Sy-yu & Anthony
August 26, 2017
Stories
About the Bride
Sy-Yu Chen (aka "issey", aka "see you later", aka "stumps") is the daughter of Shu-Feng Liang and Shyh-Ming Chen, and sister to Ching Chen.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Sy-yu moved to the US with her family at a young age. Having later moved cross country from California, to Mississippi, and finally to Maryland - she is glad to call Rockville, Maryland her hometown!
Sy-yu enjoys trying new and exciting places to eat, taking pictures of the restaurant's food, and describing said food in detailed Yelp! reviews. Her other passions include traveling, hiking, taking spin classes, walking around to get more fitbit steps, catching Pokemon, and researching fantasy football. Thanks to her jet-setting parents, she has now been to 45+ states in the US.
Sy-yu currently works in Financial Reporting at Citigroup in New York City.
About the Groom
Anthony (Tony) Shen (aka "Blackbolt" aka "Tbone Malone" aka "Two-date Tony") is the son of Po-Ching and Yi-Shang Shen, and brother to Andrew and Jessica Shen.
Born and raised in Potomac, Anthony grew up loving the redskins until they cut RGIII (because like, Kirk Cousins is kind of like Donald Trump if you think about it).
Besides that minor setback, Anthony also finds joy in watching videos on his phone, looking at cat memes, losing at fantasy football, eating Korean BBQ, and taking 4-hour afternoon naps.
Anthony is currently an MBA student at Yale.
How We Met
Sy-yu and Anthony met when they were 19 at the University of Maryland. At a fraternity and sorority mixer, Anthony saw the most angelic woman he had ever seen in his life, and knew he had to find some way to talk to her. He asked a mutual friend to set them up, but the friend plainly told him that Sy-Yu was simply out of his league. Undeterred, and in need of a date to a fraternity formal, he asked Sy-yu out anyways! What a boss. They bonded over many intellectual discussions about Harry Potter and the show LOST. Following the formal and after many chipotle meals + steak dinners, they became official and have been together happily ever since!
After Anthony's graduation from UMD he moved to Bethesda, MD and one year later Sy-yu graduated and followed.
Since then, Sy-yu has moved to New York City and has lived there for over three years. Anthony is at Yale University in New Haven, CT getting his MBA. Even with the long distance for over 3 years, they have remained close and are excited for all of the future adventures to come!
By the time Sy-yu and Anthony tie the knot, it will be close to their 10 year anniversary! It's been one amazing journey and they are so excited to start the next chapter of their lives together.
Proposal
On a cloudy August morning in San Francisco, Anthony asked Sy-Yu to marry him.
Anthony's plan was to take Sy-yu to Baker's Beach, SF hoping to capture the picturesque backdrop of the sun rising above the Golden Gate bridge when he proposed. Sy-Yu was surprised and annoyed when Anthony asked her to wake up so early in the morning, especially since Anthony never wakes up before 10AM on a weekend and always spends the first 30-45 minutes watching WorldStarHipHop and YouTube videos on his phone. Her annoyance turned to concern when Anthony started sweating and breathing in deep heavy breaths while driving to the beach. In between breaths, Anthony assured her he was alright, and was just nervous because the roads in SF were so hilly and he did not get insurance on the rental car.
When they got to the beach, Anthony and Sy-Yu were dismayed to see heavy fog obscuring the beautiful view of the Bay, with Anthony letting out an audible
"Ahhhhh shieeeeeeeeeeeeet."
After a short stroll on the beach towards the bridge, he weakly turned to Sy-Yu and asked, "Uh...it's pretty nice and romantic out here right?" Having put two and two together, Sy-Yu turned back and said, "Hmmm... yeah...uh..not really...." Anthony, disheartened but forever optimistic, waited ten minutes to see the sunrise, which unfortunately never came, before getting down on one knee to ask Sy-Yu to marry him. She gracefully said yes.
The happily engaged couple celebrated by taking a boat ride around the Bay, tasting wine in Napa and Sonoma, and meeting with friends. Anthony later planned a surprise engagement party in New York and got 40 of their friends from around the US together to celebrate the newly engaged couple.
Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate the occasion!
Events
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Travel
Hotels
Key People
Bridesmaids
Ching Chen
Maid of Honor
Ching is Sy-yu's younger sister (aka they have known each other their whole lives). Sy-yu always made sure Ching was hip with the current trends, from making her first AIM screenname, creating her first email, making Ching's xanga, and getting her facebook.
Growing up, Sy-yu always felt Ching was naturally better at everything. Ching was the faster swimmer, faster runner, better dancer in ballet, and had better Chinese. They did the same after school activities and had a great childhood with one another.
Ching was always someone Sy-yu turned to, especially during her obsession with the Backstreet Boys, A Walk to Remember, and One Direction phase. When Sy-yu couldn't sleep after watching a scary movie, she would always go to Ching's room and bother her throughout the night. Sy-yu occasionally acts as the older sister, by buying Ching new clothes, taking her out to eat at new restaurants, getting Broadway and concert tickets, and planning family vacations.
Ching is currently a pharmacy student studying away in Baltimore.
Angela Wang
Bridesmaid
Syyu and Angela first met through their summer internship at Ernst & Young after their third year of college...and their lives have never been the same! Their friendship truly formed when they found comfort in one another during their slight crush with Peeta Mallark after watching the Hunger Games.
Angela considers herself extremely lucky to be able to spend every day/night with Syyu - as they are roommates in New York City! In the home that they have built together, they can often be found giggling with each other as they binge-watch Netflix series, obsess over the Hadid/Kardashian empires, and deepen their knowledge of Bachelor Nation, all while eating Chinese take-out from their favorite restaurant in Murray Hill and Hell's Kitchen! Sy-yu can not imagine having anyone else as a roommate in NYC and is blessed they get to share all these memories and experiences together in the big apple!
Angela is currently an MBA student at Columbia.
Catherine Liow
Bridesmaid
Catherine and Sy-yu first met during high school freshman year orchestra class, where they became friends thanks to shared enthusiasm for steak, boy bands, and the TV show Charmed.
Sy-yu is Catherine's favorite meal buddy and has accompanied her on numerous afternoon snack outings, BBQs, buffets, and second dinner adventures.
Over the past 14 years, they have created countless memories exploring new cities across the world, from watching cabaret at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, riding gondolas in Venice to partying down Bourbon Street in New Orleans and powering up the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Catherine works for an energy regulatory agency in DC.
Cristina Chow
Bridesmaid
Syyu and Cristina made it Facebook official in 2006 of high school, but their friendship truly formed in college when they were both studying Accounting and were in Sigma Psi Zeta together.
Syyu and Cristina have had many fun adventures soaking up the sun in places like the Dominican Republic, Miami (x3), Ocean City, and Vegas, all while arguing who's better: Jess vs. Dean, Damon vs. Stefan, Ravens vs. Redskins.
Despite their differing opinions, the two always have a blast stealing secret drinks, standing in bathroom lines, and stressing over fantasy football together (even though Syyu always wins)!
Both CPA's, Cristina and Syyu would understand each other's pain studying for the CPA exam, dealing with frustrating clients in public accounting, and now dealing with frustrating auditors at their respective companies. Syyu always trusts Cristina to figure out restaurant bills and calculate group expenses when they travel, and is glad she never has to do any math when Cristina is there.
Cristina currently lives in North Bethesda and is an Accounting Manager at a real estate investment trust.
Jennifer Yang
Bridesmaid
Syyu and Jen met at the University of Maryland through sorority events where they discovered a shared love of potatoes and cheese.
Jen followed in Syyu's footsteps and majored in Finance and Accounting, and then started a career at one of the Big Four firms. Two years after college, Sy-yu and Jen both moved to their respective dream cities they've always talked about moving to after college - NYC and SF respectively.
Through the years, they have kept in touch despite living on opposite coasts and taken many trips together including Machu Picchu, New Orleans, and hiking in Yosemite.
Jen is honored to have spent the weekend with Syyu and Anthony when they got engaged in San Francisco on that cloudy day in August. She is so excited for their life together as a married couple and know that their ESFJ and ISFP selves are perfect for each other.
Jen currently lives in San Francisco and works as an auditor at Deloitte.
Jessie Tsai
Bridesmaid
Syyu and Jessie have been the best of friends ever since they first met at Cabin John Middle School in 7th grade.
Over the years, they have navigated through semi-awkward middle school & high school years and stayed side by side throughout all four fun years at Maryland (go Terps!).
Together, they have created beautiful music in countless orchestras, joined a sorority, survived the dorms, and traveled the world from Miami to Peru.
Even though they now live on opposite coasts, they stay connected through their undying love for the Backstreet Boys, stalking celebrities on social media, and high quality reality TV shows, including anything touching the Bachelor franchise.
Nancy Liu
Bridesmaid
Syyu and Nancy have known each other for 14 years, first meeting in the halls of Wootton High School freshman year.
They instantly bonded over their love of food, BSB, One Tree Hill and Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. Since then, they've spent countless summers at the Willows pool, explored LA/Disneyland, tanned in Miami, and obsessed over Totto in NYC.
Nancy currently lives in Alexandria, VA and works in risk management at Deloitte.
Groomsmen
Andrew Shen
Best Man
Andy and Anthony are brothers from the same mother. Andy looks up to his little brother -- especially Anthony's prodigious food intake and his timeless "that's what she said jokes." In a few short years, Andy will finally be gainfully employed as a house sitter for one of Anthony's many vacation homes.
Andrew Shen is a partner at a law firm in DC.
Austin Ihm
Groomsman
Austin and Anthony have known each other since freshmen year of high school. He is currently an aspiring film director in Los Angeles.
Memories include
- watching 24,
- posting up at 7-Eleven trying to figure out what to -do
- eating General Tso's chicken
- Dying Anthony's hair blonde in high school
- watching the Maury Show
Alex Pan
Groomsman
Anthony and Alex have been homies since before they could walk. You can find them playing jungle pong at the club, watching WWE SmackDown, or bumping Dre 2001.
Alex lives in Los Angeles and works in Corporate Development at Sony Pictures
Duncan Chou
Groomsman
Duncan and Anthony met at Herbert Hoover Middle School. They grew to be best friends through their childhood dream of becoming USA Ping Pong olympians. It was a memorable time growing up because they always competed together as a team.
"Anthony always had my back and to this day is one of my best friends. I look up to him in life and am so grateful for our friendship" - Duncan Chou
Eddie Tao
Groomsman
Anthony and Eddie have been friends since high school and share a love/hate relationship for the Washington Redskins (buying season tickets together = worst decision ever made).
They can be found in front of a TV screaming at Kirk Cousins, or alternatively chowing down on some Korean Barbecue at Iron Age.
Eddie is currently attaining his MBA at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management in Chicago.
Kevin Hsu
Groomsman
Tony and Kevin have known each other since nursery school and their friendship has only grown from there.
You can probably catch them eating korean bbq or drinking some beers while they cheer for the Terps & Redskins just to pull out a win. They enjoy going on last second planned vacation trips or lounging.
Kevin is currently a Senior Associate at KPMG in New York City.
Vincent Cheng
Groomsman
Vincent and Anthony both grew up in Potomac, Maryland and have known each other since middle school. They've been through endless hours of beer pong at Vincent's house, football games, and real talk. Lots of real talk. Anthony makes it known that he likes Ledos Pizza and watches the Maury Show.
Vincent currently lives in Los Angeles and is the Vice President of Production and Development and Producer @ Millennium Films.
Gallery
Sy-yu & Anthony
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