Ysolt and Jesse

Countdown to the Wedding, 358 More Days

Posted on August 31, 2012     Leave a Comment

We took this photo before a very relaxing couple’s massage on the beach in Sandals Cay, a private island.

Countdown to the Wedding, 359 More Days

Posted on August 30, 2012     Leave a Comment

We were quite busy with our snorkel gear today! This photo was taken with Jesse’s waterproof GoPro.

Countdown to the Wedding, 360 More Days

Posted on August 29, 2012     Leave a Comment

This is the view from our reserved cabana… When we weren’t snorkeling or eating, that’s where we were!

Countdown to the Wedding, 361 More Days

Posted on August 28, 2012     Leave a Comment

We went to the Bahamas for a little r-and-r, fun in the sun, good eats and a lot of booze. More pictures to come!

Countdown to the Wedding, 363 More Days

Posted on August 26, 2012     Leave a Comment

Jesse with grandpa Peter at breakfast post wedding.

Countdown to the Wedding, 364 More Days

Posted on August 25, 2012     Leave a Comment

In 364 days, we will be at our own wedding. Today, we are at Doug and Jessica’s special day.

Let the Festivities Begin: An Engagement Party with Our Closest Friends

Posted on August 18, 2012     Leave a Comment

Let the wedding festivities begin! We’ve decided to celebrate our engagement by getting together with our closest friends (sorry parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles!).

Pictures to come!

Our Wedding Party

Posted on August 15, 2012     Leave a Comment

Maid of Honor: Iris Asuncion

Iris is Ysolt’s older sister. She’s the best sister a girl could ever have. She let Ysolt wear all of her clothes when they were younger, let Ysolt hang out with all of her older, cooler friends, and never got mad at Ysolt even when she was being a total brat.

Bridesmaid: Gladys Gatchalian

Gladys is Ysolt’s favorite cousin. (Sorry, other cousins.) She has been Ysolt’s “wing woman” on several eating frenzies.

Bridesmaid: Vivienne Mendoza

Vivienne is one of Ysolt’s BFFs. From junior high to high school, and then to college, Ysolt followed Vivienne like a shadow. Ysolt looks up to Vivienne because she’s just so cool.

Bridesmaid: Hannah Halili

Hannah is Ysolt’s other BFF. They’re both fellow Aquarians, and at times, share the same brain. When they laugh together (which happens often), they slap each other. And, they call each other “cupkeyk” (inside joke).

Bridesmaid: Lauren Fanuzzi

Lauren and Ysolt have cried together, have laughed together and have always had each other’s backs. They both share a love of dancing and shopping, so it was inevitable they’d become fast friends.

Best Man: Doug McHoul

Doug is Jesse’s longtime Catholic school friend. They’ve been in many bands together and enjoy watching Pearl Jam concerts.

Groomsman: Peter Schmidt

Peter is Jesse’s youngest brother, who he’s very fond of. He recently graduated from the Naval Academy. And FYI, ladies, he’s single and ready to mingle.

Groomsman: Travis Schmidt

Travis is Jesse’s younger brother. He recently moved to Hawaii with his family and Jesse misses them very much. Every day, Jesse schemes how he can get them to move back to the East Coast.

Groomsman: Brian Stickle

Brian once stole a girl from Jesse when they were in high school, but Jesse got him back when he stole Brian’s Hyundai. It was all in good fun.

Groomsman: Troy Atkinson

Troy was notorious for throwing parties when his parents were out of town. (Sorry to blow up your spot.) During one of these shenanigans, Jesse opened up a special bottle of wine and drank it. Troy’s parents still bust Jesse’s chops about it.

Flower Girl: Aubrey Mendoza

Aubrey is Ysolt BFF Vivienne’s little girl. She was just born a month ago, so fingers crossed that she’ll be able to walk at the wedding.

Flower Girl: Raiann Osband

Raiann is bridesmaid Hannah’s daughter and Ysolt’s goddaughter. She’s sassy, spunky and always marches to the beat of her own drum. She can also recite all of the lines in “The Wizard of Oz.”

Ring Bearer: Stone Schmidt

Stone is Jesse’s nephew. He likes to sing, dance and eat Spam musubis (in case you don’t know, that’s sushi made out of spam and rice).

Coin Bearer: Tyler Asuncion

Tyler is Ysolt’s godson and nephew. He is as “techy” as Jesse is, loves playing video games and watching America’s Best Dance Crew, and is really good at math.

And So It Shall Be, We Will Marry Inside a Church

Posted on August 14, 2012     1 Comment

After a lot of thought — and honoring our parents’ wishes — yes, we are going to get married in a church. Although Jesse and I are not the most religious of couples, we were both raised very Catholic. We are spiritual after all, and we were delighted to find a Catholic church (located conveniently across the way from the wedding reception venue) that we liked and mirrors our values.

Here’s the church’s information:

Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (a.k.a. Seton Shrine)
7 State Street
New York, NY 10004
www.setonshrine.com
(212) 269-6865

Our Save-the-Date Video

Posted on July 6, 2012     Leave a Comment

Our First Date: The Highline
Our First Meal: Fatty Crab
Our First Fight: Pastis
Our Favorite Street Vendor: Mister Softee
Our First Kiss: French Roast
Our First “I Love You”: Chelsea Apartment
Our Favorite Pizza Joint: Tappo
Our Favorite Brunch Spot: La Bergamote
Where He Proposed: The Highline
Where We Celebrated: The Park
Where We’re Getting Married: Battery Gardens

Song: “This Is the Day” by The The

How We Met

Posted on May 12, 2012     Leave a Comment

There’s not much to tell. We both had been online dating (shout-out to OKCupid.com!) for a handful of months, and had only met duds. We both had started to give up a little, thinking we’d never find “the one” (at least not on the internet), so we both took a “what the heck” approach. (You know, just meet new people, make some friends, and maybe you’ll hit it off with someone.)

One Sunday morning on October 24, 2010, Ysolt had been reading OKCupid.com emails — one of them was from Jesse. He introduced himself, said he liked her profile and wanted to know more. Reluctant to start yet another email chain with yet another stranger, Ysolt IM-ed Jesse (you can chat with people in real-time on OKCupid.com… and suddenly, this is starting to sound like an advertorial for the free dating site). She liked what Jesse wrote on his profile. He said he was family-oriented, grew up in a small town and loved music.

We didn’t chat long — maybe 20 minutes or so… Ysolt told Jesse she was hungry, and he offered to take her out to eat. An hour later, we met up in Chelsea — 9th Avenue and 16th Street to be exact. We took a walk and ended up at The Highline, an old railroad that was turned into a park. We must’ve talked for a couple of hours, but it felt like minutes. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Then, we went to a pop-up Halloween store to help Jesse find a costume, but failed.

It had been three hours since the date began and Ysolt still hadn’t eaten lunch. She was having such a nice, relaxing afternoon with Jesse, she had forgotten about food. This seldom happens.

We eventually made our way to Fatty Crab, a Malaysian restaurant in the area. And that’s when we realized we had the same ordering style: no fear. We started with the steamed buns with pork belly and shared a spicy rice dish that neither of us could finish or remember. At date’s end, Jesse gave Ysolt a hug after walking her to her car.

It wasn’t long until they’d see each other again. Jesse asked her out the next day, and they’ve been eating buddies ever since.

Our Proposal Story

Posted on May 11, 2012     Leave a Comment

Jesse’s Story

I was away visiting my brother and his family in Hawaii, and I noticed that there was something missing in my life. One night during my vacation, I had a dream about a beautiful ring and how I was going to propose.

As soon as I got back to New York City, it was the first thing I wanted to do. I went to the diamond district to hunt for the perfect engagement ring.

After asking her parents over the phone (I offered to FaceTime!), I asked Ysolt to go out with me for a Friday night dinner.

Ysolt’s Story

I was running errands around the city and had no clue.

Jesse asked me to go out to dinner like we usually do on Friday nights. I came home to get ready first. Then, Jesse followed.

It was almost time to leave and I noticed something unusual — Jesse was all set to go. He’s never ready before me. Weird.

We hopped in a cab and headed for Chelsea. Jesse told the driver to stop at The Highline, a former railroad that was turned into a park — and that’s when I got irked. I was so hungry, I didn’t want to take a detour! But, Jesse insisted we go and people-watch. After all, it was a nice night.

Our Story

True to form, we found a spot where we always sit: the 16th Street amphitheatre. It’s also where we had our first date.

We had a nice chat, talking about how much we missed each other during Jesse’s time away… It was very sweet, until Jesse started to ramble on and on, like he tends to do when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about… Ysolt was getting grumpier by the minute, like she tends to do when she’s super-hungry! She asked him, “Stop being weird… Why are you being weird?” It was at that point when Jesse got down on one knee and pulled out a ring from inside his pocket.

“I want you to be in my life forever. Will you marry me?” he said.

Ysolt started to cry, nodded and said yes.

Minutes later, while we were still in shock, strangers came up to us to let us know they took pictures of our proposal (see above). Then, we facebooked, instagrammed, tweeted and foursquared the news.