Christopher Kelly had two dreams.

One to swim with dolphins. The other to get married in Hawai'i.

This year, he got both.

The 35-year-old flight attendant married his girlfriend, Shellie Bonin of Texas, on Aug. 13 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in front of 43 guests who flew in from seven states.

The day before, though, Kelly got to dive in with the dolphins at Sea Life Park.

"That was the highlight of the trip," said Bonin, 32.

The couple first met in Sept-ember 2003 on a setup date at Bennigan's Grill & Tavern in Houston. Having been single for years, neither had any expectations for the date.

"We had been fixed up (with others) forever and we had just about given up," said Bonin, who works as a legal secretary in Houston. "I looked at it like let's have a drink and be done with it."

Except that's not what happened.

Immediately, the two clicked. They stayed at Bennigan's for hours just talking.

"He said from the moment I walked in, he knew," Bonin said. "We've talked every day since."

The pair had a lot in common. They loved traveling and spending time with their families. And they weren't into the whole nightclub/bar scene anymore.

"He's not the kind of person who needs to go out and socialize to be happy," Bonin said. "Our personalities just clicked."

And, more importantly, Kelly passed "the test": Her chihuahua Louie liked him.

It didn't take long for the two to get serious. After six months of dating, Bonin moved into Kelly's three-bedroom townhome in The Woodlands, Texas, extending her 15-minute commute to work to nearly an hour. Not that she minded. And the couple got another dog, a dachshund named Maggie.

What they really had to work on, though, was living together.

While single, both had become fiercely independent. To make this work, they had find a way to coexist while maintaining their separate identities.

"It was a challenge for the first month," said Bonin, who brought along her dog and parakeet. "We had been independent for so long, in every aspect. It was hard to adjust."

Like how she preferred their shoes to go in the closet.

"He'd put them anywhere but the closet," she said laughing. "Now they at least make it to the bedroom. I've given up."

Kelly had a rule about marriage. He wanted to wait five years before making the commitment. And Bonin understood. She wasn't in any hurry, either.

So when he got down on one knee on Aug. 31, 2004 — not even a year after they met — after dinner at The Woodlands Waterway, she was completely surprised. (He kept the ring box in his sock; his ankle hurt the entire night.)

"I always thought we'd be on a weekend getaway and he'd propose," Bonin said. "But it was in the town where we lived in, at a steak restaurant, and on his birthday ... I was in shock."

Kelly had always wanted to get married in Hawai'i. As a flight attendant, he had traveled to the Islands dozens of times. And he thought maybe — just maybe — a trip here would convince Bonin to move here.

"We could definitely vacation there," said Bonin, who had never been to Hawai'i until her wedding. "But I couldn't picture myself living there. I couldn't be that far from my family."

Since this was his dream, Kelly did most of the planning. He visited several hotels on O'ahu, finally settling on the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

The only thing Bonin had to have: tropical flowers.

"I told him we definitely had to have enough in our budget for that," said Bonin, who wore orchids in her hair.

"The flowers and the greenery were the highlights (of the trip) for me."

After the wedding, the couple honeymooned on Maui, driving to Hana in a convertible and seeing the island from a helicopter.

Now back in Texas, the newlyweds have a new goal: buying a house.

"That's been our hobby lately," Bonin said. "We've narrowed it down to everything we absolutely need to have. But we know we won't find the perfect house because we're so picky now."

Too bad they can't move Hawai'i closer to home.

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