~ The Beginnings ~
Gary and Lala met in July 2001, on the 23rd to be exact. Lala just came from a training conference in Chicago and was visiting relatives in the Bay Area for a few days before returning to Manila. A cousin introduced them and they went to dinner that evening at La Petite Camille in Millbrae where Gary used to live. Of note, the restaurant was Vietnamese even though Gary firmly believed it was Thai. He may not know his restaurants but the food turned out to be very good :)
That night, they found that they had a lot in common despite coming from different sides of the world. Their conversations continued throughout the evening, both knowing they had found something special.
~ Bridging The Distance ~
From then on, they've spent months of e-mailing and talking over the phone endlessly. To this day, Gary still keeps the almost footlong stack of Pinoy phone cards that he's used to make overseas calls to the Philippines.
Gary went to visit Lala twice in
Manila (in 2001 and 2002, both times during the Thanksgiving holidays) before Lala eventually moved to the US
in January 2003.
~ A Special Engagement ~
December 8, 2002 (albeit secretly! sorry, Mommy!!!) at Prince Plaza in Makati . It's a date that is no doubt very special to them. Aside from being the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, it was a year to the day when they officially became steadies.
They would have wanted December 8th again to be the day they will be exchanging marriage vows before God. However, given the popularity of the month of December for weddings in the Philippines, they had to set it to the closest available date, that is December 16th. Somehow rationalizing that the 16th is still the 8th -- only double ;)
~ The Proposal ~
Nothing fancy-- Gary popped the question before he and Lala went to Greenbelt for dinner that evening. He was flying back to San Francisco the next day. At Prince Plaza Makati where he stayed, he asked Lala to close her eyes before he can give his last present. When she opened her eyes, Gary was on his knees holding a diamond solitaire ring in an open box. The answer was of course...a yes! *madali naman ako kausap eh* =)
~ A Vermont Wedding ~
You could say they eloped one winter day, to the snow-covered mountains of Vermont. On March 19, 2005, at the Four Columns Inn, Gary and Lala said their vows in a civil ceremony with only the Justice of the Peace as witness.
Why Vermont? It was the closest state where they can wed on a weekend and it gave them the feeling of a weekend getaway, driving a mere 4 hours from NYC.
~ Life Together ~
In January 2005, they bought their first home in New Jersey and moved out of their NYC apartment in July of the same year, 4 years after they first met. It has been a long and winding road for the two. There's been ups and downs along the way, maternal dissent included, but here they are 5 years later planning their way to the big day. It was definitely a case of rebelling with great results for Lala (though not recommended in other circumstances).
~ About Lala ~
Lala (Luzel to friends) was born and raised in the Philippines by her parents Luzviminda and Eliseo. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Accounting magna cum laude from the
University of
Santo Tomas in
Manila and became a CPA at the age of 19. Prior to moving to
New York in 2003, Lala was an Assurance Director with SGV & Co. (Ernst & Young- Manila) where she started her career in public accounting right after college. Lala is the middle child with 2 other siblings -- eldest brother Dennis is an economist with the Central Bank of the Philippines and lives in
Quezon City with wife Ces. Youngest sister Lady is a computer engineer now residing in Canada with husband Ryan and their 2 kids, Joachim and Rianna.
~ About Gary ~
Gary was born in the Philippines to parents Elena and Eduardo and grew up in California where the family migrated while he was still a toddler. He earned his degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis and has spent 4 years in the Air Force working on missile silos. Currently, he works in the pharmaceutical industry as a project manager. Gary loves spending time with family, especially Tiana and Eric. He is the eldest in a brood of 3. His brothers Edmond and Edwin both live in California with their respective families.
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