A friend recommended Tommy's Auto Body in Waipahu, but Ragaza, a townie, didn't want to drive to the Leeward side to scout it out.

So when she got body shop owner Joseph Miao on the phone, she asked if he made house calls to give estimates.

Normally, Miao doesn't.

And it wasn't really Ragaza's voice that swayed him. He thought she sounded like an older woman, older than her 30s.

But, for some reason, Miao agreed to come out on New Year's Day and take a look. Then he forgot all about it, until Ragaza called him that day to remind him.

So they met in a parking lot on the first day of 2000.

"We ended up talking for hours," Ragaza said.

Miao chalks it up to fate. Something made him go out and do something out of the ordinary and make a connection with a stranger.

"She called me the very next day," he said, "asking: 'Where do I put the oil in my car?' "

Ragaza admits she found car excuses to call him. And Miao, who lived in Kunia at the time, admits he'd drive into town, call her and say he just happened to be in the neighborhood, and invite her to dinner. Their friendship blossomed to romance.

Miao began stocking mints in her car for her. He kept her favorite wine (a Riesling by Robert Mondavi) in the fridge. When she was sick, he'd run to Long's and buy an assortment of cold medicines that "sounded like they would help," Ragaza said.

And each time Ragaza, 38, an assistant store manager at a sports shop in Waikiki, worked a night shift, Miao would meet her promptly at 7 p.m. for her dinner break.

When he would stay at her place, 36-year-old Miao remembers Ragaza doing thoughtful things, like setting out his toothbrush with toothpaste on it just before he stepped into the bathroom.

"She's a cute person," he said. "She makes me happy. We just clicked."

Ragaza began to realize it was more than a casual romance when it dawned on her that she wanted to spend all of her time with him. They had picnics, went to the beach and traveled together.

"I didn't feel like I was losing my identity, independence or freedom," she said. He was just unlike any man she had ever met.

One birthday, he surprised her with a Star of Honolulu dinner cruise, remembered to bring medicine so she wouldn't get seasick, and he rented a suite at the Hawaii Prince Hotel. There, he made a trail of Hershey's Kisses to the tub, where there were long-stem roses and a card that said: "I'll kiss the ground you walk on and shower you with roses."

One Valentine's Day, he seat-belted a life-size teddy bear in the passenger seat of her car, along with a card and a box of chocolates.

And when it came time to propose, he went to her parents first to ask for her hand, and then invited the parents to dinner to be there at Palomino's when the waiter came out with the heart-shaped diamond engagement ring on the dessert tray.

Miao, a McKinley High School grad who is mechanically inclined and handy around the house, married Ragaza, a Roosevelt grad and self-proclaimed "party girl" who doesn't like to get dirty, on Sept. 26 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

The setting had a contemporary Asian feel, complete with rose curtains flanking the altar, red paper lanterns, bamboo vases, red and fuchsia roses, Chinese paper parasols, red candles and swan ice sculptures. The bride and groom gave their 200 guests mochi candy favors — sticky to symbolize their togetherness and sweet to represent a good relationship. The five-layer wedding cake was decorated with roses and a rhinestone tiara. And the bride changed from her strapless, long-trained dress to an elegant gown for the reception.

They didn't have a gift registry, because the bride and groom don't cook, and they didn't want a stocked kitchen. Besides, they had just renovated their apartment with new furnishings.

Instead of having guests ring bells or tap their silverware against a glass to request a kiss from the bride and groom, they had their guests shout out "Meow," the pronunciation of their last name. The celebration was full of cat calls.

They dedicated their first dance, "Moon River," to the bride's parents, who danced to the same song 39 years ago at their own wedding.

"I never thought I would get married," said the bride, now Valerie Ragaza-Miao. "With Joseph, it wasn't even a question. It was just kind of assumed."

The groom says he doesn't know why he met her at the right place at the right time, but he would like their story to be an inspiration for others.

"Somebody is out there that fits perfectly," he said. "I never thought there was until I met her."