William, 43, asked Beth, 52, to meet him in person only two days after getting in touch with her on CatholicMatch. They had a phone conversation for hours, and as they both lived near Ventura Harbor, California, he decided not to waste any time. "Her living so close made it more realistic," William said.
Beth remembered thinking that she would feel safe with him. She read on his profile that his brother and retired father were both members of the police department, and thought that was a very good sign. “I thought, okay, why not?”
They met on a Saturday afternoon to go kayaking together. "It was warm enough to get out on the water," William said, "And I thought about how we could get on a two-person kayak and work together. You're focused on the activity itself, and the scenery around you, so there's not a lot of pressure versus going to a restaurant and sitting at a table. You're actually busy with an activity and that's a good thing."
During the date, a sailboat passed by that took William by surprise. It was a boat named St. Jude, who is William's confirmation saint.
"It was out of the ordinary. Of all the sailboats in the harbor, this was the only one that had any sort of religious bearing of any sort. Being that it was named after St. Jude, I knew it meant something," said William. He took a picture and sent it to his family, and two days later he brought Beth home to meet the parents.
William had always been a bit skeptical of marriage, having noticed many people getting divorced within two to five years of their wedding. But his views changed when he met Beth. "When I met her, I knew I could have 100% confidence in it," he said.
Beth knew when she met his family that he was the one. “I was so honored to meet them after such a short amount of time,” she added. His parents also fell in love with her right away, loving her passionate faith.
William told Beth that he knew he was going to marry her someday, but she had no idea if that would be one year, two years, or three years down the road.
"I knew she was Catholic and would be a good wife—very kind, caring, and loving," said William.
About a month into their relationship, William was with Beth while she was Skyping with her mother. Beth is Filipino, and her mother still lives in the Philippines. Her mother asked William what his intentions were. "I said, 'Well, I'm going to marry her,'" William remembered.
Beth was surprised and pleased that William was going the traditional route. Even after the brief Skype meeting, Beth’s mother gave her blessing.
While planning his proposal, William thought of a few different ways to surprise Beth. "I could have done it in a hot air balloon, or on the beach, but I thought that the place wasn't as important—what was more important was who was around to share it," he said.
He proposed at his parent's house on September 26, 2012 in front of his mom and dad. “I was shocked!” said Beth. She had no idea when the proposal was coming—and neither did William's mother. It was a surprise for both of them, although William's dad knew he was going to pop the question.
"I wasn't sure if she was going to say yes because she didn't say anything for a good 60 seconds," remembered William. "The ring that I bought her was really nice."
On September 28, 2013, almost exactly one year after the proposal, the two were married at a church in Simi Valley, California by a Filipino priest. "I knew that if I gave her my heart forever, she would absolutely return the same thing," William said.
