About eight years ago, while sitting in church, Jodi Dias had a vision.

She saw her girlfriends standing in a row, all dressed in colorful gowns.

At the time, Dias, who had just gone through a divorce, had no idea what her vision meant — not until she met police detective Randy Akau last April.

The couple dated for just two months before getting engaged. They were married on Dec. 17, on the grounds of 'Iolani Palace, all 17 women in her bridal party wearing evening gowns of every color.

"It all made sense," said Dias, 48, producer at 'Olelo. "I just knew the spirit was in this."

The two first met through mutual friends. Both divorced, Dias and Akau talked on the phone before agreeing to meet at a friend's fundraiser at Rumours nightclub. But one of their matchmaking mutual friends wanted them to meet earlier, and, admittedly, so did Dias.

"I was curious," Dias said. "I wanted to meet the face behind the voice."

When the two did meet at Akau's home in 'Ewa Beach, Dias wasn't disappointed.

"On the phone we clicked," Dias said. "But when I saw him, I was like, 'Wow.' I got more interested."

When they got together at Rumours that May, the two hit it off, talking the entire night. They have been inseparable since.

Dias and Akau shared similar backgrounds — each was a single parent of four kids — and life goals. And most important, they both wanted to marry again.

"It was just everything about him," Dias said. "What he wanted in life was the same for me ... It's hard to explain when we clicked, but it was such an awesome feeling, like you can't stop thinking about the person. I haven't had that feeling in a long time."

They saw each other every day, whether it was a date at the movies or weekend with the family at the lagoons at Ko Olina.

By June, they were talking marriage.

"He told me that he felt in his heart that I was the one and he wanted to marry me," Dias said. "It just felt right."

Akau, 52, organized a dinner with his kids and father — his mother died in April 2005 — to meet Dias. That's where he announced their engagement. In July they threw an engagement party for their family and friends at the Kapolei Golf Course.

At first the couple wanted to have their ceremony at Moanalua Gardens, the area where Akau's ancestors are from. With the park's ownership up in the air at the time, however, they decided to find someplace else.

That's when Dias shared with Akau her vision.

"I told him about it and asked what he thought," she said. "He said, 'Sure.' "

A descendant of Hawaiian royalty, Akau had in his possession a royal kihei (cape). They decided he would wear that, and Dias would don a matching red dress. The women in her bridal party — all 17 of them — would wear evening gowns, the style and color up to them. The men would be paired with the women by height; they would wear ties and cummerbunds of matching colors. The pairings would represent different nations, from Portugal to Samoa.

"That's how we came up with the theme Royal Wedding," Dias said.

More than 50 people participated in the wedding ceremony, which included conch-shell blowers and kahili bearers. Mayor Mufi Hannemann was in attendance.

The reception was held at the Ben Saguibo Laborers' Apprenticeship and Training Center in Waiawa with more than 450 guests.

The wedding will be featured on 'Olelo's "Island Women" show, which Dias produces, sometime in April.

"It was just so beautiful," Dias said.

After the wedding, Akau moved into the two-bedroom rental in Kapolei that Dias shares with her youngest son. Akau continues to work full time as a detective for the Honolulu Police Department, while she produces "Island Women" and heads up the nonprofit Women Restoring Lives, a support group for women that boasts more than 100 members.

In the meantime, they're waiting for their home to be built in East Kapolei 1, Hawaiian Homes Trust's largest residential development to date.

It may have been a whirlwind courtship, but they both didn't think they needed to wait.

"I still can't believe it," Dias said, beaming. "It seems like it wasn't supposed to be the time yet, but it kind of snuck up on us. But in a good way. They say you know when you know. And it's true."

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