I’m in Charlotte today with Marion for the wedding of my friends Jonathan Louie Ong and Marianne Duca (our friend Karena has Haze the Dog–ruff!) and it is the first time that two people who met on the BustedHalo® version of the Charis Retreats have gotten married.
Fr Dave Dwyer is the presider and I’m just so excited.
So there’s always a story…
Jonathan (or JLO as I like to call him) was a member of the retreat team and he had to give the “don’t hook up” speech at the start of the retreat.
Well…that’s a bit harsh. I guess what we say is that if you come on the retreat to meet someone, that’s cool, but it’s not our focus and it might not be anyone else’s focus. I once had a woman come on the retreat because she thought it might be a good place to meet a nice guy (and it is!) and she introduced herself by saying “My name is XX and single men….get in line!”
Awkward silence then ensued. And I initiated this directive talk the next time.
So JLO did a great job. “This is BustedHalo.com® not Match.com. If you meet someone this weekend, that’s great! But that’s not what we’re about! We’re about looking for God in our lives here this weekend.”
Funny, short, simple and to the point.
And then he saw Marianne–who is just a lot of fun and really vivacious and attracted Jonathan right away!
And that speech went straight out the window.
So my darling wife, who loves to match people up had been trying to match Jonathan up a number of times. Months later, Jonathan and Marianne were quietly dating but didn’t tell anyone really. We were all seated at table having dinner together and Marion says,
“Jonathan, I think I know someone I want to fix you up with.”
Marianne: “Wow! Cool! That’s a great idea! Jonathan you should totally do it (giggle).”
Marion: “Wait a second…Are you two DATING?!”
It was then that I jumped up from the table and did a little dance.
“Marion the Matchmaker, my large white buttocks!” I said. “Who’s the matchmaker NOW!?”
I also truly believe that couples dating are always a great sign that a retreat went well.
And so today I will also do a little dance, for love is in the air in Charlotte for a couple who I have come to consider such great friends. Though distance has separated us a bit, this blog, (Believe it or not) has kept us in contact at times.
So congratulations Jonathan and Marianne. God has brought you together with a little help from us at Busted Halo® and may you have dozens of happy years of married life together.
But for now…let’s celebrate and boogie.