They Wanted to Get Married ASAP

It took Elaine four years on CatholicMatch to find Mr. Right.

But once she met him, their relationship sped off like a shot.

Before CatholicMatch brought Rich into her life, Elaine endured a difficult eleven-year marriage and ended up raising her son on her own. After she filed for divorce, the Catholic Church annulled her marriage in seven months.

"The priest told me my marriage was so bad [that] receiving an annulment was a 'slam dunk'," Elaine shares.

Rich's first marriage lasted nearly 30 years before his wife died. She had been in poor health for half of the marriage. Six months after her death, Rich felt ready to get on with his life by joining CatholicMatch. After two months on the site, he met Elaine, who came up as one of his matches. He fell head-over-heels for her and spontaneously popped the question after only two months. 

"I found everything about Elaine attractive," Rich reveals.

Eager to get married!

Elaine had previously prayed a novena asking God to help her find a "great husband." She felt like Rich was the answer to her prayers. "I could see Rich was a jewel from the start," she says. "It was clear that he was a good man who could be trusted."

They clicked from the beginning, so Rich and Elaine felt eager to get married as soon as possible. However, their priest put the brakes on their plans and asked them to wait the standard six months.

He told them, "Every couple I've married quickly ended in a divorce." 

The parish priest was not the only one recommending caution. Rich and Elaine's family members also wanted them to slow down the pace of the relationship. Some felt surprised and even shocked by the turn of events.

"My relatives were concerned that Rich and I were moving too fast," she recalls.

They were unrestrained by typical wedding conventions.

Planning a wedding later in life felt different and a little comical for the couple. "It's pretty funny to shop for a wedding dress when you're almost 60 years!" she explains. "The Tux rental for Rich was funny too. I could see they thought we were parents of the bride. You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them I was the bride and Rich was the groom!"

Being older, Elaine, 58, and Rich, 64, didn't feel constrained by typical wedding conventions. They decided to limit their guest list to only friends and family that blessed their lives. "Anyone who had been rude, disrespectful, or mean to us in the past, we left out," they say. "So, some relatives, and a few so-called 'friends' were not invited. That's the good part about being an older couple. We didn't need to cater to bosses or tip toe around relative's feelings."

Elaine and Rich were married on April 22, 2016, in Glenwood Springs, CO. at St. Stephens Catholic Church. Those friends and family who attended the wedding joked that Rich and Elaine should have eloped. "We had several relatives that had to fly from the east or west coast with several plane transfers," she says.

And, an unconventional honeymoon!

The couple decided to spend their honeymoon looking for a new place to live. To complicate matters, they also enlarged their family by buying a cat and a 75 lb. dog.

"The dog is easy going; the cat isn't. It was a challenge to find motels to take our pets," she says.

Elaine and Rich both say married life has been good. They and others think that God put them together. "It's wonderful when God picks out your soulmate," she shares. "I think God matched Rich and I together, using Catholic Match as his instrument. Rich and I aren't identical, but we are highly complementary. Rich and I can get on the same page together very quickly. We understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. We are sensitive to each other's past experiences and sensitive to each other's needs."

Health is their only issue.

They reveal that the biggest challenges in marriage for them are health issues. "We don't have 20-year-old bodies anymore. We are supportive, helpful, considerate, patient, and sensitive to each other's health challenges. The two of us try to approach each other's health with insight, kindness, love, and a sense of humor," they explain.

Elaine and Rich approach their marriage with the same sensitivity that they do their health. Elaine brags that Rich is such a good husband he could write a how-to book about having a happy marriage. 

A beacon of light for others!

Reaching out to members, Elaine hopes that she and Rich's story offers hope to many people. "Just because you're not a kid anymore doesn't mean there isn't a great and wonderful love for you down the road."