ONJU and NADINE’s Persistent Love
THE STORY STARTS WHEN ONJU REYES and NADINE CUISIA first met at a community retreat back in 2002. According to the groom, his future bride already caught his eye. However, the timing wasn’t quite right as his friend was actually courting Nadine. But as fate would have it, they became close friends anyway.
It was 2004 when Onju left for Canada…for good. Though their story seemed just about over, technology and social media made frequent communication between the pair possible. Fast forward to 2013: Nadine started flying internationally for the country’s flag carrier airline. That gave her the opportunity to travel to different countries, and the two arranged to meet in Toronto two years later during a flight layover.
INSPIRATIONS FOR WEDDINGS ONLINE MAGAZINE l VOLUME 6 ISSUE 11 l pp 148
While 11 years went by without Onju and Nadine being physically present for each other, that continuous communication cemented their bond. Meeting in person only helped to strengthen Onju’s realization that he and Nadine would be a match made in heaven. So when she got back to Manila from that layover flight, Onju sent her a series of text messages detailing the slow and steady building of his feeling for her over the years. It then took a month of courtship to finally win Nadine’s heart, and the pair was officially a couple!
Their romance culminated on August 23, 2015, in a land far, far away from where the whole thing started: San Francisco! Nadine and her son, Nate, were in the Golden Gate locale with family and friends. Little did she know that Onju flew in the same day she did! That sunny Sunday afternoon found Nadine and Nate at her sister Meggy’s party. After 5pm, Nadine heard the roar of a jet plane’s engine and looked up to see “I <3 YOU NADINE. WILL YOU MARRY ME?”
After a moment’s pause, it dawned on her that the writing on the sky was no coincidence. It was Onju’s proposal! To top it all off, she was so surprised to find Onju standing right behind her with a bouquet of flowers and a box of her favorite chocolates. Onju proceeded to sing and dance to Bruno Mars’ Marry You to Nadine, and her sister, brother-in-law and cousins started dancing behind him in flash mob fashion. (Yes, even the choreography was done through different cities, from Toronto, New York, and San Francisco!) It’s finally official, they were engaged! Their love conquered time and distance. Their love prevailed.
