“About four years ago, I decided to give CatholicMatch a try. I saw an ad for it in the back of the church bulletin. I told myself: 'I'm only going to try it for one month, and if I don't meet
anyone I like, I'll cancel it.' The first week of being on the site I met Chris,” Ashley, 27, recalls.
Chris, then 30, messaged Ashley saying that he thought that they shared many of the same interests and beliefs and that he wanted to get to know her better. Ashley was impressed by how interested Chris seemed. “I liked that he was interested in getting to know me. Also, he didn't try too hard and just seemed like a very genuine person.”
They chatted for a couple of weeks and then decided to meet at a location that was equidistance from where each of them lived in California.
She Kept Their Online Relationship a Secret
They had plans to meet a week later on a Sunday afternoon in Pasadena at the Yardhouse. Ashley was near the restaurant when she received a message from Chris telling her that he was waiting out front for her. “I parked farther away, so I had to come up to the restaurant from another direction. I noticed him looking over the railing to see if he could first spot me walking up. I walked up from behind and said, ‘Chris?’ He turned around and smiled, and we hugged each other.”
They both immediately felt an attraction to one another.
Over the next month, everything was going well between them, but Ashley kept her online relationship a secret from family and friends for a while because she wasn’t sure how they would respond to her dating a man she met online. “But after a month of officially dating, I told them. They were really excited.”
Both Loved The Outdoors
Because they lived 90 miles apart, they could only see each other in person on weekends. Being nature-lovers, the two pastimes they enjoyed were camping and hiking. “We both enjoy spending time admiring God's outdoor beauties!” she says.
In the past four years, they've been to the Sequoias, Yosemite, Idyllwild, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
They also like to take more leisurely walks together. Ashley bought a dog, Zoey, a year ago and the couple enjoys taking her for a walk and to the dog park. Zoey also travels with them.
Surprise Proposal
“On April 25, 2015, we were on our way to Malibu to celebrate our four year anniversary when Chris mentioned he wanted to stop at the beach first. We walked down a long path to the beach. At the bottom, we took a couple of pictures as the sun was beginning to set. Just before we were about to make our way back up to the road, Chris turned to me and asked if we could celebrate something new on this date.”
Surprisingly, Ashley didn’t have a clue as to what was happening until Chris pulled out an engagement ring and said, "Will you marry me?"
“It was incredibly romantic and absolutely the most special moment in both of our lives,” she beams.
Afterward, they went for a fabulous dinner at Mastro's, and they were tickled when they discovered that Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were seated at the table next to them. “It was such a special night we will never forget!”
Planning Their Lives Together
In July, Ashley and Chris began the required pre-Cana meetings with their Monseigneur. In August they attended an Engaged Encounter in LA to prepare them for their coming marriage on January 16, 2016, to be held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown LA. “We went there together for the first time a few years ago, and we both had a very spiritual moment together. We both fell in love with its beauty and specialness. We later talked about how amazing it would be if we got married there. And now we are!”
For their honeymoon, they are flying to France and Italy. “We've never been to Europe and are beyond excited to experience it for the first time together on our honeymoon!
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