On only our second date we fell in love, and three months later got married
Engagement Stories with Diana Bunici
MARK and Patricia’s love story is the definition of a whirlwind romance. You’ve heard the phrase ‘when you know, you know’ a million times over and, for this pair, it couldn’t ring more true.
A modern-day fairytale, this Tullamore prince met his Brazilian princess on a dating app and from the moment they set eyes on each other, sparks flew.
‘Our first date was in Johnny Fox’s pub and I remember being super nervous because although I knew it was a great first date spot, it was also a bit of a strange one,’ Mark Hogan laughs. ‘Patricia’s from Brazil but was studying in Ireland and took the opportunity to see the sights.’
Despite the somewhat off-thebeaten-path first date location, Patricia loved their mountain pub rendezvous and Mark was lucky to bag a second date – which he’ll always remember as the one where he fell madly in love. ‘We were in a restaurant talking for hours and we really got to learn everything about each other that evening.
‘We found out that night just how much we had in common in terms of our life goals and principles. There were so many coincidental things too. I told her I love MMA and it turned out she is a black belt in judo. I said “I love working out” and she did too, I told her I wanted to raise my children with animals around and she felt the same way.’
He says: ‘I stared at her on that second date and went “Oh my God”. You can’t help who you fall in love with, but if I could
‘She started crying, which made me cry‘
have drawn the person I would fall in love with, this would have been her.’
Although Patricia didn’t know it at the time, Mark was already busy planning how he would propose to her.
‘We met at the start of May in 2019 and by the 20th, we were official. We had gone on so many dates by that point and I pretty much knew she was the girl for me,’ he says.
The proposal happened in Barcelona but Mark had carried the ring around with him for days before popping the question.
‘What I ended up doing was putting the ring in my jeans so every time we would meet, if the moment felt right, I could propose. That moment was in Barcelona. We were walking around the Gothic quarter. We got down to this narrow street and there was nobody there, it was just a guy on a violin playing Ave Maria and it was the most beautiful sound.
‘I knew this was the moment. I took out the ring and I was so nervous I didn’t even get down on one knee,’ he laughs.
‘I looked at her and she started crying, which made me cry, and then we just hugged each other and she put on the ring. Patricia laughed and said, “You didn’t even ask me!” I asked then, of course, and she said “yes”.
‘I remembered a friend of mine got married in Vegas, so said it jokingly and Patricia literally just looked at me and said: “I love Vegas!” ’
They chose ‘probably the cheapest place to get married in Vegas’. Despite a hiccup with their driver being a near noshow, Mark says the ceremony is something he’ll never forget.
‘The whole world stopped for the time we were exchanging our vows. When the pastor said, “You may now kiss the bride,” we kissed and then I just started crying for ten minutes. Patricia was crying and my sister was crying and in this crazy unromantic city, I had the most romantic moment that I’ve ever had.’