Phoebe & Karim: Engaged

[intro]This cute couple is getting married this weekend and we couldn’t be happier for them! We asked them to share all the details about how they met and fell in love. Here’s what they had to say:[/intro]How did you guys meet?

Karim:
The first time I saw Phoebe was about a week before the Chinese New Year Festival. She was practicing the Lion Dance with her partner in the rehearsal. The thought process I had as I saw her was: “Oh she is cute.”, “She doesn’t seem like she speaks Chinese. Hmm…” “Her partner looks like a Korean, so she is gotta be a Korean, too. What are Koreans doing in Chinese Festival?”

Phoebe:
Well, we didn’t meet until a group activity held at his house. A good, mutual friend of mine invited me to the activity, in which I said yes. When I went to his house, I thought that was the first time I had ever seen him. He was cute, but extremely quiet to me. Later, I found out that we actually had rehearsal together and served food together and chatted at a Chinese festival and I had no idea! (Karim: She didn’t understand me at all as I spoke Mandarin to her. It deepened my impression that she must be a Korean!) I am such a klutz sometimes.

First thoughts about one another after you met?

Phoebe:
I thought Karim didn’t like me at all! In fact, I thought he really hated me. He didn’t make eye-contact, he rarely spoke to me and he always had a stern expression on his face. I thought I was hated so much that I took the liberty to ask our mutual friends if I did something wrong. They explained to me that Karim can be that way in front of strangers, but once you get to know him, he can be a kind, funny and gentle person. Even though he can be cold at times, somehow I had a comfortable and happy feeling with him. I liked trying to make him laugh with my silly pick-up lines. As I spent more time with him, he opened up to me and I quickly realized he is the most warm and loving person I have ever met.

Karim:
She didn’t leave me a very good impression when we met again in my apartment after the Chinese Festival. I held a food-making party at my apartment, and Phoebe came because of our mutual friend’s invitation. She was talking to some other guy the whole time! I didn’t even get a chance to introduce myself to her as a host. I added her on Facebook only because she owed me the cost of ingredients for that activity. She paid me back a week after I gave up asking money from her. I was slightly disappointed at this girl. (It was only 3.75 dollars though.)
Who said “I love you” first?

Karim:
I don’t remember it clearly. I hope it was me.

Phoebe:
Karim said it first, but I brought it up. I asked him how much he likes me, to which he replied: I love you in Chinese.

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Tell us about your first date:

Karim:
I noticed her feelings toward me after we watched General Conference together. I thought it could be just my illusion, but a close friend of mine told me an indicator which is “Has she been messaging you since then?” Yes, she had done it for four days, so I strongly felt the impression to ask her to do something with me even if it is very simple. Visiting the planetarium with her in BYU came into my mind. I messaged her to go with me. I could totally felt the excitement from the other side of screen as she said she is coming.

Phoebe:
After almost giving up, Karim finally asked me to go to the planetarium with him. I tried to be mature by saying messaging him, “I would love to” but I was actually shouting “YAY!” out loud.
Tell us about your first kiss:

Phoebe: Well, I initiated it again! One day I just couldn’t help myself and pointed to my cheek, suggesting that I wanted a kiss from him. He did so willingly, and then later I asked if we could have a kiss on the lips. Butterflies!

Karim:
I felt bad that she has waited for it for too long. The circumstances made me feel I shouldn’t deepen the affection in any form. I had led many perfect opportunities of kissing her pass before our first kiss. After I did, I was thinking: “things will never come back to what they were” but I was happy about that.
How did you know he/she was the one?

Karim:
After we have been dating for a few weeks, I started to think about the strengths I appreciate of this girl. Interestingly, I had to the marriage prep class which I signed up even before I started dating her. I often evaluate our relationship by applying the knowledge I’ve learned for that class, and I really felt that we are already heading toward the ideal relationship before I learned about them. Set aside all the logical thinking, I always felt deep inside my heart that there is no other girl who would be better for me. Same for the other way, I am confident that Phoebe can’t find any other man on earth who is more suitable for her than I am.

Phoebe: Although circumstances came up and we weren’t sure if we had the opportunity to stay together, we still felt that we should keep spending as much time as we can. Even when I left to go home in Hawaii, Karim and I still kept in touch every day. I started seeing a future together with him. I noticed how we interacted, how we respond to each other and how we complimented each other. Most of all, I knew he was the one when I felt like I can be truly comfortable and happy with him even through the thick and thin. I know Karim was someone I wanted to go on a long journey with and to work together through everything.
How did he propose?

Phoebe: Karim took me to the top of Y Mount one beautiful evening and proposed! He was very nervous but he was adorable and romantic as ever.

Karim: I wasn’t planning on proposing the time I did, but I felt I should do it strongly even nothing wasn’t well prepared by that time. I was so nervous that I felt I was going to explode like a pressure cooker.

photos taken: Provo, Utah