The story begins where all great love stories begin, in the lobby of La Salle College High School. After most of the campus cleared out for the evening, two freshmen, Sean and Michael, remained trying to figure out their algebra homework and dates for the freshman formal. Michael suggested that Sean take his twin sister, Jean, and that he could ask her when she and Michael’s mom came to pick him up that evening. Sean agreed, and so, as the Reilly car pulled to the top of the long La Salle driveway, he opened the door, asked Jean to the winter formal, and luckily, she said yes! Sean was thrilled to have a date and Jean, confused but also excited, had just one pressing question for her brother: “Who was that?”

As the freshman formal quickly approached, Sean sought the advice of his sisters. Encouraged to be confident and “not boring,” Sean's sisters advised it best to never stop dancing. Sean took this advice to heart, and perhaps a bit too literally, while Jean was understandably a bit more shy to open up. Nevertheless, the pair enjoyed their time together so throughout high school they continued on as dance partners and eventually became a couple.

Their first date was a casual trip to Campus Corner Villanova. The night started with an average pizza and ended with a phone call from their parents to the Radnor police because Jean and Sean were not answering their phones. They didn't leave the booth where they had started the night and talked for hours. They could have stayed talking in that booth all night. A few dates followed after this. One week in particular Sean asked Jean what she wanted to do Friday. She said, “Surprise me.” And so, about a month after their first date and years of friendship, on a walk through Villanova, Sean asked Jean to be his girlfriend at long last.

Over the next six years, Jean and Sean would graduate high school, become experts of the SEPTA Regional Rail between Temple and Villanova, graduate college, and become nurses, all by each other’s side. Now, Jean and Sean are getting married!

On July 1, Sean had a plan to surprise Jean once again and recreate the day they became official. As he had been told by Mrs. Reilly, don’t let Jean get hungry, so the morning started with breakfast at Minella’s Diner. From there, they went for a walk through Villanova as they had for years before, and just across the bridge, Sean stopped, got on his knee, and asked for Jean’s hand in marriage. With tears in her eyes, she said yes! The long path that started in the La Salle parking lot was now headed for the altar and they could not be happier.

Since the proposal, we have been enjoying planning our wedding with the help of our families. We cannot wait to celebrate the big day on October 5th, 2024!