My Bestfriend is Getting Married

“Back in the day” as they say, is when I met Chris Elders. We met each other while working in a live/work loft on 12th and J Street in San Diego. He and his sister Tanya were running Ignite My Site, a small web development firm in the front and living in the back at the time.

When I moved into one of the open units, and we became neighbors, a strong friendship began to form. He introduced me to the magic of “House” music, and Landmark Education. And I like to think that I helped him strengthen his eye with his hobby and passion of photography.

We have always been on similar wavelengths.
We have  the same entreprenurial and adventurous spirit.
We have been down like paths; military families, we’ve both lived in Japan, Tiger Cruises to Hawaii, San Diego roots.
We have even met each other, before we met each other – a casual “Hi” on a roof party one Street Scene, years before we actually met.
And we made our exit from San Diego at the same time. He went off to live a life in New York, and I went off to Thailand after the tsunami.

While our paths diverged in the physical sense, we have always been there for each other. I remember midnight calls from him while I was in Thailand. And we have always been a chat message or a Skype call away from each other.

I would tell a great story here, but most of the stories would have legal implications for both of us if I shared it publicly. I can say that Chris is one of the most trustworthy and honorable people in this universe, and I always knew that he had my back no matter what was going on.

When Heather and I got married, he was my first choice to have there. Since we had Moen (who has now passed on) be the best dog, we decided to have Chris perform our ceremony.

And now it’s his turn to make the commitment.

He has met the love of his life; Jacqueline Nguyen.
And I couldn’t be more happier for him. (As I write this I’m actually welling up with joy and tears). We’ve both experienced each other’s ups and downs with relationships. And while I’m going through my divorce with Heather, I’m so excited that he has found the one person he wants by his side.

I’m also very excited that he has chosen me to be one of his Groomsmen. It will be my first time as a Groomsman, and it’s been a while since I’ve been to a wedding where I wasn’t the photographer (I even shot some at my own wedding). It might be a little strange not having a camera in hand.
I did help them find Jason and Andrew at Table 4 and I know they are going to do an awesome job.

Jacqueline and Chris, Much Aloha – I’ll see you guys in a month!

To read more about them, here is their story.