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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, October 9, 2005

Class delivered on Dad's advice

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Felsever Sepada and Genevieve Montano

I Do Wedding Photography

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The main reason Felsever Sepada took a confirmation class at St. Theresa's School back in 1994 was to meet chicks.

Little did he know he would wind up with a wife.

"My friend told me, 'You gotta meet the girls there,' " said Sepada, 30, a sales consultant with Kaimuki Toyota.

One in particular: Genevieve Montano, who was helping to teach the class.

"I was really attracted to her," Sepada said. "She has this look that never gets tired. She looks good no matter what."

Montano was going to be a senior at Maryknoll School; Sepada had just graduated from Farrington High School. The two became quick friends.

"He was so funny," said Montano, 28, operations coordinator at HMSA. "He made me laugh all the time."

That summer they went to the movies and to grad parties with their mutual friends. On the ride to one grad party, Sepada leaned over and asked Montano to be his girlfriend.

"I think we should date first," she responded. And that was that.

Montano wasn't sure if Sepada really liked her. He had been seeing someone else, too.

Then, at his grad party in July, he made it clear who he wanted to be with. After sharing the first dance with his mother, Sepada walked over and chose Montano for his second.

"I couldn't believe it," Montano said, laughing.

On Sept. 4, 2004, she finally had an answer for him.

While driving to a beach party, the song, "I'd Still Say Yes" by Klymaxx, came on the radio. She looked over at him and said, "Yes."

"I was like, 'What?' " Sepada said. "I didn't get it at first."

Ten years later — exactly to the day — the couple married at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in front of 65 guests.

They knew they wanted to get married in Vegas after their first trip there with friends in October 2002. And that's when the topic of marriage became more than just a fleeting thought.

"I told him wouldn't it be funny if we got married at the Monte Carlo, because that's his favorite car," Montano said. "Then he said, 'Go plan it.' I was like, 'Are you serious?' And he said, 'Yeah, go plan it.' "

So she did.

And even though their wedding plans were in the works, Sepada was still nervous about officially proposing during dinner one night at Roy's Restaurant in Hawai'i Kai.

"I knew we were going to get married, but I was still sweating bricks," Sepada said.

During dinner, he told Montano his co-workers were playing a game at work, where you had to figure out what three seemingly uncommon things had in common. She wanted to play.

He asked her what wrestling, Thanksgiving and Alcatraz have in common.

The answer was "rock." (The Rock is a former pro wrestler; the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and "The Rock" is a nickname for Alcatraz Island.) His plan was to wait for her to say she didn't know before putting the ring box on the table and asking, "Does this help?" But she figured out the answer in one guess.

"I ruined it," Montano said, laughing.

Marriage hasn't changed their relationship as much as buying a home has.

Earlier this year, the couple bought a two-bedroom townhouse in Mililani. They had been living together at Sepada's family home in Waipahu for a couple of years before making the leap into home ownership.

Now, instead of going to clubs or sports bars every weekend, they hunker down at home, watching videos and playing with their two dogs, Karley and Kayla.

They both work two jobs to pay bills and save up for their second "big purchase" — having kids.

"I think the secret to being together for so long is that we're not together all the time," Montano said. "We're not joined at the hip. We don't fight or nitpick. The time we have together is special."

And the fact that this all started at church doesn't surprise Sepada at all.

"My dad always said if you want to find a good girl, find one at church," he said. "And I did."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.