Colin mostly grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. But his Dad was in the Navy so he moved around a bit too. Sofia was born in El Salvador, but had to leave the country at age 12 due to rising violence. She grew up in Victoria, Texas and moved to Houston to start her career. Both we're interested in dating but we're taking things slow. They thought about marriage but wanted to focus on other things in life first. Colin worked for a few companies when he was younger and eventually changed careers to become a photographer and trailguide. Sofia worked in various companies after college and eventually started a career at Toshiba. Both weren't sure about starting a serious relationship. Both were focused on other things. Until just the right time...

So, when they both got serious about dating, they both turned to a very modern solution - online dating! Because both of them took religion seriously, they decided to use CatholicMatch.com. However, at this time, Colin was still in Hawaii. He was browsing local profiles but was disappointed at the small number of people available. He also decided that in the long-term, Hawaii might be a difficult place to raise a family. He therefore decided to move to the mainland, to start a new life and search for his true love!

Sofia was hesitant about dating online, but her friends at work convinced her it was a good idea. She decided to create a profile but wasn't really sure if she would meet anyone interesting.

Colin moved to Utah because his sister lived there. He starting browsing online profiles in the area. But Utah was kind of a small state too and he couldn't find many people either. So he decided to expand his search. He tried some of the surrounding states. He video chatted with some people but nothing really promising. He thought about searching for people in Texas but it seemed so big and so far away... He avoided it several times. But eventually, he decided to give it a try.

Colin happened across Sofia's profile and gave it a like. He thought she was pretty and was impressed by her religious devotion. Colin sent a message to start a conversation. A lot of times the profiles are inactive or the messages are ignored. But this time, Sofia replied!

It's hard to tell what someone is like over text messaging so Colin tried to push for a video chat. And Sofia agreed! But Colin didn't know how it would go. He still didn't really have a good sense of who Sofia was. And thought this could be another random video date like the ones he's had in the past.

Within the first 15 minutes Colin knew. Colin knew she was the one. I guess it was love at first sight? But in the modern age, it was love at first video call :) Colin had met many people through photography and being a trailguide. He was used to forming connections with people. Some connections were light and temporary; others were polite and formal. Colin felt a deep connection with Sofia right away. He knew this was something real.

In the months that followed they had many more video calls. Sometimes they talked weekly; sometimes they talked bi-weekly. They learned quite a lot about each other! You learn a lot about someone when you stare at them for 2 hours and talk about yourself! So they were getting to know each other very well.

After a few months of talking, Colin was ready to take the next step. He decided to go visit Sofia down in Texas. His parents were concerned he was making a rash decision. But Colin knew. So he made hotel reservations and booked a ticket to Houston. They met for the first time on April 20th, 2024. They decided to meet at a local park in Houston. This is a picture taken on that day:

The connection they felt over the video call was the same in real life! They both loved spending time with each other. They spent most of that first day together. Since Colin was only there for about 10 days, they felt like they had to do a lot. However, on about day 3, Colin got very sick with the stomach flu. He moved hotels and was spent the day lying in bed with intense stomach pain. But Sofia was kind and brought him lots of soup, crackers, and medicine. Colin appreciated her very much for this!

After a few days Colin recovered, and they still had time for numerous dates. Here are two pictures from those dates:

After the trip was over Colin went back to Utah. He told his parents he had met the love of his life and he was moving to Texas! (he didn't quite use those words but he kind of half-told them this). His parents were a little flabbergasted that things were moving so quickly. But Colin was convinced. So he packed up his car with his stuff, and drove down to Texas.

Moving to Texas was a big risk. Colin had planned to start a career as a wedding photographer but he didn't have a lot of experience. So when he got to Texas, he had a lot of work to do! But things started to work out. Colin began to get business and Sofia and Colin got to go on a lot more dates! Here are some pictures from those first months together:

After about a year of dating, Colin knew it was time. He lured Sofia into a photoshoot at a garden estate. And when there.. he popped the question.

And she said yes! And now, on September 20th, 2025, Colin and Sofia will become husband and wife.