Once Upon A Time…

This is the true story of two people looking for love. A story containing all the elements of a fairytale: a knight in shining armor on his galliant white stallion, a benevolent Princess sent to rescue her Prince Charming, and an ambulance ride to the emergency room that would change their lives forever. Okay, perhaps this isn’t your typical fairytale, but this isn’t your typical love story. This is our story.

Sitting home alone on Christmas Eve, Charles was feeling sorry for himself. He had been on the dating scene for some time and had encountered a lot of wonderful people, but something was missing: a spark. That undeniable connection that occurs when Cupid unleashes love’s arrow. Although Charles wasn’t having any trouble meeting people, he decided to expand his search by entering the online dating scene. By enrolling in as many dating services as possible, he believed he would increase his odds of finding someone special. “I joined all of the popular services and was meeting more people than ever.” Little did Charles know, his foray into the online dating scene would be very short lived.

Across town Kelsi had been looking for love as well, but had yet to meet anyone with whom she really connected. She was a single mother who had recently moved back to the area to be near family while raising her young daughter. Being a bit shy, Kelsi decided online dating would be a good way for her to meet others and get to know them before meeting face-to-face. Up until now she hadn’t been having any success with the online dating scene. As luck would have it, that was about to change.

Charles decided that his Christmas gift to himself would be a renewed subscription to eHarmony. After recounting some of his most successful matches, he realized that eHarmony had paired him with the most interesting and like-minded people. Perhaps there was something to those 29 dimensions of compatibility? Almost immediately Charles received new matches, and almost as fast he received his first communication from Kelsi. “I admit that at first I maintained a bit of skepticism, and my normal ‘play it cool’ attitude required that I wait a couple of days before responding.” said Charles. Yet Kelsi didn’t seem to play by these same rules, for as soon as Charles would reply there would be a response from her in what seemed like only minutes. Charles recalls, “During our first open communication, I was immediately struck that I had found someone who put as much effort and thought into their responses as I did!”

Kelsi remembers being matched with Charles, “When I first saw Chuck’s profile, I looked at his pictures and saw a man with a wonderful smile and bright eyes. These two qualities have always attracted me, so I was intrigued enough to look further. I noticed many things I liked, especially how he was looking for someone special. I could tell he was looking for a serious relationship. I initiated communication, and was disappointed when I didn’t hear anything back that same day. Two days later, I received his reply and was happy to discover he was interested in me as well and how much we had in common.”

After several weeks of emails, Charles and Kelsi planned their first date. At this point they already knew they connected well in several different areas, but how would they feel when they first saw one another? Charles explains, “As she arrived, I leaned over to direct her where to park and got my first glimpse of her. Immediately my heart sunk deep in my chest and I began feeling butterflies. Kelsi was stunning. Absolutely beautiful.” Kelsi’s reaction? “That night, when we met, he says it was love at first sight. I wasn’t so quick to act. I knew I really liked him, but it took a few more hours for me to realize that I was going to marry him.” After a romantic dinner, Charles and Kelsi chose to go ice skating only to find the ice rink closed. Not wanting to end the night so soon, they decided to return to Charles’ house and watch a movie. However, it wasn’t until after the movie did they really begin to talk and truly discover each other and the future started to reveal itself. “We talked all night about our lives, our interests, and our goals and dreams. We both realized by the end of the evening we would spend the rest of our lives together.”

Their relationship grew, and before long Charles started planning a proposal. “I devised a plan to propose to Kelsi as her knight in shining armor.” Given that he had never ridden a horse before, Charles began taking riding lessons at a local stable. Everything was going according to plan until finally the big day came. Charles called Kelsi and told her his car had broken down and asked for her to come help. In reality, he had given her directions to the stables. Before she was to arrive he was going through a final run-through when the horse spooked and took off running. Apparently the horse had been frightened by the clinging and clattering sounds of the suit of armor. Being a novice rider, Charles was unable to hold on and was thrown head first into a concrete barrier. The helmet split in half and Charles received several deep cuts and a mild concussion. It wasn’t long before sirens gave way to the arrival of an ambulance.

As Charles was being wheeled into the emergency room, dazed and with a deep gash in his ear, he saw Kelsi by his side. By this time she had figured what was supposed to happen, and told him he could delay his plan for another time. Charles told her that he wasn’t about to wait any longer, and as he tried to sit up from his hospital bed he drew the ring from his pocket. As Kelsi leaned closer, Charles looked into her eyes and asked her, “Will you marry me?” “Of course!” she replied. The entire emergency room erupted into a cheering crowd.

The next several months were amazing. Charles and Kelsi couldn’t wait to be married and anxiously planned a beautiful beachside wedding on June 17, 2006. They shared a magical honeymoon in Hawaii on the islands of Oahu and Maui.

And they lived happily ever after…