Winnie & Derek’s Love Story {In their words} :)

In the spring of 2015, after months of encouragement from her father, Winnie joined CatholicMatch.com. While looking at her matches, Derek, from Bardstown, KY caught her attention. Recognizing how much they had in common, Winnie went ahead and “beamed Derek a smile.” After reading Winnie’s profile, Derek was smitten and immediately messaged her. They messaged back and forth all afternoon, talking and sharing their interests and stories. That evening, Winnie and Derek both had separate plans to hang out with their friends and decided to continue talking over text.

Since everything was going so well, Winnie and Derek decided to meet up at Diamonds Bar in St. Matthews. On the way to the bar, Kara’s car broke down and started smoking. Winnie pulled over with Kara and waited with her for AAA. Winnie texted Derek to tell him Kara’s car broke down, but they would still meet him at the bar after Kara’s car was towed. Derek was very understanding and offered several times to come and help. However, it took so long for the tow truck to show up that Derek was starting to worry he was getting stood up and cat-fished. Winnie reassured him that they would be on their way to the bar as soon as possible. After waiting almost an hour and a half, the tow truck finally came and Winnie and Kara headed to the bar. They only waited about 10 minutes for Derek and his friend, Joey, to arrive. Winnie and Derek enjoyed each other’s company so much, they talked for hours until 2am. When it was time to leave, Derek pulled Winnie away alone and kissed her.

The next weekend, Winnie and Derek had their first official date. Winnie was singing a wedding at St. Agnes Catholic Church and asked Derek to meet her there afterwards. Derek was so intrigued that Winnie could sing, he showed up early and crashed the wedding. When Derek entered the church, he saw Winnie up on the altar singing. After hearing her beautiful voice, he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with her.

The Proposal

On April 16, 2016, Winnie decided to throw a surprise 30th Anniversary party for her parents, Winnie and Randy. The majority of Winnie's family and friends were at the party, as were Derek's parents, Pam and Lester. After surprising her parents and eating dinner, Winnie showed a photo slideshow she had created for her parents. After the slideshow was finished, Winnie toasted her parents and offered up the floor to other toasts. After this, Derek stepped up and said, "Ok. My turn." Winnie assumed Derek was just going to toast her parents. Derek recognized her for her hard work with the party and then asked Winnie to come forward. He took her by the hands and told her, "I love you, you are my best friend, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Then, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Without hesitation, she said yes!

The Wedding

On June 10, 2017, Winnie and Derek were married at St. Agnes Catholic Church, the same church where their first date began. As the church filled with all of Winnie and Derek’s closest family and friends, Winnie made her way to the choir loft. To honor her late grandmothers and her mother, Winnie sang Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria” as Derek’s grandmothers, Derek’s mother, and Winnie’s mother walked down the aisle. It was a beautiful and emotional moment for everyone present. After the bridal party had entered, Winnie was escorted down the aisle by her father to “Trumpet Voluntary.” Her eyes filled with tears as she looked around at all her closest family and friends smiling back at her and at Derek, shedding tears and anxiously waiting for her at the end of the aisle. The wedding mass was everything Derek and Winnie had hoped for, full of joyful music, meaningful scripture readings, and reverence as they pledged their love to each other before God and everyone present.

After the wedding ceremony, Derek and Winnie celebrated their marriage with their family and friends at Bellarmine University’s Frazier Hall. After entering the hall with their bridal party, Derek and Winnie danced their first dance as husband and wife to John Legend’s, “All of Me.” Their delicious dinner was followed by the cake cutting and toasts, in which Winnie and Derek smeared cake all over each other’s faces! After the father/daughter and mother/son dances, they boogied the night away with family and friends to great music with their live band, Kudmani. Before the evening ended, the reception was made extra special by featuring a family tradition of more than 15 years on Winnie’s side- the men in the family and the groomsmen dressed up as The Village People to perform the “YMCA.” When the festivities concluded, Winnie and Derek exited the hall to their getaway limo through a tunnel of family and friends with sparklers. Without a doubt, their wedding day was the BEST day of their lives and they could not be happier to be spending the rest of their lives together.

Congrats Winnie & Derek! We wish you years of love, happiness, and adventure!