The Bride
Jolene was born in Guangxi, People’s Republic of China. She is the second child in her family with one older sister, Cherry, and one younger brother, Bryan. In September of 1998, Jolene and her family came to the United States to reunite with her father’s side of the family.
After completing college with a degree in Sociology and Asian American Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she moved back to San Gabriel and spent two and a half years working as a legal assistant for law firms in Los Angeles and Rowland Heights.
Currently, Jolene lives with her soon-to-be husband, Daniel, in Pasadena.
The Groom
Daniel was born in Colorado Springs and grew up in Larkspur, Colorado and is a 5th-generation Colorado native. Daniel has one younger sister, Becca. Daniel grew up in the forest surrounded by his family, lots of pets, and the beautiful scenery that makes his home state so special.
After completing an International Relations degree with a minor in Environmental Engineering degree at Stanford University, he moved to Pasadena and has been working at Walt Disney Imagineering R &D doing Life Cycle Assessment and other sustainability-related work ever since.
Currently, Daniel lives with his soon-to-be wife, Jolene, in Pasadena.
How We Met
We met the same way that you’re reading this right now: online! Surprisingly, it’s actually possible to meet decent people online and later marry them. We decided for our first date to have brunch in Pasadena near Daniel’s apartment and while Jolene was annoyed at first because there’s nowhere to park in Pasadena on a Saturday morning, she warmed up during brunch. We went to get coffee right after that, then to the grocery store, then to Daniel’s apartment to cook dinner together. What was supposed to be a brunch date turned into an all-day adventure. Everything since then has pretty much been the same!
The Proposal
Jolene started collecting old materials and scraps from around the apartment and of course Daniel didn’t notice because the apartment is full of lots of leftover paper and such. Jolene toiled for hours cutting letters out of a magazine (she cut a few sets) and then pasted them onto paper in an old frame. When Daniel came back with her from visiting her parents one evening, there was a small red-wrapped package on the bed. Daniel carefully peeled back the paper and saw Ying’s message: “Will you marry me?” …and he said YES!!
