BAKERSFIELD, CA -- Valentine's Day is time couples celebrate their love.
Last month, 17 News asked our Facebook friends to share their love stories with us and the response was remarkable. All of them were wonderful, but we decided to chose two stand-outs.
In shaky home video, you hear people screaming. The person behind the camera finally focuses on the reason for the cheers, a newly engaged couple.
"It was like a dream. It was just awe," said Maricela Ford, who was the one seen being proposed to.
Their story begins a dozen years ago. Online dating was becoming the norm. A then 26-year-old Maricela was about to let her account on ChristianCafe.com expire.
"Yes, I was done. Like, I had two days left on my profile and I had met like creeps and stuff. And, yes. I was done," said Maricela.
But, cupid let his arrow fly just in time and led, then Sergeant Damon Ford, to her online bio.
"She just looked so cute," said Damon.
"Instant, instant chemistry," remembers Maricela.
The couple clicked over the next month, dating despite distance. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton. She was in nursing school in Bakersfield. While they grew closer, their physical gap grew even wider, not once but twice.
The Marines deployed Damon to Iraq.
"When you are in Iraq you have a lot of time to think," laughed Damon. "I like to pull surprises and stuff, too."
Damon returned to California August of 2004. He kept it a secret from Maricela who thought he was still in Iraq. Even talking over the phone, Damon, bought a calling card, and added a delay to make her think he was still abroad.
"When we would talk, when she would ask a question or finish a sentence, I would mentally count to two then I would respond," recalled Damon.
Damon was hatching a master plan, a proposal Maricela would never expect.
Damon shot video of himself reading a poem that would eventually lead to a proposal to Maricela. He had a friend give it to Maricela at a church pot luck.
Surrounded by friends outside, Damon and family members were hiding inside as Maricela listened to her boyfriend on a computer screen.
"I'm in front and every body is around me, so they kind of built like a wall sort of and I couldn't see anything behind me and I was so focused," said Maricela of the day.
It gave Damon and family enough time to sneak outside and wait for the last line of the poem.
"I said I have a question for you and I held up a sign and it said turn around," said Damon.
And when she did, a confused Maricela ran into Damon's arm, just barely hearing the proposal.
"I was just saying this can not be him because he is not due back. So, when I was hearing him talk and seeing him, no it was not clicking," said Maricela.
The couple turned an online chance into a lifetime of love as Mr. and Mrs. Ford.
Today, it's still fun to go back to the beginning looking at pictures, to see the romantic Marine and the skeptical student, who both swept each other off their feet and now, continue to keep each other on their toes.
"Very lucky because cause I hear other people looking for what we have. So, everyday just content, complete contentment," said Maricela.
"I can't even express in words. There is nobody even close to the relationship I have with Maricela. No one can be comparable," said Damon.
The Fords have been married more than seven years. They got married on December 30, 2006 and on every anniversary, they go back to the same spot where they shared their first dance and they dance to their song again.
Last month, 17 News asked our Facebook friends to share their love stories with us and the response was remarkable. All of them were wonderful, but we decided to chose two stand-outs.
In shaky home video, you hear people screaming. The person behind the camera finally focuses on the reason for the cheers, a newly engaged couple.
"It was like a dream. It was just awe," said Maricela Ford, who was the one seen being proposed to.
Their story begins a dozen years ago. Online dating was becoming the norm. A then 26-year-old Maricela was about to let her account on ChristianCafe.com expire.
"Yes, I was done. Like, I had two days left on my profile and I had met like creeps and stuff. And, yes. I was done," said Maricela.
But, cupid let his arrow fly just in time and led, then Sergeant Damon Ford, to her online bio.
"She just looked so cute," said Damon.
"Instant, instant chemistry," remembers Maricela.
The couple clicked over the next month, dating despite distance. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton. She was in nursing school in Bakersfield. While they grew closer, their physical gap grew even wider, not once but twice.
The Marines deployed Damon to Iraq.
"When you are in Iraq you have a lot of time to think," laughed Damon. "I like to pull surprises and stuff, too."
Damon returned to California August of 2004. He kept it a secret from Maricela who thought he was still in Iraq. Even talking over the phone, Damon, bought a calling card, and added a delay to make her think he was still abroad.
"When we would talk, when she would ask a question or finish a sentence, I would mentally count to two then I would respond," recalled Damon.
Damon was hatching a master plan, a proposal Maricela would never expect.
Damon shot video of himself reading a poem that would eventually lead to a proposal to Maricela. He had a friend give it to Maricela at a church pot luck.
Surrounded by friends outside, Damon and family members were hiding inside as Maricela listened to her boyfriend on a computer screen.
"I'm in front and every body is around me, so they kind of built like a wall sort of and I couldn't see anything behind me and I was so focused," said Maricela of the day.
It gave Damon and family enough time to sneak outside and wait for the last line of the poem.
"I said I have a question for you and I held up a sign and it said turn around," said Damon.
And when she did, a confused Maricela ran into Damon's arm, just barely hearing the proposal.
"I was just saying this can not be him because he is not due back. So, when I was hearing him talk and seeing him, no it was not clicking," said Maricela.
The couple turned an online chance into a lifetime of love as Mr. and Mrs. Ford.
Today, it's still fun to go back to the beginning looking at pictures, to see the romantic Marine and the skeptical student, who both swept each other off their feet and now, continue to keep each other on their toes.
"Very lucky because cause I hear other people looking for what we have. So, everyday just content, complete contentment," said Maricela.
"I can't even express in words. There is nobody even close to the relationship I have with Maricela. No one can be comparable," said Damon.
The Fords have been married more than seven years. They got married on December 30, 2006 and on every anniversary, they go back to the same spot where they shared their first dance and they dance to their song again.