Hello there
Lori and Kevin have known each other since the late 1970s, when they were middle schoolers in Canandaigua, N.Y. "We were in the same group of friends all the way through high school," Lori said. They never dated. Lori left Canandaigua to study finance at Drexel University. From her sophomore year on, Philadelphia became her year-round home.
In June 1998, Lori returned to New York's Finger Lakes region to attend a wedding as the guest of her friend, Pam. She saw a familiar figure walk across the lawn. "Isn't that Kevin?" Lori asked Pam, who was also part of the Canandaigua circle.
It had been 13 years since she had seen her old pal, but through the grapevine, Lori knew that Kevin was a state trooper living in a small town in Vermont and that his wife had recently given birth to their fourth child. She walked up to him during the reception, and started talking a mile a minute, filling him in on her return to Drexel, where she was earning her MBA and living on campus as the house mom for her sorority. "He gave me a strange look, and I said, 'You don't remember who I am, do you?' "
He didn't. But her name brought it all back, and Lori, Kevin, and others in the old gang had a grand time hanging out at a friend's lake cottage after the wedding.
Lori returned to Philadelphia with a keen sense of disappointment; Kevin was a great guy with whom she felt a connection - and he was very, very taken.
Seven years passed. In January 2005, Lori got an e-mail from the social networking Web site Classmates.com: Kevin had written about his recently finalized divorce. "He said he was finally in a place where he could look up his old friends. He was starting his life over and was trying to catch up with people."
Lori and Kevin began exchanging friendly e-mails. She expected nothing more than that - while Kevin was now single, he still lived in Vermont. But e-mails gave way to phone calls, and eventually, Kevin confessed that he had sent the group e-mail specifically with the hope of finding her again. That March, Kevin came to Philadelphia for a visit. It was wonderful. Two weeks later, she was on a plane for a tour of his territory. For 4 1/2 years, they dated long distance.
How does forever sound?
Kevin and Lori, both now 43, started talking about something long-term within the first few months of dating. But Kevin was always up front with her: He would not feel financially ready to marry until his alimony payments ceased. And he would not leave Vermont until his youngest child graduated from high school in 2016.
Kevin's kids, Kelsey, 19; Breeanna, 17; Jena, 13; and Branden 11, had to come first. "I knew where I stood in relation to his kids, and I was fine with that," Lori said.
Besides, the city girl had a requirement of her own: She would not move from Philadelphia to small-town Vermont. "I finally got a job here that I'm really happy in," said Lori, who is a royalty accountant for film distributor TLA Entertainment Group in Philadelphia.
In 2007, Kevin's alimony payments ended. He told Lori that he wanted to get hitched, and they began looking for rings.
Kevin came for a visit in February 2008. Lori knew he had purchased an antique diamond ring on eBay, and the wait was killing her. After lunch, the couple took a horse-and-carriage ride in Old City. He brought out the ring box, and handed it to Lori. "Is there a question that goes with that?" she prompted. He asked, even though they both already knew the answer.
It was so them
Every Halloween, Lori works the will call/information office for Terror Behind the Walls - the famous fright night at Eastern State Penitentiary.
Despite regularly seeing the space at its creepiest, Lori also sees the beauty in its architecture. She and Kevin were married in front of 70 guests in the rotunda - the big room in the middle from where one can look down the rows of cell blocks. "Since he's a state trooper, there's a lot of irony going on there," Lori said.
Kevin entered the rotunda to the theme from Shaft. Lori walked in to "Time" by Pink Floyd.
Lori and Kevin's ceremony included a hand-tying ritual, and Kevin's children handed them the cords. Lori's mother, Joan Flanigan, and Kevin's, Betty Mays, handed the couple the rings they exchanged.
The reception was held in the marble entry hall at the College of Physicians.
Awestruck
During the vows, "when I had to talk to him about how he healed me and brought me peace, that's when I started to cry," Lori said.
Discretionary spending
A bargain: The chandelier in the rotunda. Lori bought a black wrought-iron fixture on eBay for $40. She spent $30 on crystal garland. Lori got film reels and film for free from her work, and used them in everything from the centerpieces to the boutonnieres.
The splurge: Lori's dress. Er, dresses. She picked one out at David's Bridal last November, but when she went to have it altered, Lori realized it would be too hot and heavy for an August wedding. She went to the Sample Rack on South Street and bought a designer's sample that she loved. "I sold the first dress on Craigslist," Lori said.
The getaway
Some yet-to-be-determined warm place in November.
At home
Lori still lives on Fitler Square, and Kevin still lives in his small town in Vermont. They talk twice a day on the phone and visit as frequently as possible, and a computer with a Web cam is in the works for Kevin.
Kevin has become more comfortable with the city, and Lori has learned to appreciate the country. After Branden graduates from high school in seven years, the two plan to move to a third, compromise location.
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Behind the Scenes
Officiant
Lori and Kevin had a self-uniting license. John Zenkowich, a friend of the couple, led the ceremony.
Venues
Ceremony, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia; reception, College of Physicians, Philadelphia.
Catering
Jack's Firehouse, Philadelphia, and Catering by Design, Philadelphia
Photography
Allebach Photography, Norristown
Music
Schaffer Sound, Media
Dress
The Sample Rack at La Fourno, Philadelphia
Invitations
Proud to Plan, Wilmington, Del.
"Day of" coordinator
Proud to Plan, Wilmington, Del.
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