Bride and Groom
The Rockstar and the Designer
Long before she was a Rock Star and he was a Web Designer, they were just two crazy teenagers in highschool. The year was 1997. The scene was Scarborough Town Centre and it was a Friday night -- What??? Two Filipinos? Scarborough Town Centre?? On a Friday night in 1997??? Shocker of shockers!
He was working his regular Friday night shift at the Guest Services information desk. She was mall-ratting as usual. Yes, the Mall Rat and the Mall Employee. It was a match made in Mall Heaven.
On this particular Friday night (November 14th to be exact), Jeff was working a shift with Christian aka The Wing Man. Jeanna had just arrived at the mall with her highschool BFF, Maria. They were running late and hurrying to meet up with Maria’s boyfriend Ed, at the Youth Centre which coincidentally was located right across from the Guest Services office. Ed did not end up being there but called to tell them that he’d meet them by the upper floor balcony of the mall’s centre court. As Jeanna and Maria walked back through the bright colours of the muralled hallway to meet Ed, Jeff and Christian - in their matching royal blue Scarborough Town Centre sweatshirts and white turtleneck dickies - came around the corner, headed to the office.
Jeanna recognized Jeff from walking past the Guest Services desk many-a-time. She thought he was cute. In retrospect, it was probably the paradoxical combination of the baby face with the 10+ ear piercings that caused those first few flutters. She loved a good boy with a bit of a rebellious edge.
Matron of Honour
Ria
The Ring Leader
This title just about sums up Ria in more ways than you can count. Not only is she the ring leader of the bridesmaids as Matron of Honour, but she is always the first in line for anything you can throw at her and will often try to convince you to join in on her antics. Ria also has an intensely competitive nature – if there was ever a contest on who could win the most contests, she’d be all over that like white on rice. In all fairness, she does excel at many things – in her career as a first grade teacher or in her hobbies that include yoga, cycling, figure skating and snowboarding (can you believe this is the short list?), it is clear that she is passionate about everything she does. Jeanna first met Ria in the 9th grade as locker neighbours not knowing then that they’d be sister-in-laws 14 years later.
Bridesmaids
Nghinh
The Fetus
Nghinh - or “Maddox” as she is affectionately known to us as due to her sexy Cambodian heritage – is the youngest member of the crew. She is an endless source of info as a self-proclaimed newspaper junkie and Wikipedia addict, and is also a walking anthology of song lyrics. Having been raised on the mean streets of Jane & Finch (probably hustling in underground poker tournaments trying to “find herself”) she is a New Yorker at heart and loves to visit whenever she can to see her beloved. She is also fiercely loyal when it comes to her friends - whether it’s saving a table for six by herself in a crowded restaurant amidst intimidating death stares from managers or throwing gum in a skank’s hair for trying to kick a birthday girl out of her own VIP booth at a club - Nghinh will always have your back. If she likes you. Otherwise, watch out for gum in your hair.
Rhea
The Home Girl
The bride’s Original Homegirl, Rhea aka Rae had a smile that could light up a room which is why, fittingly, she was often referred to as our personal “Rae’a Sunshine”. First meeting in 2003, we instantly clicked over a plate of mini-cheeseburgers at Denny’s and have been homegirls ever since. Despite her hectic schedule as a CICU nurse, she always found time for her friends and family. Favorite dates with Rhea include lots of dinners, red wine and coffee, secrets, pedicures, shopping, brunches and any/all types of conversation to name a few. Rhea never ran out of things to say and always had something to smile about. Her laugh was infectious and she was notorious for making others laugh with her endless jokes and funny stories. Here, there, everywhere…
‘til we meet again! 
Symon
The Top Chef
Having worked at some of Toronto’s finest eateries and currently at Centro, our very own Iron Chef Symon titillates our tastebuds with his drool-inducing culinary masterpieces. Symon is one of those people who is constantly funny without trying to be and is an infinite source of laugh-til-you-cry / choke-on-your-foie-gras comments. He recently acquired a schmancy new iPhone and MACbook and we couldn’t be more proud of our once technically-challenged friend - although he still has trouble dialing phones but that isn’t so much due to his technical savvy but rather his massive juggernaut fingers (jk!) Symon’s favorite pastimes include whipping up mean cuisine (duh!), Facebooking, critiquing fashion á la Clinton Kelly, The Beatles, PINA COLADAS, Friends and all things Rhea.
Best Man
Roy
The Big Bro
Aside from being Jeff’s best man and older brother, Roy is always the most stylin’ guy at a party. Born with an innate fashion sense, he is always down with the latest trends or he's off starting his own fad for the kids to follow. He also has tons of shoes... enough pairs to make Imelda Marcos look silly. Not to mention he has the uncanny ability to match the colour of the shoes to his t-shirt, hat, belt and socks. If you know Roy, you'll know how he loves to tell jokes. In all the corny-ness that is him, he is the master at finding that perfect moment during a conversation to throw down that cheesy joke. Roy is also natural athlete with some of his favourite sports being ice hockey, snowboarding and tennis. And much like his counterpart Ria (the Matron of Honour), he excels at all of them.
Groomsmen
Joel
The Ahnold
Joel is one of Jeff's closest cousins and bears the nickname "Ahnold" (as in Arnold Schwarzenegger) due to his god-like physique and his dedication to extreme fitness. Rain or shine, with a protein shake in one hand and a 100lb. dumbell in the other, you'll always find this health nut pumping iron at the gym. If one had to describe Joel, they would definitely say he is dedicated, hard working and such a kind guy at heart. When this native of Pampanga is not looking at himself in the mirror he enjoys spending time with family and friends, hitting the slopes on his new skis or macking on members of the opposite sex on the Facebook. Joel is also one to never pass up on a party. You'll know he's having a good time when he starts close talking and slurring the words "I love you man" or "you're the best".
Lenny
The Cowboy
Lenny was once a native of Toronto but recently moved out to Cowtown (Calgary) to pursue his quest of becoming a better snowboarder than Jeff... or it also could have been because he landed a super sweet position with the Bell Offices in Calgary. Known for this candor, Lenny will not hesitate to express his intense hatred for parsley, cilantro or any herb or garnish of a similar nature. Now a huge fan of the Calgary Stampede, Lenny is proud to sport his cowboy hat with his matching cowboy boots ready to drink his face off for breakfast. In his spare time Lenny manages a Toronto based digital media and videography company which he founded. When he’s not such a busy guy, Lenny can be found hanging out at the bar, shredding the slopes in Banff or planning his wedding.
Evelyn
The Chatterbox
With her boundless energy and endless case of the giggles, Evelyn is someone you will never experience an awkward silence with because the girl’s mouth is like The Energizer Bunny - it just keeps going and going! Most suspect that her oral talents (haha, no pun intended) are the result of her former childhood aspirations of becoming a rapper when she grew up. Instead, she became our resident fashionista, always impeccably styled and whose idea of “bumming” it probably consists of a Burberry tracksuit and Gucci sneakers. She can recite every single line from all 10 seasons of Friends in her sleep and will always start at least one sentence off with “remember that episode of Friends when…?” If you ever want to BFF Evelyn, just ask her to meet you at Central Perk and order her a steaming cup of Haterade. It’s her favorite… well, after smiling. Smiling’s her favorite! ;P
Dara
The Queen Dee
Or Queen D, as she likes to be called. Dara is well-known for blurting out inappropriate comments that you know you were all thinking but afraid to say. Ever the gracious hostess, Dara loves having people over along with her fiancé and fellow wedding party member Christian aka The Wing Man – whether to watch movies from their insane collection of DVDs, play boardgames or stuff our faces stupid with hot pot, it’s always a good time! Dara is also a lover of super spicy foods and loves creating her own concoction of dipping sauces but will refuse to tell you what she put in them. At any given weekend, Dara can be found in “Stratford” and/or screening her phone calls.
Chris
The Fighterjet
This techno wiz gets the name FGHTRJET (that’s "Fighterjet") from the license plate number of his previous and ever so legendary car, a red, souped up Volkswagon Jetta. Very fitting is the nickname because there is no doubt Chris is always more than willing to engage in a challenge, whether it be starting his own computer retail and IT consulting shop or sticking up for all of his buddies at the bar. Chris and Jeff go way back, from being in the same keyboarding class in high school (yes that’s right keyboarding), to hosing down barf off Jeff’s driveway after all those house parties, to working together at Rogers. Favourite past times for Chris and Jeff include playing Warcraft II over a 2400 baud modem, rollerblading at 2 am in the morning and playing ping pong in Chris’ old basement.
Christian
The Wing Man
Called the Wing Man because of the role he played in getting Jeanna and Jeff to meet. Okay, he didn’t really play the wing man role the night they met but he was standing right next to Jeff when they did – and during Christian and Jeff's tenure together at the Scarborough Town Centre Guest Services desk, Christian didn’t mind covering for Jeff’s slack when Jeanna would subsequently visit to engage in teenage flirtation. Aside from the nickname Wing Man, Christian is also called "Mr. Federer" for his insane accuracy on the tennis court, "Baskin Robbins" because he has quite the mix of nationalities in his gene pool and "Powder" because of the pastiness of his skin tone. When Christian is not conquering the real estate world he enjoys slaying monsters in Diablo II, having friends over for hot pot and playing Double Series.
