It was a nearly 2,000 mile journey that brought Yolisma Machado and Aaron Vasquez together. The two met on a mission trip in Mexico. Ironically, unknown to either Machado and Vasquez, they were both from Plant City.
But the journey didn’t end there. It stretched for another six years of missed opportunities and chance encounters to finally end in happily ever after.
This is one love story of destiny our readers will not soon forget. Congratulations to the winners of our 2015 Valentine’s Day Love Story contest.
First Impressions
During the summer of 2005, Machado was just glad to have survived herfreshman year of high school at Plant City. Looking for “the one” was hardly on her mind.
With her church and other central Florida churches, Machado went on a two-week mission trip to Mexico. The group traveled to different cities but was based in Santa Fe.
Little did she know she would be running into another adventurer from Plant City.
Vasquez, an upcoming sophomore at Durant High School, had traveled separately with his grandparents to Santa Fe for the same reason, at the same time.
Every night, all of the youth who were serving in Santa Fe would hang out. When Machado and Vasquez met and realized they were both from Plant City, a bond began to form. But it wasn’t love at first sight.
“He was fun to talk to, but he wasn’t my type,” Machado said.
“I didn’t know it was going to turn into anything,” Vasquez added.
Still, Machado wanted to keep in touch with Vasquez when they got back to Plant City. She wrote down her phone number for him. But months passed, and he never called. Disappointed, she assumed he had just moved on.
But she was wrong.
“She gave me her phone number, but I had put it in my pocket in my pants, and my grandma had washed them … I forgot to take it out, so I lost it,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez had not forgotten about her, either. Before social media was widely used, the best way to find someone was to track him or her down in person. So, Vasquez went to Machado’s church one morning, hoping they’d be able to reconnect.
At first he couldn’t find her. But he managed to after some time, only to discover she had a boyfriend.
He thought he had missed his chance.
Reunited and Rekindled
In 2008, the summer after Machado had graduated from Plant City High School and Vasquez had graduated from Durant High School, a mutual friend unknowingly helped them reconnect.
Machado was walking the track at Bryan Elementary School with Vasquez’s cousin, whom she had met through another friend, and she did not know that he had also invited Vasquez to the track that day. When Vasquez showed up, he and Machado recognized each other immediately, though they had been apart for three years.
“A couple days later, I texted her, and we started meeting up every day, almost,” Vasquez said.
They once stayed up all night talking on the phone, until Vasquez had to go to work in the morning.
“He didn’t even sleep because we had so much to talk about,” Machado said.
Machado soon enrolled at Hillsborough Community College and encouraged Vasquez to do the same. They often enjoyed lunch together between classes.
After two years of dating, Vasquez had a deeper commitment in mind.
“It started getting more serious,” he said. “It got to the point where I was like, what am I waiting for? … I just knew.”
Popping the Question
Vasquez knew that Machado had wanted to swim with dolphins, and he decided he’d be the one to make it happen. But dolphins weren’t the only dream that came true for Machado that day.
Vasquez invited her to a day of adventure at Discovery Cove in Orlando. When the couple got in the water, along with a family of tourists, Machado thought it was strange that a woman was filming their every move.
But she thought the group of tourists had probably paid extra to catch their experience on film.
Machado and Vasquez were split from the rest of the group, but the camera was still pointed at them. An employee told Machado to throw a certain toy to one of the dolphins.
As if on cue, another dolphin swam over to Machado, nudged her, and gave her a buoy. The question “Will you marry me?” was written on the buoy. Of course, Machado knew the message was from Vasquez, and she said “yes.”
“The people that were recording started cheering,” she said.
Machado and Vasquez were married at Hollis Garden in Lakeland, Aug. 20, 2011.
Together Forever
Machado and Vasquez build their marriage on God, communication and trust.
“That’s what we’ve always had since the beginning,” Machado said. “We had to trust each other.”
Vasquez works a night shift at Gordon Food Services. Though he comes home early in the morning, he sometimes arrives bearing flowers for his wife. Machado said she appreciates how hard he works, and how he is a wonderful father to their twin daughters, born in 2013.
Vasquez said he appreciates Machado’s dedication to their daughters as well and how she stays home to care for them.
“I know that’s a lot of work,” he said. “I think it’s more than what I do.”
Machado and Vasquez’s family and love are continuing to grow. They are expecting a third child this summer.
Editor’s note: We asked for your love stories for the 2015 Valentine’s Day Love Story contest, and we received some beautiful submissions. But Yolisma Machado and Aaron Vasquez’s story of destiny captured our hearts this holiday.
The couple is receiving a $50 gift card from O’Brien’s Irish Pub & Family Restaurant and tickets for two from the Lakeland Center to see Dancing with the Pros. Thank you to O’Brien’s and the Lakeland Center for the generous donation, and thank you to our readers for sharing your stories. Happy Valentine’s Day from the Plant City Times & Observer.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.