“I read his profile, and when I saw he was a widower, my heart went out to him,” shares Catherine about her now husband, Tony. “I thought about how difficult it must have been to lose the love of your life and want to start dating again. I knew I wanted to meet Tony immediately.”
In April 2014, Tony, 52, reached out to Catherine, 56, whose first marriage was annulled. He was attracted to her profile because she “appeared friendly and warm in her picture,” says Tony. Once he viewed her profile, he also liked that she seemed to have a strong relationship with God and a close relationship with her family.
In addition to her sympathy for his situation, Catherine was also attracted to his photo and profile, “He had a nice smile, and I could tell he was a considerate, thoughtful man. His approach was respectful, and I liked that.”
There was an argument during their first date, but it wasn’t theirs.
Two days later, Catherine and Tony, who live about twenty-five minutes away from each other in Southern California, met for the first time at a Starbucks. “It was going to be a short date, but we ended up talking for hours,” says Tony. Not even the two guys sitting near them, who were heatedly arguing with each other, could interrupt their conversation.
At the end of the date, Tony gave Catherine a beautiful blue rosary, which he had bought at The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. Later that same week, the couple went out for a second date.
“We knew then that we had the beginnings of a lovely relationship,” says Catherine.
Tony adds, “We were exclusive with each other from the beginning. We knew it was special.”
Every weekend after, Tony took Catherine out, and if they were lucky, they would sometimes meet for lunch during the week as well. Catherine describes how much of a gentleman Tony is:
“He always drove to pick me up, opened the car door for me, handed me my seat belt,” and she adds, “We dated as friends for two months before we kissed.”
The couple also used their free time getting to know each other's families—who warmly accepted both of them—and attending Mass together.
The beach, photographers, and John Legend
A year and a half after they started dating, Tony planned a surprise proposal for Catherine.
“He told me he was taking me to enjoy the sunset on the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” says Catherine. But Tony had bigger plans for her. “I hired photographers to be waiting at the proposal location, a park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Palos Verdes in Southern California.”
The couple stopped at Abalone Cove and walked down to the cliff. When they got to the beach, Catherine saw rose petals in the shape of a heart and their song, John Legend's "All of Me,” played in the background.
“He walked me toward the heart and got down on his right knee and proposed. We then drank champagne and took pictures. Afterward, we celebrated and had an unforgettable dinner at Terranea's Mar'sel restaurant overlooking the ocean,” remembers Catherine.
“The photographers captured it all,” adds Tony.
A wedding miracle
“Our wedding came out just as we liked,” says the couple, who were married on December 3rd, 2016 at Catherine’s parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Hermosa Beach, where Catherine sings in the choir. “Several choir members attended the wedding and sang; it was a beautiful service,” says Tony.
They couple were also blessed by the presence of family. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, they were unsure if Catherine’s mother would be able to attend due to her medical conditions.
“Due to a miracle, she did attend,” exclaim the couple.
You can see more of their beautiful wedding by watching their sixty-second wedding video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOnkcf2DYM0/
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