Rie and Chip | Menlo Park, California
Why do you want to capture your wedding on video?
Because we will have all our favorite people in one spot. Being an international couple, we have friends all over the world. Our guests are coming from places like Tokyo, London, Germany, North Carolina, Seattle, LA ... and the bay area! When do we even get to see all of them in one place moving forward? Would love to capture this special day!
Why did you pick Amy Hung Films?
We got to know you through referral by Olivia whom we have worked with on engagement photos already and we had such a great time with her. And meeting you / watching your videos and photos, we loved your warm, friendly, authentic style. What we want is a candid record of our day, and we thought you would be a great fit!
How did you meet?
Online :) Chip was living in San Jose (he is originally from Virginia, went to school in Berkeley, and had been in California for about 10 years) and Rie was living in Mountain View (originally from Tokyo, went to business school in Boston and got a job in California after). Our first date was on Castro Street in Mountain View.
The proposal.
We went to Hawaii together and Chip proposed to Rie in Kauai on April 28, 2018, about 20 months after we met. We chose Hawaii because it was a sweet middle ground between SJ (Chip) and Tokyo (Rie). It was on day 2 of our trip. Rie was pretty jetlagged and tired that day, so after we explored nearby towns and had lunch, she suggested that we went back to our airbnb and took a quick power nap. After an hour or so, still half asleep and cuddled in Chip's arms, Rie said how happy she was to be with Chip and listening to the sound of waves relaxing together. Then Chip said, you are happy? you love me? .. Will you marry me? and he put a diamond ring in front of Rie's face. Being half asleep, hugged from behind and not being able to see his face but this ring, Rie was very confused. She still said... uhm yes?? but it was when Chip pinned Rie down on the bed and said "and I have decided to move to Tokyo for us! Let's do this" that she said YES!!!!! and gave Chip a huge smile. It was always a discussion point for us where we would live - Rie had to leave the US in Oct 2017 because she could not maintain her visa to stay in the US. So it was a huge deal that Chip wanted to move to Tokyo for us, although he didn't know any Japanese. The ring is an heirloom that belonged to his grandmother who passed last year. Chip was very close to her. It has got a unique design with leaves around the main stone, and we have designed the wedding around the leaves / botanical theme as well.
The venue/s? Why this place above anywhere else?
We knew we wanted to have a wedding in California because that's where we met and fell in love. Many of our friends are also in the area so we were like why not. AAG was full of flowers and greens when we visited, and it was like love at first sight. We wanted a warm, inviting, down to earth kind of wedding, and cute mission style venue was perfect for that.
What experience do you want to give your guests at the wedding?
Feel invited, welcomed, loved. We want them to know that each person is very important to us and we are so happy that they could join us. Have fun, relax, celebrate with us.