Gary & Irene

We first met Gary at our little church in a small town in Hampshire. What are the odds of finding a friend who comes from my hometown in Borneo here in the UK? His wife Irene arrived from Kuching soon after. I found out that she not only spoke my lingo (a Chinese dialect called Foochow) but actually went to my high school and our parents have mutual friends. Now, that's what I call a 2 degrees of separation. We've become good friends ever since. In fact, Irene came along with me on our 24 hour adventure in Paris.

I was nervous, to say the least, on the days leading up to Gary and Irene's wedding. It has been more than 4 years since I've attended a wedding and given the task to assist in the important event. In the past, I've always told friends or family members that I'd only photograph on the caveat that they employ a professional photographer but this time, I was on my own. I was touched that they organized the wedding ceremony and reception near where I live so traipsing from one place to the next was a breeze.

Lil L had the time of her life. She had the honor of being the flower girl.  She managed to go on a carriage ride around town. Not the Lego ones that she has always played with but an actual horse with a fancy schmancy carriage. To the locals' delight, she did the Queen Elizabeth wave as they rode past the town center. A friend I bumped into ran up to me and exclaimed in disbelief, "I swear I saw Lil L in a carriage." "Umm....yeah..," I muttered. Her jaw dropped.

Thank you, Gary and Irene for the wonderful experience.