Chris was nearing the end of his subscription on the illustrious “Catholic Match.com”. Texas was not exactly an oasis for Catholic dating, and in two weeks he was going to allow the six month subscription to end. Hope had been on the website for no more than 18 hours when she sent Chris a message. He was the only person she had ever contacted. It was a match, and the first conversation over the phone lasted four hours. After two weeks of similar conversations, before Chris knew her address in Virginia, he had purchased a ticket to fly out to her.

We knew we were in for the long haul. Two officers in opposite branches on opposite sides of the country. Army bases were only ever in-land, and the Navy is always by the sea. But when God decides fate, we can only enjoy His plan. He brought us together as often as could be hoped, and we fell deeper in love with every passing visit. Our visits found us in Virginia, Texas, Georgia, New York, California, Connecticut, and finally Colorado, with the time flying by. We had decided that us being two Catholics and both in the military, we would be prone to getting engaged quickly. We made a pact: We would only consider engagement after 12 months of dating. Two weeks before our one-year anniversary, Chris proposed to Hope on Pismo Beach in California, in what we both describe as the best date of our lives so far.

We booked the Church before we were engaged, and the process of planning has been a wonderful process in getting to know one another. Being dual military, the only stable Parish we could find was Chris’ old University Church at Fordham, which happened to be one of the prettiest we had ever seen. Nothing about our relationship has been conventional or easy, but with God, we have been able to see the greater purpose of marriage. Through marriage, two souls become one, and we are counting the days until the big day!