Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Ethan Luu as he was able to come by the farm because he was here visiting Oregon from Amsterdam. He explained that it has been his fiancé Kai's dream to get married in the Hood River Valley at the base of Mt Hood because she grew up here and he has wanted to get married in an orchard his whole life. Many of you have requested to learn more about these two sweethearts, so today I am sharing a little bit about why Marla Cyree at Simply Splendid and I felt like they would be the lucky winners! So many lovely couples applied but their application stood out to us both us and we are so pleased to be hosting their wedding at the end of August this year at the Mt. View Orchards Wedding Venue
Tell us about you! Who are you? What do you love? What is important to you? Let us get a glimpse of who you are as individuals and as a couple:
Hello! Where do I start? Well, to begin with, I grew up in Hood River and love everything about what our city has to offer. Before we met, Ethan (my fiancé) had never been to Hood River, and he immediately fell in love with it during his first visit. We both have a love for traveling and the outdoors, and can't wait to celebrate our big day in a place that is as beautiful as Hood River Valley. After graduating high school in Hood River, I moved to Portland where I studied and finished my undergrad degree. Upon finishing my undergrad degree, I moved to California and then New York City to teach underprivileged youth while getting my graduate degree in education at the same time. I love feeling fulfilled in life, whether that be through work, family, or friendships, and strive to make sure that I am always in a place where I am doing something to feel that sense of fulfillment. Ethan grew up in The Netherlands, where he was born after his parents and siblings escaped from Vietnam in order to pursue a life free of communism. Ethan is honestly the most hardworking, loving, and genuine person I have ever met. At only the age of 18, Ethan left his entire family and moved to the states to study. Starting at community college he worked to improve his english and to learn as much as he could. Ethan moved on to a university and graduated with his undergrad and eventually went on to pursue and finish his MBA. Ethan and I grew up in very different situations, and in very different families, but we both hold so many of the same values and goals in life, which is why we are so perfect for one another.
Tell us about your love story! How did you meet? How did you become engaged and when? What do you love about each other? Any other tidbits you want to share?:
Sometimes it's insane to imagine all of things that have to align or happen in your life in order to meet another person. Ethan and I met almost five years ago when I was about to begin my senior year at Portland State University. I was working at Nordstrom in the men's department, and Ethan so happened to come in and shop for a pair of jeans. I remember seeing Ethan walk into my department, and was immediately asked by my manager to help him out and to make sure that he tried on some jeans. We were instantly comfortable with one another and laughing during our conversation (while I convinced him to buy a pair of jeans). Ethan was only in town Portland for work, but we exchanged numbers anyway. Flash forward one year later, Ethan and I went on our first date in San Francisco where I was living for a teaching program that I was in. We dated for a few months, but then I moved to NYC where there was a higher need for teachers, and where I studied and finished my Master's. Ethan and I reconnected almost two years ago while I was living in NYC, and decided to have dinner while we were both in Portland again (I was there to visit my family, and he was there for work). After seeing each other the rest is really history. We decided to go all in and even though it was long distance, we made an effort to see each other as much as possible. Last year, Ethan moved back to the Netherlands (Amsterdam) for a work opportunity and after finishing up my second year teaching, I moved out here to be with him. Because we plan on moving back to the states in a year, we are taking advantage of living here while we are and traveling as much as possible. We love to travel and experience as many new things as we can, and because of he has to travel so much for work, we are able to do this. Ethan and I went to Switzerland two months ago and that is where he proposed. At the top of a mountain with an amazing view, Ethan got down on one knee and asked the question. It really was perfect, and amazing, and I couldn't imagine a better surprise. I think what we love about each other the most is that we 100% support one another and push the other to be the best each of us can be.
What do you envision for your wedding day? What is the feeling/ambiance you're after? What kind of attire and decoration do you envision? Have you already started preparations for this? How many people do you anticipate sharing your big day with? Anything else?:
As soon as we got engaged, we both knew where we wanted to get married: Hood River. It's really funny how we take things for granted and how we might not appreciate the beauty of a place where we grew up like someone who is seeing it for the first time. The first time we were in Hood River and driving up Hwy 35 to go to my mom's, Ethan wanted to stop multiple times to take pictures of the orchards. Because of this, we both envisioned getting married somewhere in Hood River either in, or with a view of one of the orchards. We haven't had a whole lot of time to think about decoration or attire, but I would love to have sort of a rustic chic wedding (I"m not even positive what that really means), but I swear I do have ideas in my mind. In terms of attire, I want a beautiful flowing dress (but not super fancy) and bridesmaid dresses that are also flowing. I love the idea of having blush/light pinks as a color theme, with pops of color in the flowers. We anticipate to share our big day with 120-150 people.
Why would you like to win this giveaway? :
Even though Ethan and I are very fortunate to live the life that we are living here in the Netherlands, we really do not have the finances for the type of wedding that we would love to have. Neither of us have families that will be able to help us with our wedding, and so we will be responsible to cover it all on our own. Not only would this giveaway be perfect for that reason, and would help a substantial amount, it is literally the perfect venue for us. I can already picture us getting married here and can imagine starting the planning process as soon as I am in Hood River again this June (I will be home the entire summer).