A SECOND CHANCE at the RIGHT TIME
IT ALL BEGAN WITH puppy love for RAFFY RAMOS and DIANNE CATANIAG. They may have been classmates back in high school, but the two did not have any background of closeness before that fateful day at a local sports festival. As Dianne was headed towards a table tennis competition, Raffy jokingly quipped that he would miss Dianne and proceeded to ask her group of friends if he could start courting her. Until their college years, Raffy continued to pursue Dianne, driving from his school in Taft all the way to hers in Malolos just to pick her up. This back-and-forth went on for three years, but eventually the distance took its toll on the young couple, and they both started to see other people. Recalls Dianne, “[The breakup] was a painful one to the point that I didn’t want to even see him ever again.”
Eventually, the intervention of a common friend served to bridge the gap between the former couple. But it didn’t lead to the rekindling of their abruptly-ended romance just yet. Somehow, the timing was just never right for the two of them. Either it was Dianne who was in a relationship when Raffy was single or vice versa. At that point, a strictly platonic friendship was their only way of being in each other’s lives.
INSPIRATIONS FOR WEDDINGS ONLINE MAGAZINE l VOLUME 6 ISSUE 11 l pp 106 - 108
A decade after their split, the stars finally aligned for the two, and they decided to give their love another chance. Once they started dating again, they found their friends were supportive at their renewed attempts. And during this time, Dianne prayed hard for a sign: If ever Raffy was the one for her, then their love would always find a way. While she wished for them to end up together, she rarely spoke to Raffy about it, instead preferring to let things happen naturally.
While attending weddings together as guests, Raffy would often speak in jest with his buddies about his own wedding with Dianne coming up next. But skeptical Dianne didn’t think much of it as a proposal didn’t seem to be happening in the immediate future for them.
On April 23, 2016, Raffy finally popped the question in a way that Dianne found incredibly special. He presented her with a lovely engagement ring, a family gem no less! The bride finally got her confirmation that their second chance was truly meant to be. She shares, “I am so thankful that, after all these years, he is still the one for me. He is my first love, my true love, and—with God’s will—my last.”
INSPIRATIONS FOR WEDDINGS ONLINE MAGAZINE l VOLUME 6 ISSUE 11 l pp 106 - 108
