Love: Stephanie Simoni & Roger Susanin

It was summer 2008, and Roger, who grew up in Newtown Square, had landed his first reporting job at Poconos cable station BRC13. He was based in Stroudsburg, as were two friends from the competing Scranton ABC affiliate.

One night for laughs, Trish and Wendy showed him episodes of a TV Guide cable channel reality show taped at the studios of their last employer, also an ABC station: Making News Savannah Style.

"The show itself was OK. What really sparked my interest was this reporter named Stephanie Simoni," Roger remembers.

He hoped Stephanie would visit her friends in Pennsylvania, but no. "She's out of your league, anyhow," friend Brian so helpfully said.

In March 2009, Roger had a job interview with the news director at ABC7 in Little Rock. A question at the end was a real surprise: "Have you ever seen Making News Savannah Style? I'm thinking of hiring a reporter who was on that show, Stephanie Simoni."

"You should definitely hire her!" Roger blurted.

A few weeks later, Roger looked up from his new desk in Little Rock and saw Stephanie live and in person, there on her own interview.

Roger tried to be cool. He knew her from somewhere, he said. Oh, hey, were you on that Savannah Style show?

Stephanie panicked. Would the station hire her if they knew about her brief reality TV career? Her worry kept her from realizing Roger's nonchalance was an act.

She was hired as a reporter, then became weekend morning anchor.

Roger did some investigation. In the show, Stephanie came across as fun-loving and caring. But was that really reality? "We were friends for a little while, and she was as beautiful inside as outside," he concluded.

His next assignment: Don't get caught in the friend zone.

A month later, on an outing with eight others, Roger turned to Stephanie and said: "You make my life complicated."

Her expression told him not to say another word. He didn't, until the two of them were alone on his apartment building's rooftop deck.

"I really like you," he began again. "You're a beautiful person, and I really think that we should date."

"That's a terrible idea!" Stephanie said.

She was establishing herself in the newsroom and wanted coworkers and management talking about her skills, not her social life.

"Why can't we just be friends?" she asked.

"I have enough friends," Roger said.

He needed her to know if they spent time together by any name, he would be trying to persuade her to date him. It took a month.

"He's so patient, so kind, and always makes everyone feel at ease immediately. He's really funny," she said. "Plus, he's just so charming and handsome."

Still, Stephanie had some rules: If they started dating, it had to be with serious intentions.

That was exactly what Roger was thinking. Their first official date was wine and tapas in August 2009.

In June 2012, Stephanie, who is now 31, took a weekend anchor and reporting job with ABC News 8 in New Haven, Conn., closer to her hometown of Norwood, Mass., outside Boston. Roger, now 32, sought work in the same market, but after a year of near-misses, accepted a position with Fox 17 in Nashville.

Distance wasn't easy, but they never doubted each other's faithfulness, Stephanie said. Phone calls and texts filled in the gaps between monthly visits.

They had been dating 4½ years when Roger paid a visit to both of Stephanie's dads - father Steven and stepfather Robert. Then he asked his friend Walker Hayes, a contemporary country musician, for a favor.

In June 2014, Stephanie visited Nashville, and Roger took her to the Bluebird Cafe and a table near the band.

Roger nervously checked his watch. The show would soon end. Had Walker forgotten? He hadn't so much as looked at Roger the whole night.

"I'm playing this next song for Roger and Stephanie," Walker said finally. He began a version of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' "Home," then asked Roger to join him. Roger took a microphone.

"I told you from the beginning that you made my life complicated, and you still do," Roger told Stephanie. "I asked you to start dating me, and you said it was a terrible idea. I said I didn't want to be friends, but I was wrong about that - because you're my best friend."

Roger knelt, but before he could ask the question, Stephanie called out her answer: "Yes!"

In April 2015, Roger began a new job in the same market as Stephanie: nightside reporter at Eyewitness News 3 near Hartford. On May 1, they moved into their New Haven apartment. A few weeks later, they got married. "It was surreal," he said. "We had been waiting so long for all of these things to happen, and they all happened at the same time."

Ceremony and reception were held at a converted waterfront mansion in Rhode Island. The ceremony was performed by Stephanie's great-uncle Rick, a minister and Westfield State University history professor. Roger's father, also named Roger, was his best man. Stephanie's sister Diane was her maid of honor, and other relatives had roles from bridesmaid to reader. Roger's sister Lizzie led the procession, filling her big brother's heart with love. "She has autism, and I know that was not easy for her," he said.

At their reception, guests sat at tables named for Philadelphia, Boston, and other places the couple has lived or visited together. They made a donation in honor of their 200 guests to the Mission for Educating Children with Autism (MECA), a Downingtown organization that has helped Lizzie. They also honored their profession by giving away pens that declare, "It was written in the stars."

They put to good use the dancing lessons Roger gave Stephanie as a birthday present. "We made a couple of mistakes, but we were smiling the whole time," he said.

"Seeing Stephanie at the top of the aisle, as she was about to walk down, I thought of everything we had been through, all that time we had been apart," Roger said. "I thought, 'So long we strived to get together, and as soon as she gets down this aisle, we're going to be together, and we're going to be together forever.' "

The days before the wedding, right up until they exchanged vows, were so tightly scheduled there wasn't much time to think about it all, Stephanie said. "I didn't get to absorb it until right afterward, walking back up the aisle. I took a breath, and I saw everyone we loved, and I was holding his hand. It was just incredible."

A bargain: Photojournalist Kelvin Higgins, a co-worker and good friend of Stephanie's, charged a very small amount for videography.

The splurge: Roger has loved the work of Wilmington photographer Peter Van Beever ever since he shot his sister's wedding about five years ago. Back then, he was new to the business; now his work is in demand. The couple also had to pay his travel expenses. "It was definitely worth it," Roger said.

Five days in the Azores, to be followed by a South African safari next year.

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Officiant: The Rev. Frederick Harling, great-uncle of the bride.

Venue: OceanCliff Hotel & Resort, Newport, R.I.

Catering: OceanCliff Photography: Peter Van Beever Studio, Wilmington.

Videography: Kelvin Higgins, friend of the bride.

Flowers: Sayles Livingston Flowers, Adamsville, R.I.

Dress: Anne Barge Collection purchased at the White Dress by the Shore, Clinton, Conn.

Groom's attire: Tom Ford, purchased on eBay.

Music: Groove Authority.

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