Love: Jennifer Voigt & Christopher Hoffer

It was a summer night in 2007, and a group of self-described geeks gathered in a basement to film their own TV show.

Jen had met Mike - the guy with a basement studio - about four years before at Sesame Place, where he did lighting and sound and she dressed as Elmo, or sometimes Ernie.

That evening, Jen was only herself, being interviewed for a faux talk show that also featured puppets. Chris, who had been friends with Mike since seventh grade at St. Bede the Venerable, was the talk-show host.

The interview was their first conversation. By the end of it, Chris was crushing a bit. "She seemed like a very fun person to hang out with, and she's also very attractive," he said. His interest was strictly hypothetical, though; Chris had a girlfriend.

Jen, who was also dating someone, enjoyed Chris' sense of humor and was glad to make a new friend.

Chris then lived with his parents in Churchville, Bucks County, and Jen, with hers in Chalfont. They saw each other only rarely through the fall.

In the weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving, both their relationships ended. Chris had not been thinking about Jen, but when he saw her at a Christmas party, looking stunning in a red dress, "it all came back to me."

Discovering she did not have New Year's Eve plans, Chris persuaded their mutual friends to have a party. It was a fun night, and Chris and Jen spent much of it talking to each other. In the first tick of 2008, they kissed.

"I called Mike the next day," said Chris. "I was very happy with this situation."

Jen called Maxine. "I pretty much burst into tears. 'What did I just do?' " I said.

Jen still thought Chris was a fun and funny guy. But he was a guy, and having just broken up with one, she did not want another.

Maxine told her a New Year's kiss was no big deal. And besides, she should give Chris a chance.

Truth is, their friends were all rooting for them to get together. Which is partly why a group outing to Applebee's was arranged for a Friday soon after, and why everyone bugged Jen to go, even though she said she just wanted to grade papers and go to sleep.

"Shoot!" Jen said when she saw Chris. But she had a really good time talking to him. They exchanged numbers, then texts and phone calls.

"I'm very persistent," said Chris.

"He was just a really nice guy, and a really good listener," Jen said. "He always asked, 'How was your day?' and he was always really positive." Jen knew Chris wanted to date her, but he was never pushy.

At another group outing weeks later, Jen ended up sitting next to her ex-boyfriend and feeling uncomfortable. Chris gave her goofy glances across the table, trying to make her laugh. At the end of the night, they took SEPTA to the Woodbourne station, and Chris cleared the snow off her car.

That Chris was the kind of guy who would clean her car on a cold, snowy night made Jen realize he was something special. She stared at Chris cleaning his own car as she slowly drove by him - and right into a lamppost.

That's when Chris knew the feelings were mutual.

In 2009, Jen and Chris adopted Lucy, a short-haired calico, who lived with Jen and her folks until September 2012, when the couple bought their home in Chalfont. By then, both were working at Tacony's Keystone Academy Charter School, where Chris, who is 30, teaches social studies to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, and Jen, 29, teaches kindergarten.

Chris typically spent New Year's Eve at Mike's parents' Brigantine house. But it wasn't just the arrival of 2014 that Chris prepared for that year. Mike agreed to invite everyone over so as not to raise Jen's suspicions.

After dinner out, the group returned to the house to watch the ball drop on TV. Chris and Jen kissed. The friends all hugged one another. Then Chris knelt in front of Jen and began talking about the future.

"I told her I had plans," Chris said, "and among them was making sure I made her just as happy as she makes me every day."

His three-minute proposal speech was amazing, Jen said. Kristen, who would be Jen's maid of honor, turned the proposal into a Shutterfly book.

Both the ceremony and reception for 150 were held at the Northampton Valley Country Club.

"We had a rainbow wedding," Jen said. "Each bridesmaid wore a different color, and each groomsman matched his bridesmaid."

The outdoor ceremony concluded with an Irish blessing. When officiant Donna Mount got to the part about wishing that the wind always be at their backs, the actual wind came up behind them and flipped Jen's veil into the air.

The bridal party entered the reception with, or on, toys. One set twirled ribbons and danced, another rode Razor scooters. Chris pulled Jen in a little red wagon.

The cake topper and ice luge for signature drinks both featured penguins. "She's a big fan of penguins," said Chris. "I just wanted her to be happy."

Chris stared out the window, waiting for Jen's arrival. Finally, "I saw the limo, and I knew she was there. I hadn't seen her since the night before, and I was so anxious. Then the photographer came to get me. She looked amazing. It felt so surreal. I went to embrace her, teared up. I needed a minute to get myself together. I will never forget that."

As Jen danced with her dad, Ron, she looked over at Chris, watching from their sweetheart table, and around the room full of friends and family. "All these people were together in one room because they love the two of us," she said. "That's when it hit me - this day just happened. We just got married. And that is my husband."

A bargain: Northampton Valley Country Club included the cake, centerpieces, cocktail hour, and signature drinks in one package. Other venues' packages either cost more or didn't include as much.

The splurge: The ice luge. "We didn't need it," Jen said, "but loved the idea of people pouring drinks down it all night - it fit right in with our party."

A weekend in the Poconos, to be followed this summer by eight days in Jamaica.

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Officiant: Donna Mount, ordained minister, From This Day Forward L.L.C., Edgewater Park.

Venue and catering: Northampton Valley Country Club, Richboro.

Photography: Robert Turi of Robert Turi Photography, Sewell.

Flowers: Domenic Graziano Flowers, Southampton.

Dress: L&H Bridal, Philadelphia.

Music: DJ Bob Paleo of East Coast Event Group, Philadelphia.

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