Love | Jennifer Stock & Jim Longstreth

Love | Jennifer Stock & Jim Longstreth

By Jennifer Dorazio
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Sun, Mar. 04, 2007

Married

Feb. 9, on the New York studio set of Live With Regis and Kelly, as part of the 19th season of "Wedding Week." The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. of New York's Riverside Church officiated, while 50 family members and friends (along with show fans who had won tickets) watched. A reception followed at Tavern on the Green.

They met

In late 2003, at Breen's Huntingdon Inn in Rockledge, through mutual friends. Jen and Jim attended kindergarten at Abington's McKinley Elementary, before Jen transferred to another school. "We can't remember what we did on our first date," she says. They dated, then broke up, but remained friends. When phone calls and meetings at Breen's became a regular thing, they got back together at the end of 2004.

He asked

Dec. 23, 2005, at their Glenside home. While wrapping presents, Jim called Jen over to their Christmas tree, saying he needed help with an ornament. He got down on one knee and presented her with a bride and groom ornament - with an engagement ring perched on top.

They planned a March 3, 2007, wedding in Riviera Maya, Mexico, sent out hundreds of invitations, and received 50 "yeses." But by December 2006, Jim had fallen ill. He had been diagnosed with lupus as a teen, and undergone a kidney transplant (his father was the donor) in 2000. Now the transplanted kidney was failing, and by early January, the wedding was canceled.

9 to 5

Jennifer, 31, of Elkins Park, is a hairdresser at Salon on Main in Hatboro. Jim, 31, of Rockledge, is a salesman for Elite Air Systems in Southampton.

Making a home

The couple live in Glenside.

First steps

To "Unforgettable," sung by Stuart White and the White Star Orchestra.

Doing it their way

During the extensive tests to find a new kidney donor in January, Jen's coworker suggested that she enter the Live With Regis and Kelly "Wedding Week" contest. Too distraught over Jim's condition, Jen couldn't even think about a wedding. "We were just going to go to the justice of the peace," she says. She offhandedly mentioned the contest to Jim's sister Jill, who submitted an entry.

Jen and Jim were lured to Salon on Main on Jan. 31, where a hidden camera taped the "you've won" reveal - they had been chosen from thousands of entries. By Sunday, the couple were in New York. "We felt so blessed," Jen says. "They treated us like family."

Throughout the week, the couple had a session with Dr. Phil, dress-shopped at Kleinfeld with Kelly Ripa, and tasted cakes. The show arranged for Jim's dialysis in New York, but "he was pretty sick all week," Jen says. At the rehearsal, Regis Philbin replaced the couple's wedding rings with a four-carat diamond eternity band for Jen, and a platinum band for Jim.

On Feb. 9, the show transformed its set with hundreds of deep red and pink roses and amaryllis, a wedding arch of red roses, Waterford crystal chandeliers, a six-tier strawberry shortcake, and a gurgling fountain. As the wedding party processed on a white, petal-sprinkled runner, Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black sang "When I Said I Do." The bride wore a strapless Pronovias gown with a sparkling bodice and side-gathered skirt, topped with a tiara and blusher.

At Tavern on the Green, the newlyweds did a karaoke rendition of "Love Shack." "The whole thing was incredible," the bride says. "It was my dream wedding." The only things she missed, she says, were a shower and bachelorette party. But there are consolations: Regis and Kelly gave the couple a honeymoon stay at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, a $10,000 gift certificate to Bed, Bath & Beyond, and $10,000 from PriceGrabber.com.

Not a dry eye

"The whole week was emotional," the bride says. "I cried over everything."

Jennifer says

"Take it one day at a time. And if you can get a wedding planner, get one!"

The honeymoon

A free week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which Jen says will have to wait until fall, after Jim's second kidney transplant. His mother is undergoing final testing now - she's a match, Jen says. But if genetics fail Jim, his new bride is ready to step up. She's a match, too.

URL: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/columnists/16803626.htm?source=rss&channel=philly_columnists