Hello there
In December 1995, Daneil, then 25, handled public relations for a New York City record company.
Needing photo prints of a band she was promoting, Daneil walked into a Midtown photo lab. It was there, behind the counter, that she first saw the dark-haired, side-burned, artsy boy of her dreams. "I just fell in love with him at first sight," she said.
Daneil could have had her subsequent photographic needs met by a lab closer to her job in The Village. She could have sent a courier. But Daneil personally took her business to Karl, then 22, as often as she could, sometimes hiding behind a large potted plant in the lobby just to look at him for a few moments longer.
Before long, Daneil and Karl were talking about music and movies, and Daneil discovered the young man from Philadelphia was as nice as he was handsome. Confident in the vibe between them, she invited Karl to a magazine launch party with a group from her work. He said he couldn't go. Daneil tried to hide her disappointment in a joke. "I don't know why you're not worshipping me!" she said. "Because I'm worshipping another," he answered.
Daneil said she respected the fact he had a girlfriend, and Karl decided he felt comfortable going to the party with the group. That weekend, in January 1996, he moved back home to Frankford. Karl gave Daneil his phone number, in case she had photo questions that only he could answer.
Daneil and Karl exchanged calls, letters and mixed tapes. After he broke up with his long-term girlfriend, Karl even traveled to New Brunswick, N.J., to visit. They smooched, but things never really materialized. Daneil was disappointed, but a strong friendship developed. When he was in New York, they'd have lunch. By then, Daneil was playing drums and writing songs for the band she's still in, sprcss (sounds like: s process), and whenever they played Philly, Karl would come to the show.
He dated. So did she. But "I loved him the whole time," Daneil said. "And every guy I ever dated knew." One former boyfriend, a fellow band member, wrote a song about Karl and the street he lived on, "Spring Garden Houses a Skinny Enemy."
In 2000, the friends decided to try again to be a couple. But Daneil was living in Providence, R.I., while Karl was working very hard on his design career in Philadelphia. (He now has his own design studio, Die Creative.) The distance proved too much, and they broke up after five months.
Even though Daneil wound up moving to Philadelphia in 2001, it would be a long time before she and Karl even spoke again. Yet, inspired by the way she felt whenever she passed by Karl's apartment, she wrote the song "Spring Garden Drive By."
In 2003, Daneil ran into Karl at a deli, where they talked for five awkward minutes. Then nothing until spring 2006 when she e-mailed him: "Do you want to get together for drinks?" He did.
Daneil was not thinking drinks would lead to anything. She was performing a sort of psycho-emotional experiment on herself; none of her relationships had worked out, and she wondered if it was because deep down, she was still in love with Karl.
They met at a Northern Liberties bar. The conversation flowed. She e-mailed him again and they had dinner. Another good time. Then, she waited for him to contact her. And she waited.
Daneil realized she had, in fact, been waiting for Karl for a decade. By then in her 30s, she finally realized Karl just didn't like her in that way. And while she wished he did, she was finally able to accept it and realize it did not mean she was lacking in any way. Then and there, Daneil vowed to stop waiting.
A week later, she was performing upstairs at Standard Tap. After finishing at about 1 a.m., Daneil walked downstairs, and there was Karl, drinking with his friends. He was very happy to see her. "I was thinking, 'He never called me. I'm done with this,' " Daneil said. But she didn't budge as they talked and talked, and then agreed to walk the block to his apartment to talk some more.
"I've been thinking about you for a while now," Karl told her once they were there. "I've been talking to my parents about you. And I think the reason we haven't gone on into serious relationships is because we're supposed to be together."
How does forever sound?
By November 2008, Karl and Daneil were talking about marriage. On one of their regular weekend trips to New York, Karl surprised Daneil by making reservations at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Soon after they returned from dinner, there was a knock at the door. After a moment, Karl came back with a tray of various desserts, and that alone made Daneil happy. Then, tray in his hands, Karl knelt in front of Daneil. Sticking up from the middle of the crème brulee was a ring.
It was so them
The couple, who now live in South Philadelphia, considered hotels and ballrooms and "everything was really nice . . . but nothing felt like us," Daneil said. Every Saturday, the couple has dinner at the Northern Liberties institution Honey's Sit 'N Eat. During one such supper, inspiration struck.
Daneil and Karl were married at Honey's, in front of 36 guests, who then feasted on Honey's fried chicken, pork chops, vegetable lasagne or vegan meatloaf. Afterward, they held a party with dancing for 75 people at RUBA Hall.
Awestruck
At Honey's, Daneil and Karl sat on their usual stools at the counter, near the ATM. "It's where we always have dinner," Daneil said. "But sitting there as husband and wife, he in his suit, I in my dress, it was a very wonderful moment."
Discretionary spending
A bargain: Daneil is director of marketing for OLIN, a Philadelphia landscape architecture firm. As his wedding gift to the couple, David Rubin, a partner at the firm, designed and arranged all the flowers for the wedding. "It was not only a lovely gesture, it saved us a ton of money," Daneil said.
The splurge: The bride bought a simple ivory satin dress - it was the one that looked best on her. But then she started to think maybe it was too simple. "I bought a 16-strand pearl necklace. It was the statement of the outfit," Daneil said. The necklace cost as much as the dress.
This was a surprise
Daneil, 39, and Karl, 37, honeymooned for nine days in Portugal. It was supposed to be 10. "We got to the airport on Tuesday and checked in," Daneil said, recalling the beginning of their trip. "The guy said, 'You know you were supposed to leave yesterday, right?' "
Behind the Scenes
Officiant
Charlie Cooper, Humbleman Weddings, Philadelphia
Venue
Ceremony/reception: Honey's Sit 'N Eat
After-party: RUBA Hall, both in Philadelphia
Catering
Honey's Sit 'N Eat
Photography/Videography
Travis Klami, friend of the couple
Music
DJ Vincent Smaldone, Lancaster
Dress
By designer Jenny Lee. Purchased from the Wedding Shoppe in Wayne
Invitations
PNG Empire, Philadelphia
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