Kelly Devlin and Matthew Robbins met while they were students at Boston University. Active members of Greek life—he a Chi Phi and she an Alpha Delta Pi—they were introduced by mutual friends. “There was a spark,” Kelly reminisced, but nearly a year passed before “we materialized as a couple.”

After graduation Kelly moved to New York City to pursue a job in advertising and Matt headed for nearby Westchester to work for a real estate development company. It wasn’t long before an offer came for him to move to St. Thomas, but he didn’t want to go without Kelly. “We always knew that we would be together forever; it was just a matter of when,” Kelly said.

On Thanksgiving Day 2004, unbenonced to Kelly, Matt had asked for her father’s blessing; “essentially everyone knew that the question was coming, except for me,” Kelly recalled. The next day they left for a weekend in Boston. Matt had been intrigued by The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge during its construction. Coupled with the fact that it overlooked the city where their relationship began, he decided it was the perfect place to propose. With Kelly manning the wheel, he asked her to pull over. “I just thought he wanted to take pictures,” she noted. Although there were some unforeseen logistical hurdles—like how to get down on one knee in a car—they “had a good laugh” and Kelly said yes.

They celebrated with drinks at The Top of the Hub, dinner at a favorite restaurant, and a night cap at their old college hangout (which bestowed the same bartender and he still remembered them) then headed for the Boston Park Plaza hotel. The following night they had an “impromptu engagement party” at the Capital Grill with some of their closest friends.

Wanting to marry classic New England style with their modern taste, Kelly and Matt decided on Middletown, Conn., for its stately Wadsworth Mansion; “it was just magical,” Kelly said. “Its majestic columns and beautiful landscaping struck a chord with me.” The simple ceremony was held at the local First United Methodist Church. Matt had five groomsmen and Kelly had four bridesmaids—Matt’s sister Kimberly was her maid of honor.

At the reception, an abundance of candles and vases tied with bows and overflowing with strands of pearls acted as the centerpieces. “The effect was so romantic and cozy,” Kelly noted. Following a tradition of Matt’s family, they displayed wedding pictures of their relatives in the dining room for their 130 guests to enjoy during dinner. Reinventing something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, Kelly and Matthew appointed token martinis: a classic martini with olives, the Wadsworth Mansion (invented by their caterer), a Stoli Doli borrowed from their engagement party, and a Caribbean Sea.

The cake followed suit with the décor featuring a nosegay of pale blue hydrangea and white roses and a pearl border separated the tiers, which was inspired by Kelly’s Wearkstatt wedding gown—her first look of the evening. The groom’s cake mimicked Matt’s Tommy Hilfiger tuxedo. Kelly’s second look was a strapless A-line that fell below the knee. “It was a fun dress to end the evening in,” she said. The 10-piece band “had everyone up on the dance floor.”

The following day they had a post-wedding brunch and shared stories of the previous nights’ festivities. Then, without delay, they left for a 10-day Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Greece and France, backed by two romantic nights in Florence and two in Venice.

Written by Jessica Latimer