Jennifer and Chris Creary are another example that online dating is more than just a fad.

The couple met around Thanksgiving 2004 through an online dating service when they were both living in the St. Petersburg area.

"I had just moved there and didn't know anybody," Chris said. "I was bored."

One advantage to online dating is that users can screen potential dates quickly and easily by checking out the other's profile. The two weren't online long before they found each other.

Likes sports? Check. Sense of humor? Check. Animal lover? Check. It looked like a perfect match.

How they met

Both say they didn't sign up because they were desperate or seriously looking for a relationship.

"I was just checking it out to see what was out there," Jennifer, now 30, said. "I wasn't actively looking for a boyfriend."

Chris, now 29, was the first person she met through the dating site whom she met in person -- just a week after their first conversation online and their first phone call.

After spending hours on the phone over several days, Chris cut his Thanksgiving trip home to Pensacola a day short so he could meet Jennifer a day sooner.

And Jennifer even trusted him enough to meet him at his apartment -- which was just across the street from where she worked.

"That's how comfortable I felt," she said. "It had already clicked for me on the phone."

Before long they were serious. She even canceled a trip to New York to spend Christmas with Chris and his family.

A month after their meeting, Chris moved back to Pensacola to take a job. She came up several weeks later.

How he proposed

Six months later, Jennifer was bugging Chris to get engaged. There was only one criteria: He couldn't ask her over dinner.

"Everyone proposes over dinner," she said.

Since the two both love to play and watch sports, Chris chose a basketball court as the setting. They went for a walk to shoot hoops on Sept. 26, 2005, and when Jennifer turned around, Chris pulled out the hidden ring and got on one knee.

Jennifer joked, "I'll think about it."

But she wasn't kidding, of course. The proposal and answer was just as playful as their relationship.

How they wed

A relative's home on Bayou Texar provided the setting for their Oct. 7 nuptials and a reception for about 200 guests.

"The sun was setting as we were saying our vows," Jennifer said. "It was beautiful. It turned out even better than I expected."

They honeymooned in Jamaica. The couple then returned to their two dogs and their East Pensacola Heights home to throw a rockin' Halloween party and celebrate being newlyweds with their friends.

The fact that they both enjoy watching ESPN, attending sporting events, traveling and expressing their playful personalities are key factors in the success of their relationship.

"We rarely argue, and when we do it's easily worked out," Chris said.

He knows he has a good thing and treats her like a queen.

"I've been blessed to catch him because he's a truly genuine guy, and you don't find a lot of those nowadays," Jennifer said.