Gaming hubs and a Cactuar toss at this eSports arena wedding

Offbeat partner: Ronnie

Offbeat partner: Cynthia

Date and location of wedding: Esports Arena in Oakland, CA — August 18, 2019

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We had a very specific theme and vibe. Cynthia and I are huge nerds as we play a lot of games, watch anime, and read a lot of manga.

We wanted our special day to reflect these interests and our planner, Two Perfect Events, helped us formulate what we wanted and generated awesome ideas. Since we've never been married before, this type of planning was completely foreign to us.

We had gaming hubs for our guests to play our favorite games and gaming chairs were our thrones. Our dog, Truffle, was also an integral part of our wedding and we also held a tea ceremony as an expression of our gratitude and respect to our families.

Tell us about the ceremony:

Excerpt from the bride's vows:

I actually started writing these vows before you even proposed. Before I was even engaged to you, I knew that I wanted to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.

You make me a better person and it was both very hard and very easy to write this. Ronnie, you are the kindest, most caring and thoughtful person that I know.

I love how you relentlessly pursue your passions and you work so hard to keep getting even better than you already are. And so I vow to support you and keep building you up because you are so smart, you are so funny, and you’re crazy talented in everything you put your mind to.

Thank you for putting up with my ups and downs, for pushing me to always be better, for building me up in the many places I'm lacking, and just loving me so unconditionally. I vow that I will never give up on us and I will never stop trying. I vow to love you unconditionally today, tomorrow, and always.

Excerpt from the groom's vows:

Looking back, any relationship with you felt improbable at the time. We were so different. Every possible reservation was telling me that there was no way an amazing girl like you would ever be interested in someone like me, yet I still found myself pursuing you, and I am thankful to God every single day that I didn’t let social norms stop me.

Fast forward 13 years later. You are my confidant, lover, and best friend. Thank you for always believing in me and loving me unconditionally regardless of all the mistakes I have made.

Cynthia, I promise to always put our marriage first and be the best husband possible to you. I promise to stand up for you, fight for you, and support you when times are hard. I promise to always look for ways to celebrate you and encourage you to be the best version of yourself, even if that means going to taco bell in the late hours of the day or driving you around to play Pokemon Go. I promise to remind you of how beautiful you are and that you are loved every single day.

I am determined and committed to love you this way and even when the time comes when we are physically separated, I want you to know you will always be my soulmate. I love you.

Tell us about the reception:
We played a shoe game where we were asked a series of questions as we were seated back-to-back. We were to raise the shoe for the answer we each thought was a better match for the question, such as who is the better cook and who is more stubborn.

We had slideshows of our childhood photos played in the background during our parent dances.

We opted to toss a CACTUAR and a basketball instead of bouquet and garter tosses. They were a much better fit for our personalities than the regular traditions.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
Since we rented a facility (eSports Arena) that has never done a wedding before, everything had to be managed on our own for the most part. I was nervous about this but with our planner's help, we felt like we could actually enjoy the wedding planning and day despite the number of things going on.

We would highly recommend hiring a planner to help make your dream wedding a reality!

Vendors

Photographer: Andre Nguyen Photography   Ceremony & Reception Site: eSports Arena Oakland   Planner: Two Perfect Events   Officiant: Echo Church   Caterer: Cyrus Irudistan   Florist: Sandra Jung   DJ: Aim 2 Pleez   Calligrapher: JJ Calligraphy Goods   Bakery: Cake Delight   Boba: I-Tea   Rentals: Chairs4Events   Photo booth: Whimsical Booth   Hair Stylist, Makeup Artist: Beauty by Chau Nguyen

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