Lauren and Sonny Yuen

Lauren Aust-Yuen, 34, LA to close friends, is a Kansas City-born and bi-coastal PR professional who met Sonny when they both lived in New York City. While it seemed like an unlikely pairing at first–Mizzou grad meets Sonny from Queens, a fast-talking native New Yorker–the connection was immediate. The true testaments to their love included sharing a 275-square-foot studio on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and together navigating the sudden loss of Lauren’s dad, her mentor and dear friend, in 2016. In 2017 they began a cross-country adventure to Los Angeles to live closer to Lauren’s elderly paternal grandparents.

Sonny Yuen, 40, who called New York home for the first 39 years of his life, has worked as a recruiter for tech giants such as Google and Twitter. On his first date with Lauren, he told her he planned to move to Southern California and open a taco shack on the beach. Two and a half years later, the couple made the move to Los Angeles! Plans for a taco shack are on hold, as the two are feathering their nest for their first baby.

Sonny and Lauren met when they both swiped right! “We matched on Tinder and again on OK Cupid. We call it double rainbows; it was meant to be!” Lauren laughs. “We lived on opposite sides of the East River, Sonny in a high-rise in Long Island City and me in a tiny studio on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. We were pen pals beginning in November, and we finally met for our first date in January. ‘Let’s meet for one drink’ quickly turned into a couple more and sharing a chicken pot pie.”

While Lauren and Sonny were home in Kansas City in 2017 for the Christmas holiday, Sonny used the family’s Cousins Christmas Cocktails get-together at Rockhill Grille as a guise for the proposal. Sonny begged Lauren to show him the Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center, which Lauren thought weird, given its comparison to the Rockefeller Christmas Tree Sonny grew up with. There, in nine-degree weather, Sonny dropped to one knee. A surprise engagement party awaited at Rockhill Grille, where Lauren’s family and friends were waiting.

The blissful couple tied the knot August 11, 2018. Lauren’s sister served as Matron of Honor; the Best Man was the groom’s childhood best friend. The ceremony was officiated by the pastor of the bride and groom’s church in Brooklyn, New York. The couple wrote their own vows, which they exchanged privately during their first look.

While the wedding was in the bride’s hometown of Kansas City, the couple put great thought into integrating their beloved Big Apple. They worked closely with Lon Lane of Inspired Occasions to create a series of food stations inspired by Sonny and Lauren’s favorite food adventures in Manhattan and beyond. In true New York fashion, guests received famed Black and White cookies as sweet treats when they left.

Lauren and Sonny spent two weeks over the Christmas holiday in Japan, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. ■

Bridal Gown
Panache Bridal

Matron of Honor’s Gown
Banana Republic

Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Suit/Tux
The Black Tux

Hair Styling
Madison Englert, Salon One4Zero

Videography
John Stambaugh, United Media Collective

Florist
Studio Dan Meiners

Caterer
Inspired Occasions by Lon Lane

DJ
Platinum KC

Cake
3 Women and an Oven

Venue
Studio Dan Meiners

Day-Of Coordinator
Megan Rohde