my Wedding day...

The skies cleared and God gave us a beautiful afternoon to tie the knot.

Happy and so excited to marry the man of my dreams :)

Mommy hugging me as we get ready to walk down the aisle...

My honey gets emotional when he saw me for the first time in my wedding dress...this is REAL!

Hi honey...here I come!

Rings are on - let's have our first married KISS!!!

Praying and giving thanks for our wonderful life ahead of us.

Woo Hoo!! let's party everybody!!

a few shots on the beach...

Finally, we made it to the reception...

Laughing and crying with my best friend Jesse who was my Bridesman (not sure if that's a word but that's what I called him, among other things ) =) We've been best friends since 7th grade if you can believe that. He is also an artist at heart and a very creative soul who, along with my sister and several friends managed the whole wedding day so Collin and I could just cherish the moment. They did great and we are so blessed to have friends and family like we do.

Our Australia themed wedding cake-chocolate with truffle filling on the bottom and top layers, and vanilla cake with lemon curd filling for the middle layer. That topper is hand made by our cake artist as well. Absolutely delicious!!

The Nguyen Family!!

My cousin Bev (standing) showing us photos from when I was little...she brought copies for us to keep. My Auntie Joanne, Bev's mommy, is sitting down in the purple blouse. I love them so such and they came all the way form North Bend, WA, for our wedding. I am blessed with a fantastic family.

My Mommy, me and Bevie...

Collin and I are giggling with (left to right) Lee, Lynn, Amber and Erika...

My sister Johna (standing) and her long time friend Jennifer...these gals are SO photogenic!

Collin, and I with Jennifer and her hubby Jim with our yummy drinks in hand.

My beautiful sister and Callette (left) and Kim

The wedding party plus Collin's family in front of the historic train in downtown Garibaldi.

Mommy Lien, Collin, and me in a happy moment

Cheers - mommies toasting their babies.

A tender moment with mommy Lien.

Our first dance.

The Big day was finally here....it was strange to not have Collin around in the morning-he was close by though and I sent him a note saying -have a great day-meet me at the Church at 3:00 pm. You know, you never really know how these things are going to turn out and you can't control the whole day but you can control how you feel and approach any things that come up. It was a great day and we didn't have any major snafus...the cake was an hour late, but was beautiful and delicious...the food was catered by Kelly from The Pancake House in Tillamook and it was WONDERFUL!! Music and dancing and fun all night long!

I have a truly blessed life- I thank God every day that I wake up and find myself living a dream.

Namaste and blessings to you,

Dawn Estelle Nguyen

Why is my boyfriend in the window?

So, I decided to come home Saturday night after Art Fest this year. A 2-hour drive including the Edmonds-Kingston ferry trip...not too bad. I left after the show-and -tell, so I was on the road around 8:30 pm. I called Collin (my boyfriend) to let him know and he said, "I'm so excited to see you I miss you a lot honey" (awww...so sweet). Then he asked me to call him when I get close. I said, "you bet but don't wait up if you're tired...just go to sleep. " He said OK. So, I get to our exit off of I-90 and call him. It's about 11:15 pm. he's wide awake....our bedtime is usually about 8:00 pm...so I'm thinking..."huh...he's up late. He must really miss me" ...Then I drive down our little road and I see him in the living room window watching for me. Wow-he must REALLY miss me......the porch light it out too...hmm...need to remember to replace the bulb again. I drive into the driveway and see a big sign on the garage door that says, "WiLL YOU MARRY ME?" WHAT?!?! Holy COW!!! I start laughing...I'm so happy!!! I get out of the car (completely exhausted from Art Fest) and he opens the door..."Honey!!" I say....he's smiling and hugging me...we go upstairs and he hands me a beautiful little wrapped Tiffany's box...OH MY GAWD I think....I open it and it's gorgeous!

"Honey, will you marry me?" he says.... .01794 seconds later I say "Yes, honey, of course I will marry you!!!".

Then we each had about 1/4 glass of champagne and went to sleep -all smiles and joy!!

That's a shot with Collin and Margie, my BIL's Mommy, on our Thanksgiving trip to Chicago 

Namaste!

Dawn