It took a year before the timing was right for Alicia and Rob. In January 2020, the first time Rob messaged Alicia, she told him that she had met someone and was only on CatholicMatch to deactivate her account. That relationship floundered a few months later, and Rob noticed that Alicia had reactivated her account. So, he reached out to her again.
Alicia, who lived in Hawaii, felt hesitant about starting up another long-distance relationship, so she told Rob, from California, that she didn't want to start another distance relationship.
He had a matchmaker working in his favor...
In the meantime, an elderly gentleman at Alicia's church kept approaching her after Mass, telling her, "I know this guy who used to live in Hawaii, and I think he'd be great for you."
The gentlemen, Rick, attempted to set her up multiple times, but Alicia told him, "No, thank you; that's okay." Rick eventually showed Alicia a picture of the person in question.
"I realized that it was the guy from CatholicMatch!" the 31-year-old recalls.
Rick spoke to Rob too!
Meanwhile, matchmaker Rick had been texting his friend Rob about Alicia. Still, Rob didn't know that she was the Filipina woman from CatholicMatch that he liked because Rick never mentioned Alicia's name or showed him a picture of her. However, Rob started connecting the dots when he realized he had seen Alicia in person in 2019 during a visit to Hawaii.
"She was standing outside of the church, and I thought, 'Oh, she's a cute girl.' But, at the time, I was only going to be on the island for five days for a vacation," Rob, 38, remembers.
The man from church was spot on!
After several months, Alicia reactivated her account at the urging of one of her friends. She noticed that Rob had recently messaged her again. "Oh, that's the guy Rick is trying to get me to meet," she thought.
Alicia read through Rob's profile again. She noticed they had a lot in common, and he was cute. Alicia sent Rob a message.
Seeing her reply, Rob thought, "Finally!"
The couple began seriously talking in February 2021. In March 2021, Rob came to visit Alicia in Hawaii.
"I decided to fly to Hawaii and meet her in person. We had spoken every day for several weeks, and rather than having this kind of virtual interaction go on indefinitely, I went to meet her," he shares.
Rob, who worked as a pilot, only planned on visiting for five days, but when his airline furloughed him because of COVID, he decided to stay in Hawaii and couch surf for the duration of his furlough—from March through May. During this time, Rob asked Alicia to be his girlfriend.
Alicia didn't hesitate to say yes because she noticed how many people liked and respected Ron.
"Many of the families in my church community told me, 'Rob's a really good guy.' I was like, okay, all right; so, it's not just me who likes him."
They had a surprising beach proposal.
It didn't take Rob long to know he wanted to marry Alicia. She didn't know exactly when he planned to propose, but Alicia figured he'd ask the question during his July 2021 visit. Rob had already quizzed her about what kind of ring setting she preferred. He also asked her if she wanted to have a photographer film the proposal.
"I was like, 'Oh, that would be nice, but it's just so awkward when it's so planned out and there's an audience," she says. "I wanted a peaceful and intimate setting."
Rob adds, "I think she desired a setting where we could be ourselves, and it didn't feel contrived. She didn't want the proposal to have a reality show type of feeling."
Surprise! Everything was caught on camera!
Rob took Alicia to the island of Oahu. The couple went to a five-mile stretch of white sand beach on the island's Windward side.
"What's crazy is what happened after Rob proposed to me," recalls Alicia. "We were just like standing there really happy and still in disbelief. And then this guy came up to us and said, "Hey, I'm a wedding photographer and I saw him proposing, so I got it all on camera."
Rob adds, "He was just out there shooting a reel. He happened to see what was transpiring and just decided to take footage."
The generous photographer sent the couple the photos and video he took of them, and he didn't charge them anything.
They had a beautiful DIY wedding.
With the help of family, the couple pulled off a beautiful DIY wedding in spite of COVID restrictions changing constantly.
"We didn't want something like over the top. Our families helped with a lot of the preparations. My sister made our wedding cake and the cupcakes. My sister-in-law and her in-laws helped me with the flower arrangements, and my friends helped me with the invites and wedding decorations," she shares. "Some of our friends did the music for the Mass, including polyphony and some Gregorian Chant."
On January 22, 2022, Rob and Alicia joined their lives in Holy Matrimony after knowing one another for less than a year. They were married in the Traditional Latin Rite.
"With the tropical element and the traditional Catholic element, it was just a lovely wedding. And then we had a reception at a ballroom in Waikiki," shares the couple.
Watch the highlights from Rob and Alicia's wedding below:
Continue Reading
