On Friday, November 14th, Grace and I took a morning flight to Washington DC to attend Christine and Jin’s wedding. I used to fly to Washington National (Reagan) weekly during my consulting days, but it has been almost 20 years since then. Upon our arrival, we went straight to Jea and Eddie’s house. Ana, Bobby, Caden and Colin had just pulled in from NJ.
All of the adults and Colin headed over to the rehearsal dinner, where the celebration was getting under way. It was there that we not only finally met Christine, but also where our reunion was beginning. There were so many old friends (and family) who were brought together by this couple. Jin and I grew up going to church, camp and college together. We were also in the same fraternity to seal our brotherhood.
After 40 courses of meat (Brazilian steak house), Christine and Jin held their Paebaek. I think Jin enjoyed his traditional hanbok a little too much. They both looked great!
On Saturday, the wedding was held at Trump National CC, where Christine’s dad (and coincidentally, Eddie) are members. It is a beautiful place with sweeping views of the Potomac beyond the golf course. The first people I saw were Chip and Dean, who were ushers. I saw Chip last month, but it has been almost a decade since I’ve seen Dean.
The wedding was officiated by my childhood friend, Shawn. Over 10 years ago we saw him preside over one of his first weddings. This was his 36th and it did not disappoint. Not only was his message honest and heartfelt, but it was hilarious as well. I’m still stinging a bit from Taylor Swift leaving Spotify, but Shawn invoked her lyrics in his sermon, reminding me of her young wisdom.
As we walked into dinner, each guest (including Bobby) was given Maize and Blue pom poms. Christine had arranged a surprise for Jin where the wedding party would enter with Hail to the Victors being played by the band. It was a first for me and also a sign of true love.
The reception continued our reunion of friends from so many different phases of life, most recently Jin’s bachelor party. The first toast was given by Anish and I’m pretty sure everyone was terrified. The last time I saw him was 3 AM in Las Vegas and I know what he’s capable of. He was given many guidelines (restrictions) and still most of his speech was redacted by his wife. Still, he managed to work in “fecal matter,” “green energy,” and “natural gas” into his speech. It was awesome and unsurprising. Younger siblings, Jin-(Sir) and Irene did such a great job, too. However, Matron of Honor, Jenny came armed with some amazing visual aids. She had texts with Christine before she even met Jin. They were so prescient about their wedding that Jenny saved them just so she could use them in her toast! What a payoff!
I should note that the wedding band came all the way from NY and was amazing. They killed everything they played. I should also note that my camera is great at a lot of things, but evening wedding photos is not one of them. I did my best, and by best, I mean a few face melting snap shots on the dance floor.
On Sunday, we went over to Christine’s parents’ beautiful home in McLean. It was our last chance to see everyone before we went our separate ways again. I don’t know when we’ll all be together again, but hopefully it will be the next time Christine and Jin visit California.
We’re so happy for Christine, Jin and Tommy. They’re already a beautiful and loving family and we wish them the best. Congratulations!
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