By November 2002, they were separately going through tough times.

Bajar's 53-year-old father had died suddenly the month before, and she was devastated.

Florentin was just feeling restless, unsure whether to return to work in Washington or come back home and go to school.

"I guess we were looking for changes in our lives," he said. "I was at a low point in my life."

The two hadn't seen much of each other since working together years earlier. But one night, Bajar's cousin talked her into going out to the Ocean Club at Restaurant Row, and Florentin and his friends happened to pick the same nightclub. Bajar and Florentin reconnected and exchanged phone numbers, and their courtship took off.

Almost immediately, positive things started happening for Florentin. He relocated to Hawai'i and accepted a job as a respiratory therapist at Tripler Army Medical Center. He re-enrolled in school and graduated. And he began to realize his relationship with Bajar was more than a casual romance. He wanted to spend all his time with her.

Bajar introduced him to travel to places such as Australia and Mexico, and Florentin took her on spontaneous outings, such as when he asked her last April to go with him to the Wedding Expo.

"Why would you want to go to that?" Bajar asked.

He told her it was "just for fun," but he paid attention when Bajar browsed engagement rings on display. He ordered the one she slipped on her finger and admired. He had a plan: He'd propose to Bajar at Walt Disney World when they went to Florida that May for her family reunion.

But first, he planned to follow Filipino tradition and ask her mother for permission to marry her. He figured out a time when Bajar wouldn't be home, but he had a hard time getting Bajar's mother to get off the phone, so he pulled out the ring and immediately sent the family rumor mill in a frenzy. She gave him permission, and Florentin went off to her family reunion on the Mainland keeping a tight grip on the engagement ring in his pocket.

For days, he waited for the right time to propose, but none of it worked out as he planned. With some prompting from his soon-to-be relatives, he placed the ring on her plate next to a piece of cake, as the family celebrated her cousin's birthday. Florentin got down on his knee and proposed, and Bajar forgot for a moment that she was standing there in her pajamas.

The extended family reunited again Dec. 18 at Immaculate Conception Church in 'Ewa Beach for a traditional Catholic wedding with some Filipino customs, including sponsors who acted as witnesses to the marriage, a unity candle, cord and veil and 13 coins, or "arrhae," as a sign of the groom's dedication to his wife's well-being and the welfare of their future children.

A reception followed at the Hale Koa Hotel, where the bride and groom gave their 250 guests CDs of their favorite love songs, heart-shaped cocktail glasses and cookie cutters.

Florentin said he and his bride are a good match.

"I'm the more serious, assertive one and Meredith's the more outgoing and sociable one," he said. "Together we balance each other out."

The bride, now Meredith Bajar Florentin, said she feels as if her late father, Raymundo Bajar, played a part in bringing them together. She remembers going to his gravesite and praying that things would get better.

"The next thing you know, Raymund calls me and asks me out on a second date," she recalled.

Since their wedding, they've faced other family challenges, such as postponing their honeymoon to help Florentin's parents recover from a serious car accident. They say it's helped them grow stronger in their faith, commitment and loyalty.

"He's always concerned about family, and I feel even closer than before," the bride said. "I guess from previous relationships, I can say that being friends before jumping into a relationship is much more rewarding than jumping in real quick."