Hello there
Stopping for the light at Broad and Vine, Allison pulled down the visor mirror of her little black Mercedes to apply lip gloss. That's when a big silver Mercedes pulled up.
The driver signaled her to roll down her window.
"He was a nice-looking guy," Allison remembered. "He was dressed nice and had a nice car. I figured, 'What's the worst that can happen?' I just rolled it down a little bit."
The other driver was Demetrius.
"I could see from her car that she had taste," he said. As the window rolled down, "I could see the blond hair flowing, and her pretty face."
"I'd like to take you to dinner," Demetrius told Allison that Friday night in December 2010.
He got out of his car and stood in traffic so they could exchange business cards. They wound up talking for 10 minutes, leaving other vehicles to veer around them.
"I had a three-piece suit on, and a full-length fur coat," Demetrius said. "I didn't look like the kind of guy you blow a horn at."
The following Monday night, they met at Copa on South Street.
Asked how the first date went, Demetrius chuckled. "Expensive," he said. "Her drink of choice that night was Patrón, and I think she probably had about six of them, along with appetizers, dinner, and margaritas."
Allison laughed, too. And then they agreed the night was terrific. "The conversation was flowing, and we talked about everything," she said. "I thought he was charismatic and smart."
"I like that she is a hard worker, a go-getter," Demetrius said. "She's worldly, she has experienced a lot and traveled a lot. She has more stamps in her passport than anybody I know."
Allison, who is now 31, was born in West Virginia but lived in Colorado, Virginia, and Australia before coming here to earn a degree in business and sociology from Villanova University. She's a real estate broker and also sales manager for a luxury Center City building.
Demetrius, now 39, was born in Philadelphia and raised in Bensalem. He studied business at Penn State for a year, but left college to start a business. For the last two and a half years, he's owned Gloss Nightclub/Bar & Grill at Broad and Hunting Park.
Subsequent dates included Trivia Night on South Street and watching Jeopardy! together at his house near City Avenue or hers near Graduate Hospital. They spent so much time together that by March Demetrius moved in and they rented out his place.
The two entrepreneurs now also have a real estate holding company.
How does forever sound?
Demetrius talked about proposing for more than a year, and Allison was more than a little tired of that talk.
For her 30th birthday in July 2013, Demetrius booked a suite with a gorgeous view at the Borgata. There was champagne and strawberries, and gifts that included Louboutin shoes. And then Demetrius was on one knee. "You know, I want to be with you forever. And when the time is right, I want to get you a ring."
"Get off of your knee," Allison said. "Stop playing. It's not funny."
"I love you, I'm always going to love you," Demetrius said from the floor. "Let's go to Murmur."
Allison responded with what Demetrius describes as "angry bear face."
Then Demetrius got up and walked to the window. He reached behind the curtain to retrieve a small box. He knelt again, but this time, asked a more serious question. "Will you marry me?"
Angry Bear became Ecstatic Bear, and said yes.
It was so them
The save-the-date cards were comic books, drawn by Allison with help from an artist, that tell the story of how the couple met.
Allison's mother, Elizabeth, and father, Peter, had been married 30 years when Elizabeth passed away nearly two years ago. They had been married at Allison's grandparents' house. Demetrius' late parents, William and Joanne, were also married at a family member's home. "We wanted to carry on the tradition," Allison said.
So they married at the Gladwyne home the couple bought last spring.
The ceremony took place in their front courtyard. A groomsman built a wooden aisle that the couple covered in purple satin. Demetrius' niece Sade, the flower girl, tossed yellow rose petals. Bridesmaid Vanessa, Demetrius' 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, escorted Sade and Zeuss, Allison's cocker spaniel, down the aisle.
The 80 guests moved to the backyard for the reception.
The theme, Crystal Luxe Lounge, inspired floating LED balls in the pool and LED cubes all around it. The clear centers of the guest tables glowed with changing colors. White, tufted leather furniture offered guests a place to recline, and the couple shared a similar throne-for-two. A caricature artist drew for the guests. Fire dancers performed on the dance floor the couple built.
The cake by Philadelphia's Tiffany's Bakery was treated as art, placed on a pedestal on a table that dripped with crystals and flowers, and, until serving time, was cordoned off with stanchions and velvet ropes.
The bride began the day in a long, white fitted dress with a sheer crystal beaded back. She changed into a princess-style dress with gold corset bodice and lots of tulle. Toward the end of the night, she and Demetrius, with his white and black piped vest, black jacket and pants, jumped in the pool.
Awestruck
After the ceremony, Allison and Demetrius took 20 minutes for themselves. The conversation was mostly along the lines of "We really got married! This is crazy!" Allison said. "I didn't think it would be that big a deal, since we have lived together, and had businesses together," Allison said. "But it was a different feeling. It felt like we were more connected. And every time I looked down at his hand and saw him wearing that ring, it would hit me again."
Discretionary spending
A bargain: For the ceremony, Allison bought a steel arch online, and then with the help of her sister and a friend, covered it with fabric and crystals. She spent about one-eighth the cost of renting one.
The splurge: Renting all that white leather furniture. "It was extravagant and expensive, but it was just the way I wanted it to look," Allison said.
The getaway
A trip to Dubai is planned for early next year.
Love: BEHIND THE SCENES
Officiant: Pastor Derek Lawrence, New Psalmist Baptist, Philadelphia
Venue: The couple's home in Gladwyne
Catering: Chanda Carter, Philadelphia
Photo: Brandon Hall of PhotographyByBrandon
Music: DJ Marc Asbury and band T-Fusion, both of Philadelphia
Dress: One purchased from a New York boutique and then customized, one from Neiman Marcus
Planner: Deidre Gray, Always a Positive Image, Philadelphia