The odds were against Veronica Di Santo and Jake Abramowicz getting together at a mutual friend's party, since Jake was being set up with at least three other women. But the two got to talking when a song by Digable Planets started playing, and they soon realized that their mutual interests extended beyond old-school hip hop.

Obscure Asian movies, for example. After a first date featuring an attempted kiss that Jake admitted "didn't go very well," he invited Veronica over to watch "Oldboy," a South Korean revenge film. This time, the date—and the kiss—worked out much better.

The couple began seeing each other and the fact that Veronica and Jake—she a business partner with her mother, bridal gown designer, Ines Di Santo, and he a mortgage financier—were both busy and ambitious only seemed to strengthen their bond.

"Jake has a passion for life, but was still juggling responsibility," said Veronica. "He's a bit more of a free spirit than I am." Replied Jake: "The fact is she grounded me. What attracted me to her was her ambition, her intelligence and her smile."

Jake's respect for Veronica's sense of style complicated his proposal plans. "I didn't want to buy the 'real' ring without her," he explained. At dinner one night, he hid an inexpensive ring under a sushi roll. But as Veronica picked up the roll, the ring stayed stuck to the bottom.

"I quickly swiped it away and got down on my knee," said Jake. "She still had a mouthful of sushi and caviar and she was saying, 'No, no, not now!'"

"I didn't give the reaction I would have given under normal circumstances," said Veronica. "I was more stunned than anything."

Veronica recovered from her shock and agreed to Jake's proposal, cheered by his promise of another, once they picked out a proper ring. But Jake managed to surprise her again, this time by proposing in a local Home Depot. "I was ecstatic," she said. "Everyone stood around and clapped."

Veronica and her mother agreed that the wedding would be "a mini fashion show," and they worked together to design a trio of bridal dresses for Veronica to wear over the course of the evening. "Everything Ines has done has been a work in progress leading up to this," said Veronica. "It was something very special, her doing this for me."

Jake and Veronica's wedding day dawned soggy and gloomy, however, threatening to put a damper on the outdoor nuptials. "Any other bride would have been crying and going nuts over the rain, but Veronica was very calm about it," said Jake. Despite the water streaming off umbrellas and soaking her dress, Veronica described the ceremony as "the most romantic ever," capped by a first kiss dramatically lit by a sudden sunburst.

Like many in attendance at the ceremony, Jake said he was "totally blown away" when he saw Veronica in her wedding gown. In his smitten opinion, however, "she made the dress look the way it did," he said.

Veronica and Jake, who plan to honeymoon in Thailand in the fall, are still busy, but their goals have changed. "We are both going to concentrate on building up our businesses to a level where we can put them on cruise control when kids come"—which they would like to happen soon—Veronica said.

Written by Bob Curley