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Love: Caitlin Esmond & Christian Alsis

Hello there It was the first day of playwriting class, spring semester 2005, at Temple University. Caitlin, who grew up in Olney and Abington, commuted to Temple from her Cheltenham apartment, and the university shuttle got her there early. She opened Persepolis.

Caitlin Esmond and Christian Alsis
Photog: Amanda Brubaker
Caitlin Esmond and Christian Alsis Photog: Amanda BrubakerRead more

Hello there

It was the first day of playwriting class, spring semester 2005, at Temple University. Caitlin, who grew up in Olney and Abington, commuted to Temple from her Cheltenham apartment, and the university shuttle got her there early. She opened Persepolis.

Christian, who grew up in Broomall, had barely rolled out of bed in his nearby dorm when he saw the unusual sight of a student passing time not with phone or headphones, but with a book. And she was beautiful. Wishing he had taken a minute to do something about his hair, Christian walked over. "What are you reading?"

Caitlin didn't mind his scruff. "He asked me about my book," she remembers, still sounding a little surprised. From then on, they talked a little before class every day. Whenever collaboration was required, they picked each other - so much so that their professor eventually forbade them.

Outside class, they messaged on Facebook or Instant Messenger.

The next semester brought no class in common, but Caitlin had one that ended just before Christian's began. He went early and bought coffee he didn't even like, just for the chance to talk a minute. "I did that at least a solid two months," he said.

Caitlin wondered if Christian was interested, but had too many doubts to risk their friendship.

In February, Christian, who was also uncertain of Caitlin's feelings, decided it was time to take a risk. He made her a paper Valentine, with glue and macaroni and a not-at-all romantic image from Top Gun, and asked his roommate, who was in her class, to deliver it.

"I thought it was hilarious, but also strange," Caitlin said. "But now I knew this guy definitely had designs on me."

Their trip to the movies was mostly awkward. Christian wanted to pay, but Caitlin got to the ticket window first and didn't want to presume. Her "one, please," made Christian wonder if she was trying to tell him she wasn't interested.

Having come this far, he tried again. "We have to go on an actual date, OK?" he said.

They went to "Body Worlds" at the Franklin Institute - the exhibition of plasticized human remains. "I was trying to impress her with my witty quips," Christian said.

It worked. Especially afterward, at the diner. "He kept making jokes and I couldn't even breathe or eat. He just made me laugh so hard."

They've been inseparable since.

Christian, who earned a film and media arts degree, is by day a settlement coordinator at Coldwell Banker Preferred Real Estate, and by night a stand-up comedian who performs at Helium Comedy Club and the Philly Improv Theater.

After earning an English degree, Caitlin earned a master's degree in library science from Drexel. She's now the librarian at Lower Southampton Elementary in the Neshaminy School District.

How does forever sound?

The couple, now both 29, found a Queen Village apartment together in 2011. In fall 2012, Christian wrote a play for Caitlin's birthday. While the two usually fight their friends' urge to combine their last names, Christian embraced it for The Almond Story.

He moved the coffee table out of the way and handed Caitlin her script. "You be you, and read the stage directions. I'll be me and any other people," he told her.

"We always write each other letters for holidays," Caitlin said. "I didn't see this as that much different."

Scene One was a historically accurate portrayal of their meeting in playwriting class. One scene had them living in a retirement colony on the moon. In the final scene, Christian told Caitlin he wrote her a play - a little joke on her since she hates the meta. "Let's skip to the end," he said.

Christian needed no script to detail why he loves her, and no stage direction to kneel.

It was so them

The couple, who now live in Pennsport, wed at Richmond Hall in a ceremony led by Family Court Judge Diane R. Thompson, a friend of the bride's family.

Caitlin walked the aisle to an instrumental version of the Smiths' "Please Please Please (Let Me Get What I Want)." The reading came from Still Life With Woodpecker.

The couple wrote their own vows, and also love letters, which were slipped into a box with a bottle of wine. The box won't be opened until their 20th anniversary, or if tough times ever necessitate a reminder of why they chose to marry.

At their celebratory kiss, the couple's 175 guests waved cream, red, and gold pennant flags that said "Go Kate!" And "Go Chris!" They twirled gold and red ribbon wands.

Caitlin's nephews Mike, 13, and Dan, 10, invented their own wedding role. Donning aviator sunglasses and earpieces, they were Caitlin's security detail.

The reception featured a photo booth and tables named for Temple buildings. Rather than toss a bouquet, Caitlin gave one to her great-aunt Marge and great-uncle John, in honor of their 58 years of marriage, and to Uncle Steve and Aunt Sue, in honor of their 54 years.

Awestruck

The hours before the wedding ceremony were filled with last-minute stress, yet managed to drag on forever, Christian said. "I just wanted to be married to Caitlin, like now." It was eventually time for pre-ceremony picture-taking. Christian felt Caitlin's tap on his shoulder, and turned around to "the most beautiful person I had ever seen. All the stress, and everything else, just melted away," he remembered. "I just had to hug her."

Caitlin hadn't wanted to see Christian beforehand, convinced it would make seeing each other at the ceremony less special. She caved for logistical reasons, and it turned out not to matter. When she began walking down the aisle with her parents, "I cried like a baby. My grandmother was in the first row, and she made a funny smiley face, trying to make me smile. But these were tears of joy. It was 'Oh my God, this is it. After nine years, we're finally getting married.' "

Discretionary spending

A bargain: Christian's filmmaker friend shot video of the wedding. He didn't charge the couple, and although they gave him an honorarium, it was about a quarter of what hiring someone would have cost. Christian has done this friend favors, too - like appearing in a short film that required he hold two dead chickens and scream at the Greek goddess Athena in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The splurge: "The photo booth was the first thing I booked," Caitlin said.

The getaway

They'll enjoy nine days in Jamaica during a break in the school year.

 BEHIND THE SCENES

Officiant: Judge Diane R. Thompson, family court division, Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia

Venue: Richmond Hall, Philadelphia

Catering: Catering by Mario's, Philadelphia

Photo: Amanda Brubaker, Philadelphia

Dress: David's Bridal

Music: No Macarena, Philadelphia

Flowers: Amaranth, Narberth