Emily and Gary's Wedding Website

About the Happy Couple...

The Bride

Emily is a morning person, meaning she wakes up with lots of energy but towards the end of the day her brain might get foggy, and by 10pm she is definitely ready for bed. Those close to her know the nasty witch she can be if kept up too late or awoken in the middle of the night. Beware the sleepy Emily, she bites.

Emily has a poor memory. Probably one reason Emily and Gary get along so well is because she quickly forgets the times he has made her angry. As a coping strategy to her bad memory, Emily writes a lot of lists and gets organized. Since she is afraid to forget something important, most tasks get done in advance. If there is anything she is not, it is a procrastinator.

Because of her good work habits, Emily was a good student. She graduated cum laude with a BS in Biology from UC Irvine. Then she earned her masters in Genetic Counseling with honors from Cal State Northridge. Although some members of her family (you know who you are) think she should continue with her education, for example get a PhD, MD, or even JD, Emily is now part of the working world as a prenatal genetic counselor for Kaiser. She enjoys her career helping patients understand and make decisions about genetic conditions in their families.

Emily is also multilingual. She began learning French in high school, continuing with some courses in college, and culminating with a education abroad experience for part of her Junior year in France. There she was emersed in another culture, met some amazing people, and learned to make great quiche and mousseline de poire (one of her best dishes). However, once she got back from France, there weren’t many people around with whom she could converse in French. Also, she thought it might be nice to be able to communicate directly with the sizeable proportion of her patients who spoke Spanish. After a few courses while in graduate school, she was able to convince her Spanish-speaking patients that she understood what they were saying.

Outside of work, some of her interests include reading science-fiction/fantasy, camping, playing computer games, and exercising. In fact, the diversion that Emily spends the most time on is working out. On the swim team in high school, she is now also running and biking to train as a triathlete. In fact, she is the first one to admit that she is hooked on exercise, needs more and more to get the same high, and will go into withdrawal if she can’t work out for more than a couple days.

For more about Emily and what she’s currently up to, visit her website www.espark.org.

The Groom

Gary is an evening person, meaning he wakes up groggy, starts to think clearly during the afternoon, and by 10 PM is full of energy and ready to start being productive. Those close to him realize he can be very grumpy if woken up too early. Beware the tired Gary, he grumbles.

Gary is also very, very tall. 6'7" to be exact. But if you see beyond that (and that he played basketball and volleyball in high school), there's a lot more to him. Really.

An Orange County native, Gary "went away" to college at UC Irvine, where he graduated in 2000 with B.A.s in Political Science and Economics. After a brief and unsatisfying stint in the private sector, Gary decided to go back to school. He is now pursuing a Masters in Public Policy and Administration at Sac State. In plain English, he's studying government in the state capital. Gary expects to graduate in May of 2004. Yes, that means he's crazy enough to try to finish a thesis as the wedding planning is going on.

Gary's hobbies include collecting Transformers, watching Angels baseball, and reading fantasy, sci-fi and alternate history novels. He's also an avid gamer. Gary enjoys playing Strat-O-Matic baseball with his OC buddies as a way to both keep in touch with them and immerse himself in baseball. He also enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Though not raised to any faith, Gary has found Emily's Jewish faith very meaningful and converted in February, 2004. In particular, he feels at home with temple Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles.

Gary has been a vegetarian for three years now and feels very strongly about it. In fact, the plans are to have a vegetarian reception. Hope you like tofu!

For more about Gary and what he's currently up to, visit his website at www.garyh.net.

How they met...

Gary and Emily met at UC Irvine in Fall 1996. Emily was returning for her second year in the honors dorm when Gary moved in for his freshman year. After a few months as housemates, with lots and lots of flirting, tickling, and massages, they went on their first date (to Gary’s Dad's bowling alley) over winter break and became a couple December 18, 1996. Gary and Emily were having great fun, until Emily left to spend a semester abroad in France the summer and fall of '97.

It was really difficult for both of them. They wrote to each other almost daily and had phone dates once every couple of weeks. The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was never more true. After Emily returned from her study abroad, they hit the ground running. Still living in the same dorm, they saw a lot of each other, even sharing a lot of chores like doing dishes, grocery shopping, and cooking together. They also got to take a few fun classes together like swing dancing, salsa dancing, and weight lifting. The couple continued dating and living as housemates until Emily graduated in 1999.

After the undergrad years...

Once Emily moved back in with her folks to attend graduate school at CSUN, a bit of a long distance relationship began. It was a really big change for the couple since they were so used to seeing each other throughout the day. During this time, Gary would usually drive up from Irvine to spend the weekend with Emily in Glendale. He got to know the route along the 405, 605, and 5 freeways pretty well. Gary also got to know her family a bit better since he was spending a lot more time with them. Once Gary graduated and got his own apartment in March, 2001, Emily would also make the trek down to visit him on the weekends. This gave her more of an opportunity to hang out with Gary’s high school and baseball friends. This didn't last too long though as, once again, Emily finished her studies and relocated in May 2001.

After Emily taking a job in Sacramento, another long distance phase began. Besides talking on the phone a lot, Gary and Emily would take turns flying to visit each other every couple of weeks. In some ways, it allowed them the chance to grow individually each with his/her own apartment, job, and set of friends. But in other ways, it was difficult for them to move forward as a couple. So in June 2002, Gary and Emily made the big decision to live together. Gary was ready to go back to school and Emily was willing to help support him while he got his degree at Sac State.

Life together has gone very well. At first they had little spats about how to fold the laundry or how often to vacuum. They learned to compromise on those sorts of things, and soon they were very happy. After eight months living together, Gary and Emily decided to get engaged. And the rest you know.

Enjoy our other sites: www.espark.org and www.garyh.net.

	About the Happy Couple...
	*The Bride* Emily is a morning person, meaning she wakes up with lots of energy but towards the end of the day her brain might get foggy, and by 10pm she is definitely ready for bed. Those close to her know the nasty witch she can be if kept up too late or awoken in the middle of the night. Beware the sleepy Emily, she bites. Emily has a poor memory. Probably one reason Emily and Gary get along so well is because she quickly forgets the times he has made her angry. As a coping strategy to her bad memory, Emily writes a lot of lists and gets organized. Since she is afraid to forget something important, most tasks get done in advance. If there is anything she is not, it is a procrastinator. Because of her good work habits, Emily was a good student. She graduated cum laude with a BS in Biology from UC Irvine. Then she earned her masters in Genetic Counseling with honors from Cal State Northridge. Although some members of her family (you know who you are) think she should continue with her education, for example get a PhD, MD, or even JD, Emily is now part of the working world as a prenatal genetic counselor for Kaiser. She enjoys her career helping patients understand and make decisions about genetic conditions in their families. Emily is also multilingual. She began learning French in high school, continuing with some courses in college, and culminating with a education abroad experience for part of her Junior year in France. There she was emersed in another culture, met some amazing people, and learned to make great quiche and mousseline de poire (one of her best dishes). However, once she got back from France, there weren’t many people around with whom she could converse in French. Also, she thought it might be nice to be able to communicate directly with the sizeable proportion of her patients who spoke Spanish. After a few courses while in graduate school, she was able to convince her Spanish-speaking patients that she understood what they were saying. Outside of work, some of her interests include reading science-fiction/fantasy, camping, playing computer games, and exercising. In fact, the diversion that Emily spends the most time on is working out. On the swim team in high school, she is now also running and biking to train as a triathlete. In fact, she is the first one to admit that she is hooked on exercise, needs more and more to get the same high, and will go into withdrawal if she can’t work out for more than a couple days. For more about Emily and what she’s currently up to, visit her website www.espark.org.
	The Groom Gary is an evening person, meaning he wakes up groggy, starts to think clearly during the afternoon, and by 10 PM is full of energy and ready to start being productive. Those close to him realize he can be very grumpy if woken up too early. Beware the tired Gary, he grumbles. Gary is also very, very tall. 6'7" to be exact. But if you see beyond that (and that he played basketball and volleyball in high school), there's a lot more to him. Really. An Orange County native, Gary "went away" to college at UC Irvine, where he graduated in 2000 with B.A.s in Political Science and Economics. After a brief and unsatisfying stint in the private sector, Gary decided to go back to school. He is now pursuing a Masters in Public Policy and Administration at Sac State. In plain English, he's studying government in the state capital. Gary expects to graduate in May of 2004. Yes, that means he's crazy enough to try to finish a thesis as the wedding planning is going on. Gary's hobbies include collecting Transformers, watching Angels baseball, and reading fantasy, sci-fi and alternate history novels. He's also an avid gamer. Gary enjoys playing Strat-O-Matic baseball with his OC buddies as a way to both keep in touch with them and immerse himself in baseball. He also enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons. Though not raised to any faith, Gary has found Emily's Jewish faith very meaningful and converted in February, 2004. In particular, he feels at home with temple Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles. Gary has been a vegetarian for three years now and feels very strongly about it. In fact, the plans are to have a vegetarian reception. Hope you like tofu! For more about Gary and what he's currently up to, visit his website at www.garyh.net.
	How they met... Gary and Emily met at UC Irvine in Fall 1996. Emily was returning for her second year in the honors dorm when Gary moved in for his freshman year. After a few months as housemates, with lots and lots of flirting, tickling, and massages, they went on their first date (to Gary’s Dad's bowling alley) over winter break and became a couple December 18, 1996. Gary and Emily were having great fun, until Emily left to spend a semester abroad in France the summer and fall of '97. It was really difficult for both of them. They wrote to each other almost daily and had phone dates once every couple of weeks. The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was never more true. After Emily returned from her study abroad, they hit the ground running. Still living in the same dorm, they saw a lot of each other, even sharing a lot of chores like doing dishes, grocery shopping, and cooking together. They also got to take a few fun classes together like swing dancing, salsa dancing, and weight lifting. The couple continued dating and living as housemates until Emily graduated in 1999.
	After the undergrad years... Once Emily moved back in with her folks to attend graduate school at CSUN, a bit of a long distance relationship began. It was a really big change for the couple since they were so used to seeing each other throughout the day. During this time, Gary would usually drive up from Irvine to spend the weekend with Emily in Glendale. He got to know the route along the 405, 605, and 5 freeways pretty well. Gary also got to know her family a bit better since he was spending a lot more time with them. Once Gary graduated and got his own apartment in March, 2001, Emily would also make the trek down to visit him on the weekends. This gave her more of an opportunity to hang out with Gary’s high school and baseball friends. This didn't last too long though as, once again, Emily finished her studies and relocated in May 2001. After Emily taking a job in Sacramento, another long distance phase began. Besides talking on the phone a lot, Gary and Emily would take turns flying to visit each other every couple of weeks. In some ways, it allowed them the chance to grow individually each with his/her own apartment, job, and set of friends. But in other ways, it was difficult for them to move forward as a couple. So in June 2002, Gary and Emily made the big decision to live together. Gary was ready to go back to school and Emily was willing to help support him while he got his degree at Sac State. Life together has gone very well. At first they had little spats about how to fold the laundry or how often to vacuum. They learned to compromise on those sorts of things, and soon they were very happy. After eight months living together, Gary and Emily decided to get engaged. And the rest you know.
	Enjoy our other sites: www.espark.org and www.garyh.net.