Love: Wedding: Courtney Wootten and Gabriel Gliwa

Courtney and Gabe used to see each other on the "city kids' bus" that dropped him off at St. Joe's Prep and her at Merion Mercy Academy. But they didn't really know each other until she took him to her junior prom.

It was a date of convenience; her friend was dating his friend. They had fun at prom and the post-prom parties, but there was no romance. Gabe graduated shortly after and left Fishtown to study advertising at the University of Hartford. The next year, Courtney left for Baltimore, where she studied marketing at Loyola University Maryland.

After college, Courtney moved back to Pennsport with her folks, but frequently slept on friends' couches in New York while she looked for a marketing position. In October 2002, she and some of those friends walked into a midtown bar. "We see a bunch of guys from St. Joe's who I knew in high school, and Gabe was one of them," she remembered.

Gabe was also couch-surfing and seeking work in the Big Apple, and they exchanged numbers so they could compare notes. Each thought the other was interesting, but since Courtney was dating someone, there was no chance for advancement.

Over the next year, Gabe and Courtney would each decide New York wasn't for them and settle back home in Philly. There were a few semi-flirty phone calls after Courtney became single again - he called to congratulate her when he heard she bought a house in Pennsport. Then one night in October 2003, Courtney and Gabe again ran into each other in a bar, this time in Old City.

Right away, they enjoyed each other's sense of humor and ability to get along with everyone and anyone, said Courtney, now 31. She and Gabe, now 33, had a great time that night and were soon in a relationship.

"Everything just fell into place," she said. "It felt like we had been building up to that for all these years."

The couple was talking about marriage when, after five years of dating, Gabe moved in.

Courtney, who now does marketing for Aramark, worked for Comcast at that time. In December 2010, she was at Sofitel for the company holiday party. Gabe, who is now media marketing manager for an Internet marketing firm, partied with the Comcast crew, but the next morning told Courtney he absolutely had to go to work. He made like he was getting ready.

At 8:30 a.m., there was a knock at the hotel room door. It was a package, wrapped in brown paper, addressed to Courtney Wootten. Courtney was bummed. She thought it was a work assignment and she couldn't have the day off, after all. She showed it to Gabe. "Rip it open," he said.

Inside was a giant card with photos of Gabe at many different places the couple holds dear: He's on the Art Museum steps. He's in front of the LOVE statue. He's at the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge. He's at Memorial Hall. In every photo, Gabe holds a big sign bearing a single word. Put together, they asked, three times, "Will you marry me?"

The couple were wed in a traditional Catholic ceremony at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Pennsport - the church they attend. In addition to the bride, her father, Ted, her mother, Maureen, and the groom's parents, Marge and Bob, the procession included 11 bridesmaids, eight groomsmen, and two flower girls.

Picking the site for their 255 guests to celebrate was harder. It had to be unusual. It had to be quintessentially Philadelphia. Gabe made a list of their top choices. "I called Eastern State Penitentiary, but they said they didn't have plumbing," Courtney said. They chose the Please Touch Museum. Not only did the historic beauty of the building suit their black-tie reception, but Courtney's father had played baseball on the nearby fields as a child.

The bride's mother surprised everyone with the South Philly String Band. Black and white parasols were passed to everyone. The bride's was covered in lace. The string band played and the Philly natives strutted. Friends from elsewhere mostly stared in charmed wonder, Courtney said.

Father Feeney gave a homily with a "forgive and forget" theme, then the couple and their bridal party was once again standing at the altar, and it was almost time to exchange rings.

"Your brother has my ring, right?" Courtney whispered to Gabe.

"No," he said. "Your sister, the maid of honor, has it."

No one had it.

Courtney's something borrowed and something blue was her late Aunt May's sapphire ring. Thinking quickly, Gabe suggested they could use it as a stand-in.

"Don't worry about it," their priest quietly assured. "Happens all the time."

The couple stifled their laughter. "Forgive and forget, right, father?" said Courtney.

With the reception about to start, the couple stood in line behind the bridal party, waiting for their turn to be announced. It was the first private, quiet moment they had since being pronounced husband and wife. Courtney could see through the crack between the doors that everyone was inside, waiting for them to come in. "Seeing what was about to happen, it was like, 'This is real. We're really married now,' " Courtney said.

A bargain: The invitations. With the wedding a few months away and the budget all but used up, the couple was going through serious invitation sticker shock. Then they discovered that a friend of a friend has an online company. They had to add ribbons to each one by hand, but saved about $1,500 on invitations they loved.

The splurge: A photo booth. It cost as much as the videographer but was worth every cent, Courtney said. "If I had to do it over again, I would have gotten two."

A week in South America, with stays in Buenos Aires and at Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Jose Ignacio Beach in Uruguay.

Officiant

The Rev. Robert Feeney of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Philadelphia

Venues

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and the Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia

Catering

Brûlée Catering, Philadelphia

Photography

Photography by Dell, Philadelphia

Videography

Martin's Video, Marlton

Music

The Exceptions, Philadelphia

Dress

Lazaro, purchased at the Bridal Garden, Marlton

Flowers

Ten Pennies Florist, Philadelphia

Invitations

Bill McCone, www.yourinvitationplace.com

Planner

Kimberly Rifici, Brûlée Catering

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