How We Met
Towards the end of 8th grade, I went to Philip’s high school to do a “shadow” where I followed a 9th grader around to see if I wanted to attend that school. During my visit, one of the girls I met asked me if I was free the following weekend to participate in their school’s Asian Culture Show, where I would learn a dance and “model” a traditional Vietnamese gown. I agreed and on the day of the show, I got on stage to meet my modeling partner. From across the stage, I saw this really cute boy walking my way and as he approached closer, he was introduced as my modeling partner. This really cute boy was Philip.
My heart skipped a beat and I immediately felt like I was blushing. After we finished our walk down the catwalk, I never saw him again…until 5 years later at our mutual friend’s birthday lunch. We sat at different tables but we noticed each other. We were too shy to say anything so when we saw each other again the next night, we didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity. We saw each other from across the room and this time, I approached him. As I was getting closer, he said, “Hey, you’re Kelly, right? The girl I did that modeling thing with back in high school?”. The rest was history.
It’s amazing to think about how far we’ve come since then and how much we’ve grown, together and individually. Philip always tells me how much I’ve changed his life but the truth is, he helped me changed to a better version of myself more than he even knows.
When we first started dating, I was insecure and always found ways to try and push him away. And even though I put him through the wringer, he never gave up on us. I recognize how fortunate I am to have someone who loves me the way Philip does so I can focus on other aspects of my life. He’s always been so supportive of all my decisions, whether it’s to be a food blogger, dance, or even move to another state.
I can go on and on about what an amazing person he is, what a good heart he has, or his desire to genuinely connect with people and help. But, I’ll save that for our wedding day!
Here’s a picture of Philip and me on the first day that we met.
How They Asked
I’ve been a dancer all of my life and it’s one of my favorite passions outside of work. I’m a hip-hop choreographer for a dance company called DanceWorks New York and the company held photoshoots for all their dancers. I told Philip that the photoshoot was going to be at Roosevelt Island and he decided that, that was going to be the perfect time to propose. He contacted my dance director and told her about his plan. She was on board with his plan so he hired a videographer to capture the moment.
We live in New York and our families live in Massachusetts. During one of his trips back to Mass, he secretly went to my mom’s house and asked her if he could marry me. He told me later on that my little sister and brother were there and how excited they all were when they found out why Philip was there. (Honestly, when Philip told me that when my little 15-year-olds brother couldn’t stop smiling when Philip told him he wanted to marry me, my heart melted. You could not get that boy to smile for anything. Teenagers!)
On the day of the photoshoot, I got up and started to get ready. It seemed like any normal day, “All you need to know” by Gryffin and Slander was playing on repeat. I asked Philip if he could drop me off and he agreed. Philip dropped me off and little did I know, he met up with his videographer and even changed his outfit so I wouldn’t recognize him. Once it was my turn to get my picture taken, my dance director texted Philip to get in place.
While I was taking my photos, Philip started to make his way towards me. He ran up from behind me and I had no idea he was coming.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and as I turned around, I immediately saw the videographer filming me. And then I saw Philip with a huge smile on his face. I thought, “Who is this videographer and what is this Philip doing here?” Being together for almost 10 years, we’ve discussed how the proposal would go down. I told him that my two criteria were that it was outside and someone recorded it. At that moment, I put the pieces together and knew this was it. This was the moment he was going to propose.
I broke up and everything that came next was a blur to me. I have no idea what Philip said. All I know was that I couldn’t stop crying and that Philip tried to pull me to him to say his speech. I eventually came to my senses and remembered seeing him go down on one knee and hear him asked: “Kelly Love Le, will you marry me”. I lost it again, but eventually found a way to mouth “yes” and nod my head.
