After three weeks of e-mails, Chris and Rae met at the now-defunct Chestnut Hill Borders. The conversation was so wonderful, they left the bookstore for dinner, then drinks. The "friends-only" pledge would be harder to keep than they thought, but both were determined to keep the brakes applied.
"Especially with having children, you can't make the same kind of impulsive decisions you made previously," Rae said. They began getting together on weekends - sometimes going out as a couple, and other times getting together with their kids for movie nights or other family-oriented activities.
They discovered that Rae's quiet, somewhat reserved nature and Chris' outgoing spontaneity balanced each other perfectly. About three months into their relationship, the women knew they were getting serious, ready or not. And so, on a trip to the Franklin Institute, the women told their sons, Dylan, now 14, Jason, 12, and Nathan, 11, that they were girlfriends.
Rae and Chris held hands as they walked through the museum's giant model heart.
How does forever sound?
After dating for almost two years, Chris, now 41, and Rae, 44, bought a home in Royersford together.
In early winter 2010, Chris told Rae that she didn't need a ring or a fancy party, but she wanted a ceremony to show the world their commitment.
As planning began, Rae found the ceremony meant as much to her as it did to Chris. "We just wanted to have something to show everybody that we were really committed to each other, just like any other couple. And also to show the kids that we were committed. That if we had a fight," Rae said, "we would stick together and work things out."
