SAN JOSE, Calif. — After years of always being the perpetual bridesmaid, Lisa Catalano laid down her soft-pink bouquet, hung up her strappy blue satin maid of honor dress and drafted a text to her friends:

“I’m officially announcing my retirement from being a bridesmaid,” she wrote. “The next wedding I’m going to be in will be with my own groom, TBD.”

Two years earlier, her fiancé had died of a terminal illness. After failed attempts at dating apps, set-ups and matchmaking databases, Catalano, now 42, transformed her quest with gusto.

Creating a personal dating campaign, she rented space on a dozen digital billboards along Highway 101 between Santa Clara and South San Francisco, adorning each with her smiling face, cascading brunette curls and a simple message: “MarryLisa.com.” She’s ru

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