There was a blizzard and he was at least an hour away.
Cammie, 20, told him that they could reschedule their first date.
Patrick, 29, couldn’t wait.
Since his own car wouldn’t be able to make the trip, he had to borrow his father’s truck, which had four-wheel drive. “The reason I was so determined to go, despite the blizzard, is because I was very attracted to her because of getting to know her via CatholicMatch chatting and text messages. I liked everything about her and so I was determined not to miss our first date, and I certainly do not regret doing so,” Patrick recalled.
Patrick arrived and the date went on as planned. Besides the blizzard, it also was the first Sunday of February 2015, which meant that the Superbowl was playing, but Patrick and Cammie weren’t interested since their team, the Green Bay Packers, wasn’t in it. Instead, they went bowling.
Afterwards, they went to Mass together. “No second option for us, that’s number one,” Cammie said.
At that point, Patrick and Cammie had planned on parting ways. “Neither of us wanted the date to end,” Cammie said. “So I quickly thought of a nicer—but cheap—restaurant to take him to so we didn’t have to say goodbye yet.”
Eventually, Cammie drove Patrick back to the park-and-ride where he had left the car. “I drove because I knew the town a bit better and I’m not good at giving directions. Plus, he had just driven all that way just to see me. He was fine with that,” Cammie said.
And still they could not bring themselves to end their first date. They sat in Cammie’s car talking for a long time. “Eventually we agreed he should leave so he can get back safely, we leaned over to give each other a hug, and before we knew it we were kissing fairly passionately, and it was wonderful,” Cammie said.
Patrick described the day as a “most excellent first date and first kiss.”
The three-day blizzard would end up dumping as much as a foot of snow in some places along the Lake Michigan side of Wisconsin where they lived, but by the time they said goodbye, Cammie can’t remember whether the storm was still raging. “I was too focused on him,” she said.
Not finding success online ... at first
At the prodding of her mother, Cammie first tried to join CatholicMatch when she was 16 but was told she could not be allowed to use the site until she was 18. She got back on when she was 19.
“The second time I joined it was more because I didn’t really have a way of meeting anyone
new other than online. I tried others like ChristianMingle and other weird free ones mostly because I didn’t have money,” Cammie said, adding that she also tried others until she was eligible for CatholicMatch.
“After I was on, I didn’t pay for a subscription right away until my Mom actually did for me. ChristianMingle was OK but I couldn’t find any Catholics and that was something that is really important for me.”
Cammie was on the site as a subscriber for just a few weeks before she came across Patrick (who says he had no reservations about joining an online dating site).
Nothing about his profile itself caught her eye. Instead, it was his interview questions like What do you believe about hell? (Cammie said that it’s a “real place”) and What is love? (she pointed to the example of Christ on the cross).
Patrick says he was drawn to her because of her personality and “gentle disposition.”
Cammie wasn't initially attracted to Patrick
They started to talk, sharing their stories and continuing to ask questions. Both felt a “deeper desire” to know each other and meet in person. Though Cammie was not yet attracted to Patrick she said he had piqued her curiosity and the two set a date two weeks after meeting online.
It quickly became serious. One month in they were already talking about marriage, Cammie recalled. By two months, Patrick says he was sure she was the one for him.
Nearly nine months later, he proposed during a trip to New York City. The timing of the proposal came as no surprise to Cammie (since he had already “spilled the beans” beforehand, Cammie said.) But where he did it was a surprise: at St. Patrick’s Cathedral during the consecration of the Eucharist.
“I had no idea that he’d do it during Mass like that,” Cammie said. “I thought knowing when he’d do it, where he’d do it, and seeing the ring beforehand would take away from the surprise and feeling, but it didn’t even in the slightest. It was perfect.”
Advice for those still waiting to meet their match
Patrick’s advice for those still waiting to meet their match: pray and be patient. “If it is to be, God will make it happen in His time,” he said.
Cammie emphasizes the importance of honesty in profiles. “You don’t have to disclose everything in the profile, but don’t sugarcoat yourself,” she said. “Creating your own survey questions also helps you stick out a little more,” she added.
A small Christmas wedding
The two were married a week before that Christmas at a small wedding attended by close family.
“So now I am happily married, and have a wonderful man by my side. We may run into issues along the road, but we both hold marriage as such a high value, we will never ever divorce each other. We truly mean ‘Till death do us part’ and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Cammie said.
Now several months into their marriage Cammie says when issues surrounding disagreements and stresses come up, they work through it. She says one way she calmly deals with conflict is to write a letter. “That way we don’t blow up and we hear each other out completely,” she said.
Patrick added: “Love is not a feeling. It is choosing to love … even when you don’t feel like it. To choose her again and again every day. Even if she does something that annoys you or bugs you. You won’t always feel that euphoria in a relationship. If you did, your body wouldn’t be able to handle it. But you should feel at peace in the decision of choosing her forever.”
