Third Time’s a Charm

By Lisa Arnett
February 2026 View more Better Together

Missed matches didn’t get in the way of this couple’s happily ever after

Oswego residents Dana Giragosian and Rob Fortino’s romance started with a series of missed connections. “We had actually matched on a couple of different dating apps over the course of six months, but she would always disappear, and nothing ever happened,” says Fortino, who grew up in Darien and Naperville. “When we matched again, my first message to her was, ‘Third time’s a charm?’ ”

Giragosian hadn’t intentionally ghosted him; rather, she had an on-again, off-again relationship with her dating apps. “I would have waves of motivation to get back out there and meet people, and then I’d say, ‘I don’t have time for this, I don’t want to mislead anyone,’ ” says Giragosian, who grew up in Orland Park. “I would just delete the app and not even see the messages. I didn’t even realize we had matched before.”

They had a great first date, meeting for coffee at Starbucks in downtown Naperville before walking along the Riverwalk and chatting over a drink on Empire’s rooftop. They dated for about six weeks before she broke it off, feeling the crush of her busy schedule balancing work and going back to school to become a marriage and family therapist.

But they kept running into each other around town. “I was driving my car through downtown Naperville, and I saw her walking and I literally stopped my car in the middle of the street and yelled her name,” he says. “She came running over to me, and we were so excited to see each other, and meanwhile, there are cars beeping behind me on Water Street.” They eventually reconnected and have been together ever since. He proposed on a January 2025 trip to Cancun.

They married this past October at St. Anne Catholic Church in Oswego, surrounded by 287 friends and family. “I’m 100 percent Italian, and she’s half-Italian and half-Armenian…so our family weddings have been big and traditional, so I think that’s how we always pictured our wedding,” Fortino says. The bride wore her mother’s pearls, her grandmother’s Armenian cross, and her great-grandmother’s cameo lavalier pendant. The groom wore a custom suit made by Louis For Men in Downers Grove, a treasured family business. “My grandpa owned it, and my uncle owns it now, and I worked there as a kid,” Fortino says. “It was really special.” After photos at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, their reception was at Carlisle Banquets in Lombard. “He had two best men, and I had two maids of honor, so half the night was filled with speeches, and it was my most favorite part,” Giragosian says. “It was a really special thing to feel everyone’s love through words.”

Wedding Details

Bride’s attire
Gown by Fifi’s Bridal, Elmhurst

Bride’s hair and makeup
Kiss This Makeup, Chicago

Groom’s and groomsmen’s attire
Louis For Men, Downers Grove

Bridesmaids’ attire
Azazie

Rings
Thomas Jewelers, Des Plaines

Entertainment
DJ MarioMakeUDance, Chicago

Floral and decor
Walden Floral Design Co., Downers Grove

Photography
TWA Photographic Artists, Lombard

Videography
Good Wedding Films, Carol Stream

Photos: TWA Photographic Artists