Believe It...Even Love can be found via the internet. Lara Yoshida, a Secretary in Japan and David Franzen, an Engineer in San Antonio, met over the internet, fell in love, and planned their wedding between Tokyo and Texas, all with the help of the internet.

After their fascinating internet courtship, Lara made her first trip to Texas for their face-to-face meeting. David proposed to Lara at the Old San Francisco Steakhouse in San Antonio and Lara said “yes”! Lara headed back to Japan to take care of everything that needed to be done there and David stayed behind in Texas to handle planning the wedding events.

Even with her English language limitations, Lara was what David called “computer savvy” and found everything she wanted on the internet! She discovered the San Antonio and Austin WeddingDay web site and the rest is ­history! David was amazed with the details that Lara obtained. Most brides accummulate volumes of printed articles and magazines in anticipation of their wedding day; but once David purchased a copy of the WeddingDay magazine for Lara in an “artzy” little shop, the “ball started rolling”!

David and Lara did not want to delay their happiness, so they aggressively began making plans. The first step was the discovery of an advertisement for the First Protestant Church in New Braunfels that offered wedding services to non-members of the Church. Both agreed that this was a promising first step for their plans.

David decided to visit his friends Judy and Earl in New Braunfels. They were happy to introduce David to the beauty, charm and quality of the Churches and businesses in the Texas Hill Country of New Braunfels. David and Lara had discussed a wedding in the Fall months. Finding that there were no Saturday services available, so David began to plan for a wedding date that was most promising for their guests to travel to the New Braunfels area. He checked the University of Texas football schedule and found an open Friday just before a game that was “sure” to bring his guests to central Texas.

It seemed that the plans were just falling into place. Lara could not visit all the wedding venues David discussed, but was very agreeable with the New Braunfels locale. She had visited Europe several time and was pleased with the area’s similarity to those of Italy and Germany.

David’s friends Judy and Earl also gave him a tour of the Faust Hotel, explaining to him that two of their daughters had wedding events there. Luckily, the Faust Event Coordinator Doug Blank was available to explain their services and help David with his several other recommendations of area vendors for some of their wedding needs.

Judy also had a high school friend who owned the Comal Flower Shop a short distance away, who was highly recommended in the area. So they were chosen as the florist for the events.

Since this was Lara’s first Texas experience, she didn’t have many friends for her bridal party. Her Matron of Honor was a childhood friend who lived in San Diego and her Bridesmaid was a college friend from Tokyo. The Bridal Party and Lara’s mother had their hair done at The Loft next to Landa Park, and their nails done in a strip mall adjacent to the New Braunfels Tourism Bureau.

David’s brother was his Best Man and a high school friend was his groomsmen. His eight-year old niece did a fantastic job as flower girl.

Doug Blank and his staff performed beautifully at the Faust Hotel events. The Reception was catered to suit everyone’s taste buds. David’s brother gave a touching toast and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Tara and her friends enjoyed their first “Chicken Dance” – a tune not heard much on I-pods in Tokyo!

While all the fun events were happening inside, some of their friends were obviously busy outside in the parking lot. They applied five cans of shaving cream to their car windows.

David and Lara’s honeymoon was a four-day stay in Oahu, four days on the Big Island with three nights at the Kilauea Military Camp inside Volcanoes National Park. Having been born in the heart of Tokyo, Lara as amazed to see the Milky Way and so many stars in the sky for the first time in her life, while a red glow was visible from the Kilauea Caldera at the same time.

So with the help of the internet, David and Laura’s lives began in a whirlwind journey from Toyko to Texas.

New Braunfels Resources

Ceremony:
First Protestant Church, New Braunfels

Reception Venue/Catering:
Faust Hotel, New Braunfels

Cake:
Celebration Central, POC, Laura Nash-Nash Catering, and Seguin

Florist:
Comal Florist, New Braunfels

Bride’s Gown:
A Tokyo Boutique

Bridesmaids’ Dresses:
Amazon.com

Men’s Formalwear:
Al’s Formal Wear

Photography:
Sarah Griffin of Griffin Photography, New Braunfels

Entertainment:
Brian Laird of First Choice DJ Entertainment

Guest Accommodations:
Lamb’s Rest Inn, New Braunfels Bed & Breakfast Locations

Rehearsal Dinner Venue:
The Gristmill, Gruene

Consultant:
Doug Blank at the Faust

Hair & Make-Up:
The Loft

Invitations:
Custom Maps Invitations; Kinkos Osaki Gate City, Shinagawa-Ku in Tokyo

Honeymoon & Travel:
Seven-day Hawaii Honeymoon including Oahu, the Big Island, and Kilauea Military Camp inside Volcanoes National Park

Transportation:
Northwest, American and United Airlines, Hertz Rental Car