridesmaids dress holding a placard asking them to be a bridesmaid. Also included was a pink donut from my favorite donut shop (Bakers' Dozen, kicks Krispy Kreme's butt). Last but not leas, a fabric bound booklet with instructions to a personalized email account where they would find further instructions.
Close up shot of the placard.
Mmm and the delicious donut, of course.
The booklet.
Hidden underneath the booklet was a purse size journal and two pencils for the bridesmaids to record their first experience as bridesmaids.

So who are these bodacious bridesmaids?

Miss Thanh Ho
Maid of Honor

Miss April Corpuz
Bridesmaid

Miss Kelly Lin
Bridesmaid


Miss Nadia Mian
Bridesmaid

Miss Priscilla Lam
Bridesmaid


Miss Christina Bui
Junior Bridesmaid

That's my entourage!

♥ Linda

Welcome!

Thank you for taking time to visit our blog. We've been working away like busy little monkeys. We hope you'll find this helpful, informative just a splash entertaining! Kevin was the busy little code monkey while Linda worked on the content. You'll find information regarding

• Linda & Kevin
• Directions
• Accommodations
• Local Activities
• Wedding Activities
• Formal Portraits

And, after the wedding, you'll be able to see our wedding photos! We hope you'll find yourself in one.

We'd love it if you'd let us know you visited by signing our guest book at

http://www.lypang.com/Wedding/GuestBook.aspx

Please contact us through our website if you need assistance with any questions you may have :-)

We'll leave you with a silly little photo of just the two of us and a delicious green M&M