In Loving Memory of Hung Ta
Late Father of the Bride
The most difficult event I’ve ever had to go through was losing my father. It’s been 7 years yet there are moments when it feels like it has just happened. I now relish the times when something triggers a happy memory. Such as seeing a clip of an Indiana Jones movie and remembering my father’s liking of Indiana Jones movies. He would quote-a-long to Harrison Ford, like when Indie throws a villain off a plane claiming it was because he had “no ticket.” For whatever reason, that scene always got my dad laughing so hard he would cry.
He was one of the most selfless people you’d ever meet and always put family and the needs of others first. He did so many things for us and others; helped me with school work, drove across town so my sisters and I could go to a rock concert, even offered to beat-up a boy that had just broken his little girl’s heart – he was always there for me. He also gave so much to extended family and to those still in Vietnam.
I never imagined my dad wouldn’t be the one walking me down the aisle, but he shaped me into the person I am today. Who he was and how he lived continues to influence the person I want to be.
I wish he could have met the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with and build a family with, as I know he would have loved Matt and would have welcomed him to our family with open arms.
In honor of my Father we will be placing a single rose on a chair during the ceremony to represent his presence and will have a moment of silence. While he may not physically be there with us to celebrate our union, I carry him wherever I go.
Ba (Vietnamese for Dad), I love you so much and miss you every day.