Linton & Phoebe

Home

2009-05-26T23:27:00.000-05:00

[Photo by the talented Sharon Chin]

Dear family & friends,

Congratulations, you've found us online! Welcome to our wedding website. We've created it to help you get to know us better in the context of our relationship, as well as to keep you informed about our wedding day. Enjoy, and feel free to let us know if you have questions (see the "Contact" page for our e-mail addresses). We're looking forward to celebrating with you!

Cheers,
Linton & Phoebe

Engagement Photos

2009-05-26T22:25:00.015-05:00

Photos taken by Sharon Nicole Chin.

Local Attractions

2009-05-13T11:17:00.008-05:00

Houston and its surrounding area has lots to offer! Check out the custom map for a list of some restaurants, museums, parks, universities, airports, shopping centers and more!

View Houston Attractions in a larger map

Our Story

2009-05-10T07:55:00.019-05:00

[taken during our freshman year of college]

AS TOLD BY LINTON...

First Impressions
I first met Phoebe through her twin sister, Hannah, at a Fuddruckers in Austin at the beginning of our freshman year of college. I showed Hannah a picture of my oldest sister, Jasmine; Hannah recognized her and mentioned that Jasmine was Phoebe's camp counselor that past summer. I didn't think anything of meeting Phoebe - only that it was a small world that she met my sister.

Phoebe caught my eye after we hung out early one Saturday morning while watching Hannah coxswain (yell commands on a rowing boat); afterward, I read Phoebe's blog and thought, "Wow, Phoebe is something else! She sure is special!" I was enthralled by her depth of character, soul, and wisdom. While reading her blog and finding out about Phoebe, I realized I was starting to "fall" for her. We were pretty good friends freshman and sophomore year and were involved in similar circles. We swing danced (swung dance?) frequently, and we even came up with our own move! We volunteered regularly with some other friends and cared about similar issues. I found her attractive on the inside as well as on the outside.

Some of my initial impressions of Phoebe were that she was quiet yet eloquent, gentle-spirited, wise, kind, patient, and small in stature yet very big-hearted; I thought she had a nice smile. I also liked that she was left-handed and knew American Sign Language and Cantonese.

After liking her...
After I "fell" for her, I found myself doing things to try to see her or talk with her. E.g., I would walk certain routes to/from class because I thought that route would give me a better chance to see her. (No, I was not stalking!!) Anytime I unexpectedly saw or bumped into Phoebe, such as in the dorm cafeteria, I would get butterflies in my stomach, and/or my heartbeat would race. Our sophomore year, I asked if she wanted to go to the annual school dance (Orange and White) together; she said she would respond in a few days and eventually said yes.

Not dating/dating
So prior to going into college, I made a personal promise to myself to not date until after sophomore year. After liking her since freshman year, I decided to ask her out...possibly at one of the worst times, as it was late at night, and she was studying in her dorm for her last final the next day. I ended up going to her room and asking her if "singleness was one of the things she was leaving behind" in becoming an upperclassman. I was soooo nervous and dumbfounded, thinking, 'Why did I say that? It sounded A LOT better in my head!' While we were talking, I kept thinking, 'Oh, how awful this is - she's studying AND that was such a bad opening line.' We decided to take some time to think about and talk to our families about dating each other. Through this process of asking her out, I was simultaneously very nervous, excited, and scared - nervous about what to say & how to act, excited at the potential to date this wonderful gal, and scared that she would say, "No," or that this was not the right timing or right thing to do. A few weeks later, on May 29, 2004 in a Barnes and Noble parking lot, we decided to be "official" - going steady, special friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, whatever you call it.

AS TOLD BY PHOEBE...

First Impressions

Let’s see…what I thought of Linton when I first met him: good-natured guy, refreshingly unpretentious, somewhat unkempt hair. And he kind of bounded and jumped around rather than walking like a normal person. We first met during our freshman year of college, when we joined the same campus fellowship.

Friendship
I began running into Linton around the dorm where we both lived, and soon we started hanging out with the same group of friends. We’d go swing dancing every week with other people – Linton was fun to dance with, and he became my favorite dance partner (I didn’t tell him that, of course!). I also began to notice certain things about Linton. His room was always swarming with people looking for help, stuff to borrow, or just a place to hang out. He was known as the guy who wore beat-up sandals and jeans but would treat anybody – friends, strangers, and their mothers – for meals at the dorm cafeteria. I was fascinated by the way Linton lived so freely and generously. His life reflected Scripture’s instruction to “love God and your neighbors” in ways I’d never seen before. He also made me laugh a lot (at, I mean, with him).

Feelings
Anyhow, pretty soon I knew that Linton was special to me, but I didn’t know how he felt about me. Then one night towards the end of our sophomore year, Linton and I were at the grocery store with friends, and he caught me looking wistfully at some Starbucks Mocha Popsicles in the frozen foods aisle. A couple of days later, he came up to me and said mysteriously, “Hey, I have something for you.” He told me to close my eyes, and he put something in my hands. It was the Mocha Popsicles – he’d gone back to the store to get some for me!

Drum Roll...
Soon after that, he asked me to be his date for the Orange and White Ball, UT’s end-of-the-year dance. (Wohoo!) And then one evening, as I was packing up my belongings to move back to Houston for the summer, Linton came over to my dorm room and told me that he wanted to pursue something deeper than friendship with me. I was ecstatic, but I wanted to make sure this was the right thing for both of us. A few weeks later, after lots of prayers and conversations with family & friends, Linton and I started a dating relationship on May 29, 2004.

Contact

2009-05-06T22:16:00.006-05:00

Feel free to contact us if you have questions, comments, thoughts, or marriage advice! :)

These links open in your mail program.

Phoebe or Linton

Registry

2009-05-06T22:13:00.011-05:00

As a way to help us begin our new home, we are registered at Bed Bath & Beyond and Target. You can access our registry by clicking on the registry numbers below:

Bed Bath & Beyond
Registry #: 5070620

Target
Registry ID: 013399700144713

Hotel Accommodations Information

2009-05-06T20:55:00.023-05:00

For those guests visiting from out of town, consider staying at the Hilton Houston Southwest, the Drury Inn & Suites Sugar Land, or the Comfort Suites Stafford, where we've reserved a block of rooms just for you.

Please do not feel obligated to stay at these hotels, as there are a plethora of options around the Houston/Sugar Land area from which to choose. The following sites offer good, comprehensive searches of hotels/airfare/rental cars:

Hilton Houston Southwest
View Website
View Map

Rates:

Room Type	Wed 7/22	Thu 7/23	Fri 7/24	Sat 7/25	Sun 7/26	Mon 7/27
King/ Double	$72	$72	$72	$72	$72	$72
Jr. Suite	N/A	$99	$99	$99	$99	N/A

Parking: Free
Amenities: Free breakfast (for 1 adult), free wireless internet, free local calls, free shuttle service (within 5 mi/8 km), workout room, pool, and more.

Check-in: 3PM
Check-out: 12PM

Reservations can be made over the phone or over the Internet:

Via phone: Call 1-800-HILTONS (1-800-445-8667) and request reservations under the Linton Wong Wedding Block.
Via Internet: Click here, specify the date/time of check-in/check-out, and press Go. On the subsequent page, under Special Accounts > Group/Convention Code, enter LWWEDD.

These Hilton Houston Southwest rooms and prices will be held until 7.15.2009 at 3PM.

Drury Inn & Suites Sugar Land
View Website
View Map

Rates:
King: $84
Double: $89
Suite: $130
Up to 3 additional adults free.

Parking: Free
Amenities: Free breakfast, free wireless internet, free 60 minutes of long distance, free local calls, exercise room, indoor/outdoor pool, and more.

Check-in: 3PM
Check-out: 11AM

To make reservations, you can do one of the following...
1) Reserve online at http://www.druryhotels.com/Reservations.aspx?groupno=2065053
2) Call 1-800-325-0720, specify the hotel location (Sugar Land, TX), and reference the Wong/Lin Wedding Group (# 2065053).

These Drury Inn & Suites Sugar Land rooms and prices will be held until 6.23.2009 11:59PM.

Comfort Suites Stafford
View Website
View Map

Rates:
Double: $79.95
Corporate Suite: $99.95
Executive Suite: $129.95
Up to 2 adults; kids free; additional adults $15.

Parking: Free
Amenities: Free breakfast, free wired and wireless internet, free local calls, free weekday newspaper, free coffee, outdoor swimming pool, and more.

Check-in: 2PM
Check-out: 11AM

To make reservations, call 1-281-565-5566 and reference the Wong-Lin Wedding (# 155340).

These Comfort Suites Stafford rooms and prices will be held until 6.22.2009 11:59PM.

Wedding Events

2009-05-06T20:15:00.007-05:00

Wedding Ceremony
Saturday, July 25, 2009
2:00 pm
West Houston Chinese Church
10638 Hammerly Blvd.
Houston, TX 77043

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Wedding Party

2009-03-04T23:09:00.006-06:00

Hannah Lin, Maid of Honor

Hannah and I met in the womb, as twins often do. We were born and then officially individuated at about age 12 (just kidding, sort of), when we decided to search for our own identities. Hannah’s been deeply central to shaping who I am – I’d be such a different person without growing up playing in our made-up world of stuffed animals and knowing I’d always be accepted no matter what mistakes I made – and having her now to walk with me as I begin this new season of my life. [Phoebe]

Amy Lee, Bridesmaid
Amy and I met in Chinese School when we were maybe 8 years old. We were both quiet kids, and I remember that I felt way more at ease with her than the noisy, rowdy kids in our class. We lost touch, then found each other again in the middle of the noisy lobby of our dormitory during our freshman year of college. She introduced me to feeding squirrels and climbing trees, and we started sharing moments of comfortable silence and meaningful conversations that continued throughout the years. Amy constantly teaches me sisterhood, spontaneity, and the beauty in quietness. [Phoebe]

Grace Ou, Bridesmaid

Grace and I also first met in our childhood, when both of our dads were pastors at the same church. I remember hiding and playing games in our dads’ offices together. We parted ways after my family became part of another church, and later reconnected and reestablished our friendship in college. We’ve walked through lots of ups and downs together, including friendship and relationship woes, training for urban mission trips, and lots of difficult and necessary personal growth through these past few years. One of the biggest gifts Grace has given me (and continues to give me) is vulnerability and learning how to live openly and honestly. [Phoebe]

Judy Feng, Bridesmaid
Judy and I met in college. She was loud, sarcastic, irreverent, and way cooler than me, but somehow she and I became friends. It turned out that although our personalities are vastly different, we are deeply similar ('kindred spirits,' she says) in our philosophy of life and our perspective of the world. Together we’ve taken liberal arts classes, participated in social justice campaigns, wrestled in countless conversations about political and social issues, and landed in the same social work graduate program. Judy embodies authentic, lay-down-your-life friendship. [Phoebe]

Vickie Lin, Bridesmaid

Vickie and I met in our teenage years when we both attended the same church, but we didn’t become close friends until we started rooming together as sophomores in college. We continued as roommates the remainder of our college years, during which Vickie taught me by example the difficult lessons of accepting others' imperfections, telling it like it is, and caring for people in practical ways. Just a while ago I discovered that back when we shared the same dorm room, I inadvertently woke her up almost every morning when I stirred my coffee with a metal spoon. She never mentioned it all these years until she teased me about it recently – and she has never held it against me! [Phoebe]

Peter Gor, Best Man
Peter is my older cousin (by only one day!); we sort of grew up together, when our families and relatives would travel and visit with each other in Houston, Vancouver, or El Paso. In many ways, we are alike, sharing a love for fun, family, and faith; people even say we look alike (can you tell from our similar dashing good looks?) As kids, we did many things with our cousins together, including playing video games until the wee hours of the night (or until Grandma came and caught us), playing basketball on home courts and playgrounds, and playing Canadian freeze tag at parks. In our “grown up” years, our conversations have become more serious with talk about school, jobs, marriage, and God. When you see Peter, ask him about Surge (soda), Rambo death jump, Bob Dole, and/or cowboys. [Linton]

PJ Woo, Groomsman
PJ and I go way back. We grew up together in good ol' El Paso, Texas. He was one of the first people I met and hung out with at El Paso Chinese Baptist Church (EPCBC), and I consider him one of my best friends. We experienced and formed many significant childhood memories together, including swimming in and painting the interior of his pool, playing a gazillion SNES games, competing at basketball, having crushes on similar girls, searching for his dog Sparky along Zion Ln, eating at his grandma's house for Sunday dinner, and sleeping over at each others homes (usually at his more than mine). PJ has a knack for telling the same stories over and over, and can name just about every Star Trek, Seinfeld, and Friends episode. [Linton]

Meson Woo, Groomsman
Meson and I met freshman year in college. I distinctly remember playing Capture the Flag at EKG (a freshman retreat), thinking the whole time that Meson was a sophomore, not a freshman, because he was a little bigger than the other guys, and because he seemed like he knew what he was doing. Meson and I got along pretty well, probably because we shared a similar sense of humor, served in similar ways, and weren't from Dallas/Plano or Houston (Meson is from San Antonio, sort of). Our senior year, we roomed together in an apartment with 3 other guys and his dog. Meson embodies loyalty and responsibility. Meson is known for his sense of adventure, for killing jokes, and for flexing out of the blue. [Linton]

Chris Sun, Groomsman
Chris and I met freshman year in college. One of our first encounters was in the Jester West 5th floor men's bathroom, where a couple of girls were cutting Chris's hair late at night. From that point on, I knew there was something different about Chris. Some qualities of Chris that I've always admired and respected include his down-to-earthness, his competitive yet friendly spirit, his integrity, and his deceptive smarts. Chris has been known for using a rising tone while mutely yelling, for holding out his hands like a claw while talking, and for scratching his head while thinking. Our senior year we shared the same apartment, and Chris was our bartender. Make sure to ask Chris about "that's not the integral." [Linton]

Peter Ou, Groomsman

Peter and I met in college as he, being a senior, spent time with us freshmen. Peter was a mentor to me my freshman year, and we have been friends ever since. Two things we love are food and basketball. At the worst-rated college dorm cafeteria, we would create combinations of all types of edibles; on the court we would played many 21 games and would often switch roles (he'd play point and I'd play post) when on the same team. Peter is a big jokester yet is very caring and nurturing with a servant's heart. When you see Peter, ask him about pizza buffets. [Linton]

The Proposal

2009-02-23T09:35:00.003-06:00

On Christmas Day of 2008, Linton presented to Phoebe a journal he’d been writing in secretly for the past year. The journal was filled with entries to Phoebe about Linton’s daily life, along with prayers he’d prayed for her throughout the year. The entries actually filled up two journals, but he only gave her the first one that day.

A week later, the day after New Year’s, Linton took Phoebe out on a date. “Where are we going?” Phoebe asked. “You’ll see,” Linton replied. And then, nonchalantly, “Hey, can you get my phone charger out of the glove compartment?” Phoebe reached over to open the compartment, and lo and behold, there was a journal inside – the second journal. “Oh look! A journal,” said Linton. “Open it and flip to the back.”

The back of the journal was filled with clues in the form of poetry that, once decoded by Phoebe, led the two of them to different places that held memories or special meaning in their journey together.

First, a clue about an Italian restaurant where they had their first date in Austin: it ushered them to dinner at Michelangelo’s, an Italian restaurant. (Linton seemed unusually quiet, perhaps slightly nervous, during dinner.)

Then, a clue about the former name of the campus organization they’d both been a part of at UT (CBS): it brought them to the KHOU Channel 11 station. (Phoebe didn’t catch on. Linton had to make the connection for her: “Channel 11…CBS…get it?!”)

Third, a clue about a place where they volunteered together: it led them to the Beacon, a weekend day shelter for homeless people.

[Shameless plug: Click on the image above to check out what the Beacon does & how you can get involved.]

Fourth, a clue about a restaurant where they had their first conversation during freshman year of college: it guided them to Fuddrucker’s.

Next, a clue about a park where they’d conversed about “becoming more than friends”: it brought them to Highlands Park behind Phoebe’s house.

After that, a clue about a lake where they’d continued their conversation and then formally decided to begin a dating relationship: it routed them to Edgewater Lake, a little ways from Phoebe’s house.

Lastly, a clue leading back to Phoebe’s house, where she was prompted to check a private blog she’d made for Linton a while back. She saw that Linton had left a comment on the blog that read, “Please turn to the last page of the journal.” Phoebe complied, her heart beating quickly. And there it was, on the last page:

“Phoebe Lin, will you marry me? Love, Linton Wong.

Please circle one: YES | NO | I’LL THINK ABOUT IT”

Linton then got down on one knee, and Phoebe proceeded to circle “I’ll think about it.” Just kidding. She said yes, of course. Then Linton took Phoebe back to his house, where their families were waiting to celebrate.

And that is just the beginning of their journey together…

About our bracelets: So a while back, Linton & I decided that when we got engaged we wouldn’t use an engagement ring, for various reasons [for example] [also]. But we still felt like we wanted some meaningful symbol to show our promise to each other.

On the evening that Linton proposed, he surprised me with two bracelets, one with his name on it (which I’m now wearing) and the other with my name (which he’s wearing). It turns out that a couple of months ago, Linton happened to receive these personalized bracelets in the mail as gifts from a wonderful family in Manila, Philippines, whom we’d met during a stint there in 2005. Linton thought that these bracelets would be a meaningful token to wear during our engagement period, and I agreed! [Phoebe]