Chris and I met through CatholicMatch.com.  The first time we communicated was on December 14th, 2023 when I answered a message that he sent me.  The December 14th message was actually the second message that he sent me.  What happened was that I had started to give up on CatholicMatch, and hadn't been logging in very often.  When I read his message I was so glad that he had tried one more time and sent me a second message, because I hadn't seen the first one.  Divine intervention?  I think it was :)  Once I read his messages I could tell he was a really nice guy.  And, of course, very cute.  I am so blessed.

Our first date...The picture posted here is an actual picture that I took during our first date.  What I remember most was that Chris was so sweet.  When we said goodnight, he gave me a giant bear hug and a pair of drumsticks which have our names and the date we first communicated on them.   I will forever cherish those drumsticks. 

I knew pretty early on that I was going to ask Catherine to marry me.  I thought about how I should go about doing this.  I really didn’t know where to start.  Catherine and I often spend part of our weekends in Huntington Bay.  I grew up in South Huntington and Catherine has relatives in Halesite.  We enjoy walking through Heckscher Park.  I have great memories of running a remote control boat in the pond with my Dad.  I would propose to Catherine in Heckscher Park.  I was given my Mother’s wedding ring by my Dad.  He told me he hoped I would get to use it someday.  When I put the ring on Catherine’s finger, I came to realize my Mom had very thin fingers!  One of the videos in the gallery shows us at Gemelli Jewelers, having the ring re-sized.  They did a fantastic job.  Now when we spend time in Huntington we sit on our favorite bench and talk about our future together.

My Beloved Catherine,

I am so blessed to have you as my future wife.  I thank God every day.  I am so in awe of what a strong person you are.  Your faith in Jesus is such an inspiration to me.  I promise to keep God at the center of our relationship.  I promise to support you as you engage in your career.  I will be a good listener when your work becomes a source of frustration.  I will remain flexible in our ongoing distance challenges and will always do what is necessary to keep our relationship strong.  Catherine, I love you so much and I am so proud to be your future husband.  I will continue to thank God every day of my life for putting us together. 

Chris and I attended a Catholic Engaged Encounters retreat for our pre-cana instructions which was hosted at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, Long Island.  This place is wondrous. The grounds, the building, and the artwork are magnificent and beautiful.   Here the feeling that God is all around us is strong and clear and undeniable.  We spent 2 days at the seminary attending classes and having private meetings where we discussed our thoughts on each topic.  The instructors reviewed the course material and told us of their own experiences in marriage.  I learned a lot. They coached us on Catholic doctrine of the sacrament of marriage and gave us insights on building a successful marriage together.  I had an amazing weekend with my strong, kind, caring, smart, funny, honorable, and very handsome husband-to-be, and I am very grateful...

First...thank you so much, God, for bringing Chris into my life. I will forever appreciate him and this incredible blessing.

Also...Dear Chris, I will never forget our pre-cana weekend. and I will love you for eternity.