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Cathy and John each spent their 20s and 30s focused on their careers - hers in nursing, his in the nuclear energy industry.
Any leftover hours were filled with happy times with friends and family. "It was good," Cathy said. "And then I hit 40."
"The time when you're enjoying the single life and your career, it slips by quickly," John said. "And then I was like, wait a minute, I'm kind of missing something."
In August 2001 Cathy was drawn to an ad John placed in Philadelphia magazine. Like her, John, who grew up in West Philadelphia and Springfield, Delaware County, is Irish-Catholic and loves sports, music, and the arts. Their phone conversations were a delight.
"I was so excited when he would call," she said.
Then 9/11 happened.
The World Trade Center attacks rattled Cathy, and made her want to hunker down at home and with family. "I stopped the conversation," she said.
But Cathy never forgot John, a nuclear technical supervisor who works for PSE&G. In May 2002, she called him.
In addition to the full-time work Cathy still does with brain- and spinal-injury patients at Jefferson Hospital, she spent a dozen years working for the Phillies and Eagles, tending to fans who needed medical assistance. John remembered her when she mentioned the Phillies and Eagles. They began talking again, and he asked her to meet him at an Italian place in Stone Harbor, near where she lived at the time.
With 16 years of Catholic school each, a common heritage and common interests, they had a lot to talk about. Plus, Cathy found John funny and handsome. "I couldn't eat," she said. "I called my sisters and said, 'I think I'm going to marry this man.' "
But their relationship would progress slowly, starting with friendship. For one thing, John's summer was already booked. "I had a Shore house with a bunch of friends," he said.
In August, Cathy took John home to meet her parents, John and Kathleen, and her brothers, nieces and nephews, who were all gathered for a christening. About a month later, John introduced Cathy to his mother, Margaret. John's father, Jim, had died when he was young.
The couple - and their families - grew close.
When John injured his Achilles tendon, Cathy took him to medical appointments. John was Cathy's emotional support as she cared for her ailing father, who died in 2004.
How does forever sound?
As the years passed, Cathy, who bought a place in Abington, and John, whose house is in Wallingford, talked about marriage and agreed it would happen - someday.
Cathy knew she and John would always be together. "I knew that he really loved me," she said. But after about six years of dating, she began to think that perhaps John did not want to marry.
John's friends, most of whom had married years before, wanted to know when he was going to commit to this special woman. But he is not one to cave to peer pressure. He waited until he was ready.
In 2009, John bought an engagement ring. For six months, he held onto it, waiting for the right time to give it to Cathy.
Each year, this Irish couple takes St. Patrick's Day off and heads to New York for the big parade. The 2010 trip, their eighth, was special from the start - the sun was shining and it was 65 degrees. This, John thought to himself, is the perfect time.
After breakfast in New York, John suggested they attend Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. "I don't think we'll be able to get to Mass," Cathy, who is now 50, said. "The streets are blocked around that whole area."
But John, now 49, was confident. They walked through traffic barricades and through the church's open doors. Even when seated in Pew 32, Cathy could hear the bagpipes going by outside. And then she heard John whisper, "I love you. And I would like to marry you."
Cathy said yes, then started to cry. John gave her the ring. A woman she didn't know kissed her, and other people shook John's hand. Right in the middle of Mass, people all around them began clapping.
That day, the parade seemed just for them.
It was so them
The morning of her wedding, Cathy couldn't sleep. Knowing her mother would be up, she went to see her at 6:30 a.m. Kathleen had something special for Cathy.
When her father was dying, he had written Cathy a letter, to be opened on her wedding day. "If it's John, I approve," he wrote. "He's a good man, and you're a good couple." John Farnan told his daughter she was wonderful to help care for him in his illness. "I'm sorry I'm not there," he wrote. "I'm so proud of you."
Also in the envelope was a small filigree box containing a tiny set of silver rosary beads. Cathy's paternal grandmother had worn them on her wedding day. So would Cathy.
The couple married at Immaculate Conception Church and held a reception for 186 at North Hills Country Club. There were Irish blessings and Irish music - some played by the same bagpiper who played at Cathy's father's funeral.
The wedding's theme was the claddagh ring - a symbol of love, loyalty, and friendship. John's wedding band is a claddagh, and it bears the Gaelic inscription: love forever.
While Cathy favors Springsteen and Sinatra, John loves Pink Floyd. She gave him a groom's cake in the design of the album cover of The Wall.
This was a surprise
John's brother Jim was his best man. The bride and groom told him the toast was optional - Jim is a stroke survivor who sometimes has trouble speaking. But not on this day. Jim spoke about the friendship between himself and John, and about how wonderful it was that Cathy embraced their family. He told his brother he was lucky to have such a wife. "I'd like to marry Cathy!" he said, and the crowd roared.
Awestruck
Cathy won't ever forget how happy and calm John looked as he waited for her to reach the end of the aisle. John will always remember hearing the "Ave Maria" in Latin as he and Cathy prayed before the statue of the Virgin Mary. "It was one of the few times the two of us had a moment to be kind of alone," he said. "And it was symbolic of the true meaning of marriage."
Discretionary spending
A bargain: Cathy bought her dress off the rack at Betty's Bridal in Huntingdon Valley for $299.
The splurge: The cakes from Velvet Sky Bakery. It cost $1,000 for the wedding cake and groom's cake. "That's a lot for me, but they were beautiful," Cathy said.
The getaway
A week in Ireland, which included a stay at Dromoland Castle. "We had the whole tower," Cathy said.
Love: BEHIND THE SCENES
Officiant
Father Michael Ryan of Immaculate Conception Church, Jenkintown
Venue
Immaculate Conception Church and North Hills Country Club, North Hills
Catering
North Hills Country Club
Photography
Carl Kosola of TLP Studios, Huntingdon Valley
Music
Signature DJs, East Norriton
Dress
Betty's Bridal, Huntingdon Valley
Flowers
Elite Florals, Roslyn
Invitations
Purchased online from ibkstationery.com
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