Katie, now 26, and Seth, now 29, met during the 2004-05 school year at Merion Mercy Academy in Merion Station, where Seth, who grew up in Locust Valley, N.Y., taught English and French, and Katie, originally from Drexel Hill, taught Spanish. Both taught during a summer workshop. Katie's class was in the morning. Although Seth's was in the afternoon, he started dropping by her room with coffee - a good move, since she's a self-proclaimed addict. The second time he handed her a cup, she said, "If you keep doing this, I'm going to have to marry you."

He asked

Before Seth proposed to Katie in April 2007, he wanted the blessing of Katie's parents. But her father, Marc Schogol, was in the hospital, in the end stage of a long struggle with cancer. Katie's mother, Elizabeth, told Seth to call Marc's hospital room, but she could not promise anything. Marc, an award-winning Inquirer reporter and editor, was often unable to communicate. That's why the family will always treasure the memory of Seth's phone call.

"Do I have your blessing for this marriage?" Seth asked.

Marc said, "You need my blessing? No, no! You guys are the blessing. You are that for each other."

It was wonderful to hear that trademark eloquence, Seth said.

Later that week, Seth and Katie were vacationing in Florida when he stopped for coffee and asked Katie if she'd like some. It was too hot, she said. Seth started reminiscing about those summer mornings when he brought Katie coffee, and how she joked about marrying him. "Try it," he suggested. "Just a sip." Katie took the coffee from him. It was double-cupped, and she could hear something between the two containers. It was a ring.

Immediately after returning to Pennsylvania, Katie went to see her dad. He had a weak immune system, so the usual protocol for visitors included gloves. But just this once, she was allowed to remove hers.

"One of the last things I remember him saying coherently is that my ring was beautiful," she said. "And if I could have wished for anything, it would have been that he could have seen my ring."

Marc died a month later at age 58.

They married

April 19 at Christ Memorial Chapel on Jupiter Island in Florida. The Rev. David Prior performed the ceremony. A reception for 60 followed at the Jupiter Island Club.

9 to 5

Katie is a language teacher at Friends' Central Middle School in Wynnewood. Seth teaches at Merion Mercy.

Making a home

The couple live in Ardmore.

First steps

Erroll Garner's "Misty."

Doing it their way

Seth's godmother, Joan Pidot, read from 1 Corinthians, and Katie's aunt, Mary Duff, read from 1 John. Katie's brother, Jeffrey, walked her down the aisle. Elizabeth Schogol toasted the newlyweds on behalf of herself and her late husband:

To Katie and Seth

Who revel in each other's company

Who understand that marriage is a serious business of both friendship and play

Who know that real joy comes by putting the other first

And who understand love and trust, growing and giving, and yes, struggle and healing

I am delighted to toast Katie and Seth in the joy of this moment not only on behalf of myself, but on behalf of Katie's dad, who, though not physically present, is certainly here in spirit and who also knew these things, in his large and commodious heart.

From Marc and me, I give you Katie and Seth.

Not a dry eye

"All I could do was try to stay together and deliver the vows clearly," Katie said.

Bloopers

Before the wedding, Katie's shoes kept slipping off. She soon realized she had ended up with the wrong size. Her sister and maid of honor, Carolyn, stuffed something in the toe, but that didn't work. Mom Elizabeth suggested poking an extra hole in the ankle strap. The strap broke. The women acquired some packing tape and taped Katie's shoe to her ankle. The full skirt of her off-white strapless dress hid the tape, and Katie clenched her toes and headed to the church.

Seth says

"Stay focused on the big picture - the joy."

Honeymoon

Two weeks in Spain and then France. "We want to be each other's translators," Katie said.