Love: Hallie Elizabeth Meighan & Jason Solomon Mintz

Jan. 5 at Holly Hedge Estate in New Hope by Jim McGlynn, an officiant with Journeys of the Heart. A reception for 150 followed.

They met

Hallie, now 26, and Jason, who turned 27 the day after the wedding, met in fall 2004 at Temple University, where both were studying for a master's degree in geology. Sharing a quirky sense of humor, they soon became friends. On April Fools' Day 2005, the two were on a class field trip. After a hard day of hands-on geology, they were drinking cheap beer in the hotel, and found themselves having a farting contest. Jason - impressed that any woman would engage in such behavior - kissed Hallie.

Less than a year later, Hallie was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She had surgery in February 2006, but tests showed she needed further treatment. Then that summer, Jason broke his leg while hiking in the Badlands of South Dakota.

"Most people, they don't get to experience the 'in sickness and in health' part of the vows ahead of time," Hallie said, "but we've already gotten through all of that."

He asked

Jason's cast was off, the treatment was a week behind them, and in mid-August, the couple went to Jamaica in celebration of surviving the summer. "He started talking about how good we are together, how we are a good system of checks and balances," Hallie said. "Then he went down on one knee."

A year later, in August 2007, tests showed that Hallie still had some cancerous cells in her body, so she underwent treatment again. Her doctors are optimistic, but it takes a year to be certain the treatment has worked.

9 to 5

Hallie, who grew up in Walworth, N.Y., is a geologist for an environmental firm in Austin, Texas. Jason, a native of Dresher, is working on his doctorate in geology at Baylor University in Waco.

Making a home

The couple lives in Temple, Texas.

First steps

"Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli.

Doing it their way

The ceremony contained a geology lesson. Jason compared the process of stabilizing rifts in the Earth's crust to becoming a couple. "Growing up, we started to separate from our families and grow apart, but we didn't just keep rifting," he said. "We stopped, and we filled in that emptiness with our love for each other, and our families, and formed the stability that we all stand on today."

The ceremony also contained elements from their combined Catholic/Jewish/Irish backgrounds. They lit a unity candle and had a handfasting ceremony. At the end, Jason stepped on a glass and everyone yelled, "Mazel tov!"

Not a dry eye

The couple got teary during their vows. Both mothers cried the whole time.

Bloopers

Before getting to the real first dance number, the DJ started to play the mother-son dance song, then the father-daughter surprise dance song, Devo's "Whip It." Eventually, Frankie Valli came on.

Hallie and Jason say

Marrying couples should underestimate the final head count to the caterer a bit. People will cancel, and you'll have to foot the bill.

The honeymoon

A mini-moon at the Omni in Old City after the wedding. A summer trip to Ireland and England is planned.