IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!

In the summer of 2010, Chris was retaking physics at UTA while Thao was also there taking her pre-reqs for nursing school. At first, Thao thought Chris was some random guy that kept interjecting himself into her friends' conversations on FB. Through mutual friends, we met each other officially at the library and again at a friend’s housewarming party but neither of us seemed interested in the other. One day, Thao asked for Chris’ number to simply invite him out to lunch with their friends and after two short weeks of casual texting, Chris finally worked up the courage to ask Thao out on a date to Red Robin where she had access to unlimited french fries (solid move, Chris)! It wasn't until we were FBO that Chris revealed to Thao that she first caught his eye on the quiet floor of the library before their official meeting. Thao was in a white v-neck and shorts and was blasting a song from the Glee soundtrack that he could hear through her earphones. While slightly creepy, that confession was quite endearing to Thao since we ended up bonding over Glee together. It wasn't all rainbows and sunshine though. Let’s just say there was a bit of a ‘star-crossed lovers’ element to our love story at the beginning of it all. Our closest friends and family can vouch for it, so we’ll spare you the details. Together we've endured a year and a half being long-distanced, survived undergrad AND grad school; Chris in pharmacy school, Thao in NP school. Nine years flew by when Thao began getting antsy about their relationship is when Chris FINALLY popped the question on the brink of a pandemic being declared by the WHO (great timing, amirite?). As the wedding day approaches, we will soon be celebrating 11 years together, going through yet another long-distance relationship with Chris being in Illinois and Thao still in Texas. Needless to say, it has been a LONG time coming for us to finally be in the same place at the same time with our loved ones to make things OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL.

We remember it like it was yesterday... On the verge of COVID-19 turning into a pandemic, we all risked everything to go to Thailand. There were flight cancellations, changes in reservations, and lots of doubt we would even make it at all. Eventually, we found a way for "safe" passage and started a journey that would soon not be forgotten! Before leaving to Thailand, while Thao was at work, there was a secret meeting between Chris' and Thao's families. Kim (Thao's now matron of honor) accompanied Chris to Thao's parents' house for support to ask for their blessing. The night before the proposal, "someone" almost ruined the surprise, but Chris will take partial blame for it since he was a little slow on communicating the plan. Luckily, that "someone" was able to convince Thao that it was an inside joke we've had with each other for awhile. Chiang Mai... Doi Inthanon Inthanon National Park. Chris remembers it like it was yesterday because Thao was not in the best mood due to the previous night's shenanigans. After we arrived at the national park, we started walking around and taking pictures, but Chris was looking around for the perfect photo opportunity. After he had told his friends where he was wanting to propose, they were setting up in the background unbeknownst to Thao. It took two attempts to propose... the first failed attempt was because Chris became nervous and then the opportunity passed. Feeling like there was a missed opportunity, we walked to the opposite side of the park. After lingering around, Thao asked if we could leave, but Chris told her he wanted to take a few more photos back at the proposal location. It was definitely time to take the plunge. Chris had asked Thao to turn around for a pose, but was secretly pulling the ring out of the backpack. She turned around so quickly that he had to bend the knee quite fast and just started spewing out words. And guess what happened next? HE POPPED THE QUESTION AND SHE SAID YES!! FINALLE!