Love: Katie Connolly & Pat Smith

Katie and Pat met one night in spring 2006 toward the end of their junior year at Villanova University, when a group of friends and friends-of-friends hung out at Brownie's 23 East bar.

By the time fall and senior year rolled around, Katie, who studied political science, and Pat, an accounting major, were Garrett Avenue neighbors. That meant they often walked home together after nights out with friends.

Their friendship deepened. And by spring semester, the two would text each other to make sure both would be at group gatherings.

Then one evening, Pat and Katie, now both 27, decided to stay in together rather than join the group. They watched Cool Runnings - the movie about the Jamaican bobsled team - on demand.

"He was a fun guy to be around; he always made me laugh," said Katie. "He had a different, Midwest attitude, a little laid-back, a little more mellow and slower-paced."

"She was able to get along with so many different kinds of people," Pat said. "She's just an outgoing, amicable person." He found it fun to spend time with a woman who liked watching and playing sports. And the freckles and curly brown hair didn't hurt, either.

If you had asked Katie and Pat - a.k.a. Smitty - if they were boyfriend-and-girlfriend back then, they'd have said no. But hands were held. Lips were kissed.

Then came graduation. Pat visited his family in Michigan before moving to Manayunk and beginning his job at KPMG, where he is a CPA.

He called Katie from Michigan. And then "as soon as I got off the plane, I called and was like, 'Hey, what are you doing?' " he remembered.

That all seemed very promising to Katie, who has since earned a master's degree in education and teaches second grade at Holy Family School in Phoenixville.

The night Pat returned to Philadelphia, he and Katie hung out at his new place and watched the Phillies with his roommates.

But later that week, Pat called again.

"We've been hanging out long enough now," he said. "I think we need to go on a real date."

She agreed. Their relationship was clarified over pizza at Pietro's in Center City.

Summertime has always meant Ocean City, N.J., to Katie, whose parents have a house there. She and Pat had talked about the less-crowded charms of the beach in fall, and in mid-November 2011, they took an overnight to experience it. They arrived in time to take a walk and get slices at Manco & Manco for lunch. After relaxing at the house a bit, Pat suggested they return to the beach for the sunset.

They sat on the sand with their Yuenglings, watching the water and the few other beachgoers.

Despite her jeans and fleece, Katie was cold, so Pat put his arm around her. He wasn't quite ready to leave.

Pat talked about how much fun they had had together over the last five years.

And then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box that he'd been dying for a week to give her.

"How about 50 more?" he asked.

The couple left the beach and called her parents, Marianne and Charley, who had given Pat their blessing a few weeks before.

Then they called Pat's parents, Helen and Larry. "Katie and I are engaged to be married," Pat told them. The announcement was met with a few seconds of silence. They were too surprised to speak. "Well, it's about time!" Larry said finally.

The couple celebrated with champagne Pat had stashed in the fridge.

The couple, who now live in Conshohocken, were married at St. Thomas of Villanova - the chapel on their alma mater's campus.

At the reception for 215, half the tables were named for places in the Philadelphia region, including Ocean City and Manayunk, and half for places in Michigan, such as Up North and Ford Field.

Michigan also provided liquid refreshment. Serving Bell's Oberon was so important to Pat that he delivered eight cases to the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue himself.

The rehearsal dinner had featured a Michigan cherry salad and a whitefish entree.

Philly food culture dictated the cocktail-hour appetizers - guests ate cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, and pulled-pork sliders. "I really wanted to welcome everyone to Philadelphia, with so many guests coming from out of town," Katie said.

Pat and Katie knew it would be warm on their wedding day, but a 101-degree high was a little much. With the tuxedo-clad portion of the wedding party sweltering during the outdoor photos, the shoot was moved inside the Union League, where the couple had held their rehearsal dinner.

Throughout college, whenever Katie sat in Villanova's chapel, she couldn't help but think what a great place it would be for a wedding. So when the doors opened, and she and her father began walking toward Pat at the end of the aisle, it was if a beautiful daydream had come to life, she said. "It was a very surreal moment."

At the couple's request, the Bellevue set up a space for them to have a few hors d'oeuvres and champagne and enjoy a private moment just before the reception. "It was the first time Katie and I were by ourselves and when we really realized what had just happened - we were married," Pat said.

A bargain: The money spent on their wedding at the Hyatt in Philadelphia earned the couple five free nights at the Hyatt Regency in Maui on their honeymoon.

The splurge: Katie fell in love with a pair of Manolo Blahniks. Neither the high heels nor the high price dissuaded her. Pat bought a new suit and dress shirt at Boyds of Philadelphia - it was the first time he'd ever been in the "fancy suit joint," he said.

Seven nights in Maui, three in Kauai.

Officiant

The Rev. James J. McKeaney, pastor at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Bryn Mawr

Venues

St. Thomas of Villanova Chapel, Villanova University, and Hyatt at the Bellevue, Philadelphia

Photo

Phil Kramer, Phil Kramer Photographers Inc., Philadelphia

Video

Marc Smiler, Marc Smiler Video Artist, Philadelphia

Music

CTO Park Avenue, Philadelphia

Florist

Carl Alan Floral Designs, Philadelphia

Dress

By Stephan Jolie, purchased at Bijou Bridal & Special Occasion, Ardmore

Invitations

Valley Press, Bala Cynwyd

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