Hello there
Larry was at a Duke University alumni and student mixer in New York City when he spotted a beautiful woman. Because the whole idea of the November 2009 event was to meet people, he had a perfect excuse to say hello.
Lina also liked the looks of Larry. The two tried to get to know each other, but an alum monopolized the conversation with sports talk. So Larry, from Ocean City, N.J., and Lina, from Taiyuan, China, returned to their MBA classes at Duke's Fuqua School of Business only slightly more than strangers.
About three weeks later, Larry spotted her in the library and wasted no time.
"I was nervous, and talking too loud, and people were shushing me," he said.
So he sat next to Lina, and they typed instant messages back and forth on their computers.
They typed about their favorite books and movies, their families, and themselves.
Lina earned an undergraduate degree in communication engineering from Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications and a master's in computer science from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, where she also worked for IBM Research.
"She has a great personality, and is very intelligent - much smarter than I am," Larry said.
Larry is no slouch. He has a bachelor's in biology and a master's in anthropology and archaeology from Yale University. Before he moved into health-care consulting - which he still does for Price Waterhouse Cooper in Philadelphia - he studied the remains of the Maya culture in Honduras.
Somehow Lina's fondness for Korean pop star Rain came up in their IMs. "He's in a movie that's out now," Larry typed. "Would you like to go?"
"When?" typed Lina.
"We could just leave the library and go."
Lina surprised herself. "He was very interesting, which is why I said yes to this very impulsive date proposal."
The blood in Ninja Assassin was a bit much. The box office told them they could see Fantastic Mr. Fox instead. They loved it. Soon they saw Avatar. And they never stopped seeing each other.
After graduating in 2011, Larry, now 31, began his job with Price Waterhouse Cooper and Lina, now 33, started with Smith Breeden Associates in Durham, N.C., where she is a vice president in the research department.
He lives in Bala Cynwyd, but traveling for work means he's usually in Indianapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, or New York.
Lina still lives in North Carolina.
They see each other in person every two or three weekends, and use their iPad Facetime feature in between. Lina will move here in July and begin a local job search.
How does forever sound?
Lina was visiting Philadelphia in September when Larry asked whether she'd rather go to Longwood Gardens or Valley Forge.
He hoped giving her the option would throw her off his mission.
Larry was looking for a good spot. Some had too many joggers. Some too many mosquitoes. Some were too sunny and hot. And then they reached the Washington Chapel.
Inside, Lina caught Larry deep in thought, looking out a beautiful window. She snapped a picture, and then walked over to join him.
Larry turned toward her, got on one knee, and told her he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
It was so them
The couple wanted a wedding that was a little bit South Jersey and a little bit Beijing. Larry wanted his Buddhist faith and philosophy represented, but not so much as to overwhelm agnostic Lina. They wanted to throw in some Christian elements - Larry grew up with a lot of Irish and Italian people. And they were influenced by movie weddings, too.
They were impressed that Journeys of the Heart officiant Miki Young crafted all these elements into something meaningful and fun for them and 150 friends and family members.
The day before the wedding, the couple had a traditional tea ceremony for their parents at Larry's parents' house in Egg Harbor Township.
In the vows they wrote, Larry and Lina promised to live in harmony with the universe and each other and with all sentient beings.
Lina's father, Fengqian, showed her a few ideas on YouTube for their father-daughter dance. It started slowly to traditional Chinese music, but they brought out the moves for Justin Timberlake's "I'm Bringing Sexy Back," and Chubby Checker's "The Twist."
The mother-son dance had an infusion of pop culture, too. "My mom is a big fan of Dancing With the Stars," Larry said. So he and Veronica danced ballroom style to "A Song for My Son" by Mikki Viereck.
This was unexpected
Though Larry's not sure how his tux ripped in the back, guests deduced he was secretly the Hulk.
Awestruck
The newlyweds entered the reception through a shower of sparks, playing air guitar to "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by the Darkness.
Larry said his life as a consultant generally required him to be the epitome of buttoned-up business propriety. "But I thought, 'This is our day, and we're going to air guitar if we want to air guitar,' " he said. "It was freedom and joy with my favorite person."
After that entrance, they danced to "I've Got a Crush on You" sung by Rod Stewart and Diana Ross. They spent part of their too-rare weekends together practicing. At the wedding, they forgot a few steps in the middle. But "we were so in sync we made a quick recovery," Lina said. To her, that kind of teamwork felt better than perfection.
Discretionary spending
A bargain: The flowers cost about 55 percent less than the couple budgeted based on friends' experience.
The splurge: They used $500 of that saving to put small spotlights on the centerpieces.
The getaway
A cross-country trip on the California Zephyr - a train with huge windows for optimum scenery viewing - in July.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Officiant
Miki Young, Journeys of the Heart, www.journeysoftheheart.org
Venue
Cescaphe Ballroom, Philadelphia
Food
Cescaphe Event Group, Philadelphia
Music
DJ Brian Lacivita, Cutting Edge Entertainment, Huntingdon Valley
Photography
John Barone, John Barone Photography, Philadelphia
Videography
Jeff Cafaro, New Milford Productions, Willow Grove
Flowers
Betina Sabbagh, Betina's at Parkview, Galloway, N.J.
Dress
Maggie Sottero
Invitations
www.exclusivelyweddings.com
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