On Love: Katie Rost weds James Orsini

Katie Rost & James Orsini

(Monica True) - Kathryn Rost and Dr. James Orsini at their wedding reception at Sunny Hill Farm in Lincoln, Va.

Katie Rost, 32, is a fashion model. James Orsini 33, is a doctor. They divide their time between Montclair, N.J., and Lincoln, Va.

Wedding date: Oct. 29

Location: Sunny Hill Farm, Lincoln, Va.

Guests: 130

How they met: As Boston University freshmen in the fall of 1997, Orsini and Rost were paired up to write a speech for their rhetoric class. They became fast friends and remained close for the next 13 years. In September 2010, Orsini had a two-week break before beginning his residency program at New York University. He invited Rost to join him on a road trip up the California coast, starting in Santa Barbara. By the time they reached Big Sur, their friendship had turned to love.

The proposal: In July 2011, Rost and Orsini were in New York having dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant, Erminia, which seats only 12 people. The couple rarely eats sweets, so when Orsini prolonged dinner by ordering panna cotta and Prosecco, Rost knew something was up. Over dessert, a nervous Orsini pulled a ring out of his pocket and asked Rost to be his wife.

The wedding: The couple’s plans for an outdoor wedding were foiled when Virginia experienced a rare October snowfall — the first in Virginia in 20 years. They moved to a tent for a ceremony that combined Rost’s Jewish and Orsini’s Catholic traditions. They put their months of lessons to good use and danced a rumba to Harry Connick Jr.’s “It Had to Be You.”

The honeymoon: After spending a night bar-hopping around Paris, they traveled to Rome, where the highlights included a four-hour tour of the Vatican and a visit to Tivoli Gardens.

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