We first met Crystal and Richard at Tina and Clinton’s Santorini wedding, back in 2010. And I will never forget what struck me most from that weekend: This is an extremely tight group of friends.
Most of them met in grade school and bonded over their common background of their families immigrating to the U.S. from China and Vietnam. They have always stuck together and helped one another through the trials and challenges of being a teenager, going to college, dating, entering the job market. And here they all are now, getting married and having children. And they are still right there by one another’s side.
Crystal and Richard chose one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen in my life for their wedding weekend – the Spanish colonial town of La Antigua, Guatemala. Crystal and her bridesmaids got ready at El Convento, a boutique hotel across the street from the ceremony location of El Convento de las Capuchinas, a convent dating back to the 18th Century which is one of Antigua’s most famous ruins sites. Afterward, guests rode the Chicken Bus to San Jose El Viejo, another beloved 18th Century ruins site. The beauty and majesty of these locations are like nothing we had ever seen before.
You will see a lot of happiness and tears in these photos because, frankly, I would imagine it’s pretty intense getting married and looking around and seeing that the people in the audience, the people toasting you, have literally watched you grow up, watched you become the adult you are today. This group of friends has gone through the biggest milestones of life together, and I have a feeling that bond will only grow as they move through the next chapters of the human experience. We should all be so lucky.