It was more than just the haircut that kept Jaime Pabalan coming back to Supercuts in 'Ewa Beach.

When his regular stylist went on maternity leave in 2000, Pabalan started seeing another one, Amihan Bumanglag.

She hated cutting his hair. Pabalan was picky and critical and always asked for a difficult style.

Still, there was an undeniable attraction.

"I don't know how to explain it," said Bumanglag, 25. "I liked his eyes. His eyes caught me."

Both were in relationships, so they kept their interaction purely platonic.

Pabalan would come in about every three weeks to get his hair cut and the two would talk.

This went on for two years.

In the summer of 2002, Pabalan broke up with his girlfriend and decided — finally — to make a move on Bumanglag.

He told her that he didn't believe she had a life outside of work. When she argued that she did, he told her to prove it. Pabalan handed her his number and told her to call him the next time she went out with her friends.

She did, and by November they were officially dating.

They'd go bowling, play games at Dave and Buster's or watch movies. After almost every outing, they'd end up at Zippy's.

The more they got to know each other, the more they realized this was a relationship that could last. She liked his charisma and stable job as a police officer. He liked her friendliness and outgoing personality.

"There was more passion," Bumanglag said. "I only really saw it with him. I never felt that way before. From the very beginning I was saying I was going to marry this guy."

But Pabalan, who has a son from a past relationship, wasn't ready to talk marriage just yet.

Not that it meant he wasn't serious about Bumanglag.

The next summer he took her to meet his family on Moloka'i, making the relationship, at least in his eyes, official.

"Things started changing then," Bumanglag said.

In August 2003, Pabalan took Bumanglag to Disneyland for her birthday. When the couple returned, she moved into his 'Ewa Beach townhouse.

By this time Pabalan's feelings about marriage were starting to change. He decided to propose to Bumanglag in February 2004 during a snowboarding trip to Whistler, British Columbia. He even bought an engagement ring.

Weeks before the trip, Bumanglag found out she was pregnant. "Everything was happening so fast," she said. "It was so emotional. We didn't know what to do."

Pabalan lost his nerve to propose on the trip and gave her the diamond ring as a Valentine's Day gift instead.

Bumanglag was disappointed.

"I kinda knew he was going to propose, but because he didn't, after that, I thought it would never happen," she said.

Planning a wedding right now couldn't be a concern, anyway.

Though they were excited about sharing a child, they were nervous and unsure how the baby would affect their relationship.

"I was just scared because I didn't know how she was going to be," said Pabalan, 33. "It took us a couple of months to be OK with it."

A few months into the pregnancy, Pabalan thought about proposing again. But he didn't think he could compare to any of the proposals they had seen on "Perfect Proposal" on TLC and "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on Style.

The pressure was on.

"She was watching all these shows and I was thinking, 'How am I going to do all this?'" Pabalan said. "I didn't want to let her down."

In October 2005 the couple ushered in their son, Jamieson. And Pabalan finalized his plan to propose.

Soon after their son's birth, Pabalan told Bumanglag that he had to work an overtime shift. That same night her family planned a dinner at Kobe Japanese Steak House in Waikiki.

The dinner, of course, was orchestrated by Pabalan, who was going to surprise Bumanglag at the restaurant.

Everyone in her family was in on the surprise. They could barely contain themselves when Pabalan, dressed in a collared shirt and slacks, walked in with a dozen red roses.

"I saw him come in and I was in shock," Bumanglag said, laughing. "I was saying, 'This is not happening!' "

In front of about 30 of Bumanglag's relatives, Pabalan dropped on one knee.

"We've been together for a long time," he told her. "You know I love you a lot, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Bumanglag — and nearly every family member — started crying.

"Everyone was so happy," Bumanglag said.

The couple married on April 30 at the Angel Chapel by the Sea in the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel in front of more than 500 guests. Their son, Jamieson, and Pabalan's son, Jarinn, were ring bearers.

Now married and living in 'Ewa Beach, the couple is adjusting more to parenthood than marriage. Still, making it official has changed their relationship for the better — though she won't cut his hair.

"I do feel different," Pabalan said. "I get one wife now."

"Yeah," Bumanglag added with a smile. "His left hand is heavy now!"

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.