"I'll be the first to admit that I was adamantly against online dating."
"I wrote it off as something that wasn't for me, but then my identical twin sister tried out CatholicMatch. After witnessing her success—she met her fiancé on CatholicMatch—I decided to give it a try," says Kelly, 26.
Despite Kelly's initial resistance to online dating, she felt hope every time she logged on. Maybe her "Mr. Right" was out there.
It didn't take her long to find him. Kelly had been a member for about two weeks when she received a smiley face emoji from Michael.
"I almost didn't respond!" she exclaims.
Kelly, who is an English teacher, explains, "I am a lover of words. I almost did not respond because I was waiting for him to say something."
Eventually, she sent Michael a wave emoji in response because she liked what he had to say in his profile and he also lived in New Jersey.
It didn't take long to realize I was falling for him.
"Finally, the time came for us to meet in person," she says. "We settled on a coffee house in Montclair, New Jersey."
Kelly left her house early that day so that she wouldn't be late for their first date. She was so nervous that she got lost and ended up arriving late. Luckily, Michael was patient and waited.
"I couldn't tell you what kind of latte I ordered that day, but I can tell you that we sat on a rock ledge under the shade of a tree and talked for hours," she recalls.
Michael, 31, says, "I was attracted to her larger-than-life personality, her faith, her passion and ambition for life, and her family values."
In no time, she and Michael were chatting every evening.
"I found myself anticipating his messages and those notifications on my phone, and that's when I realized that I was starting to fall for him," she recalls.
Their messages turned into video chats and phone calls, and she and Michael discovered that they shared a passion for country music, food, adventure, and family.
Kelly adds, "It was his smile, the way he spoke about his faith and his family, and his strength of character that hooked me."
Literal cheese made for our favorite memory.
When Michael walked Kelly to her car that afternoon, she felt sure that she had found someone whom she could cherish. Michael felt the same way.
"It did not take Michael and me long to discover that we share similar values. We had both been seeking life partners who we could grow with spiritually. As Michael opened his heart to me, I knew that he was the one I wanted to adventure with through life," she says.
Both Michael and Kelly enjoy sharing new experiences. One of their favorite dating stories involves their second anniversary.
"Most couples go out for a nice dinner or maybe go dancing. Michael surprised me with a full-day cheese-making course" she says. "We spent a lovely Saturday with a master cheese-maker who taught us about the history of cheese making and walked us through each step in the cheese-making process. We both also had the opportunity to make a two-pound wheel of smoked gouda. At the risk of sounding 'cheesy,' it was just the perfect day!"
Kelly appreciates how Michael thinks outside of the box. "He's so down to earth and is always up to try something different. There's no new adventure that we will not attempt as long as we're together!"
It's time for an adventure within an adventure.
On June 23, 2019, Michael and Kelly were enjoying a wonderful weekend with some friends in Pennsylvania. Michael set up an ATV scavenger hunt around his friend's property for Kelly that morning.
"The last stop was in front of a beautiful pond. Michael's adorable godson, Alexander, walked up to the two of us while we were chatting by the water. He was holding a little black ring box, and when I saw that, I started to bawl," Kelly remembers.
"Michael got down on one knee and asked me to join him for a lifetime of adventures. Needless to say, I said, 'Yes!' Our amazing family and friends hosted a beautiful surprise engagement party and shared in our joy with us that afternoon."
Kelly and Michael will exchange vows on August 29, 2020. They're planning a day that reflects their faith and sense of adventure.
