Gina Santoro & Luigi Corrado Jr.

Gina and Luigi have always known each other - their families' friendship stretches across three generations and two continents. But it took years of basement video-game marathons, huge, Italian-style family parties, a fateful trip to the Old Country, and a little bit of boredom for them to fall in love.

The same black-and-white photograph hangs in both the Santoro and Corrado family homes, which are less than half a mile apart in Towamencin. It is a class picture from a grade school in Castelfranci, Italy, and among the rows of students standing on a cobblestone street are Benito Santoro and Luigi Corrado Sr., both about 6 years old.

Benito and Luigi's parents were close friends, and the families immigrated to the Philadelphia area about the same time, in the 1960s. They got together at least once a week.

The boys grew up. Benito married Phyllis and Luigi married Rita within a few years of each other. Luigi was best man at Benito and Phyllis' wedding. Rita Corrado and Phyllis Santoro were expecting babies within days of each other in 1979, but Gina beat little Luigi Jr. by showing up early.

Eventually, both families moved to Towamencin. Gina's brother, Benito Jr., and Luigi Jr. were friends and hockey teammates. "I would go watch," Gina said. "I'd be rooting for my brother and Luigi when I was 12 or 13 years old." The Italians in the neighborhood would have huge parties, and Gina, Luigi, and all the kids would play video games or foosball together.

After high school, Gina went to St. Joe's, Luigi to La Salle. After graduation, each rented an apartment in Manayunk. In 2005, they lived blocks apart and frequented the same spots, but managed never to see each other.

That summer, Gina and her family vacationed in Castelfranci. Who should she see walking down a cobblestone street but Luigi. "Neither one of us knew the other was there," Gina said. "We spent one or two days hanging out." That reopened the door on a friendship that had been in idle since high school.

That fall, Gina left Manayunk to move back to Towamencin with her family. "A month or so after I moved home, I was driving to Wawa to get coffee," Gina remembered. That route takes her past the Corrado home, and guess who was in the yard. She beeped at Luigi. "What are you doing home?" she asked. "I just moved home," he said.

A few days later, they talked on the phone. As it turns out, he was just as bored as she was. They started going to the mall and to get sushi. "We were like buddies," Gina said.

On one buddy outing, Luigi reached over and held her hand. Neither was sure this was such a good idea, what with three generations of family ties involved. They talked about it that December and decided to give things a try - very, very slowly.

On one such low-key date, they ran into her cousin. On another, they saw his. "Before we knew it, everyone was talking about the relationship," Gina said. "We're barely even dating, and everyone is planning our wedding!"

Despite the buzz around family gatherings, Gina and Luigi stuck by their plan to take things slowly.

But by summer of 2008, it was clear the rumors of a Santoro/Corrado wedding weren't wrong, just premature.

Luigi planned a two-week trip for two to Italy. But before they left in early August, he told Gina his work had been so busy that he didn't have time to plan for a proposal, so she shouldn't expect one.

Gina went to Italy glad to have no expectations and was enjoying the trip immensely, especially their time in and around Castelfranci. They traveled to Florence, Rome, and other cities, but on the next-to-last day of their trip, they were back in Castelfranci, enjoying the town's festival for its patron saints. Gina and Luigi sat on the balcony of his uncle's home, looking down at the lights and the swirl of activity, and listening to the musicians.

Luigi began telling her all the reasons he loved her, and soon Gina knew there was going to be a proposal after all. He knelt before her, she said yes, and they ran down to the piazza to celebrate with the whole village.

It took about 10 minutes for the news to reach Towamencin.

Gina and Luigi, who now have their own home in Towamencin, were married at St. Rita's Church in South Philly. They chose the location because of its beauty and because Luigi's mother was named after St. Rita.

Gina's mother, Phyllis, passed away in 2000. A photo of her, with flowers and candles, was displayed prominently at the church. Gina considers the warm-for-January weather and the clear blue skies her mother's gift to her and Luigi.

The reception for 190 was held at the Curtis Center. Each table was named after towns and cities the couple visited on their trip to Italy. They sat at Castelfranci.

The Italian band is the same one that played at Gina's parents' wedding.

Gina is a pharmaceutical sales representative whose territory includes Abington and Philadelphia. Luigi is a CPA in Philadelphia.

Gina had planned to wear sweats around her father's house until she put her wedding dress on. "You can't wear that! The photographers are going to be here!" her sister, Danielle, said. Danielle went into her old closet and frantically searched through the cast-off clothes she left behind when she moved out. She emerged with a summery dress that looked gorgeous on Gina.

At a family gathering in the days leading up to the wedding, Gina and her father practiced dancing to their song, which, in Italian, describes a father's joy at seeing his daughter get married. The father tells the daughter she is beautiful and looks just like her mother. Everyone got teary-eyed, and Gina started to worry that she would cry the whole way down the aisle. Instead, she was joyous. She kept stopping to hug and talk to family and friends. "I felt really loved," she said.

A bargain: Gina used the florist her sister uses to supply her restaurant in Maryland. "In the middle of dead winter, I got peonies, orchids, and hydrangea," she said. And she paid less than half of what another florist would have charged.

The splurge: When it came to the pictures, Luigi and Gina knew who they wanted, because they had seen Rebecca Barger's work. "We didn't look at anyone else," Gina said.

A week in the Bahamas.

Officiant
Rev. Zachary William Navit, Doylestown

Venue
St. Rita Shrine and the Curtis Center, Philadelphia

Catering
Cescaphe Catering, Philadelphia

Music
Frank Mastromarco, Idea 71, Newtown

Dress
St. Pucci Couture, from Nicole Bridal, Jenkintown

Photography
Rebecca Barger Photography, Jenkintown

Flowers
Kiki Rose, owner Mary Murray, Elkton, Md.

Invitations
Monique Lhuillier, from the One Stop Wedding Shoppe, Willow Grove

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