Nichole Williams & Paul Badger

Paul and Nichole met in January 2006 at an event U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah held when he was considering his mayoral run. Paul, 40, is a real estate developer, and Nichole, 30, is a sports and entertainment attorney. At first, she was interested in him as a potential client. "We exchanged business-y e-mails for a couple of weeks," she said. Then in April, they bumped into each other at a Sixers game and spoke briefly at halftime, and a little chemistry kicked in. A week later, they met unexpectedly at a networking function and spent two hours talking to each other. That did it: Nichole and Paul decided they should date.

One of those early dates was a 45-mile bicycle trip to raise money for cancer research. Paul was a last-minute replacement after Nichole's sister hurt her foot. "He came on in the last couple of weeks and raised just as much as I did," Nichole said.

December 2006 marked the couple's first Christmas together, and they pledged to start a tradition - instead of buying gifts for each other, they would buy presents for a needy family.

They were to spend that New Year's Eve in Washington, D.C., but the day before, Paul sent Nichole an e-mail: Trust me. Pack for a week, include a bathing suit and a sweater, and be ready to leave in 10 hours.

Nichole loves the spa, and Paul had a spa-themed trip planned, with three nights in Phoenix and two in Sedona. Nichole was thrilled, but she also felt a little bad. "I thought this was his way of sneakily buying me a Christmas present, even though we said no presents, and I didn't have anything for him."

But Paul kept his no-Christmas gift pledge; he had brought her to the canyons to make another promise. On New Year's Day, Paul took Nichole to a tiny Italian restaurant. The manager greeted Paul like he had known him forever, and escorted them to a corner table, lit with candlelight, and covered with rose petals. Eventually, they seemed to be the only people left in the restaurant.

Paul handed Nichole a single red rose - especially wonderful from a no-flowers kind of guy. Then he stood up, and Nichole saw a ring box. Finally, she got what was going on.

"Wait! Stop!" she yelled. Paul was puzzled. Did his beloved not want him to propose? "Slow down, I want to remember every moment!" Nichole said. With that, he was down on one knee.

It wasn't the ring that made Nichole cry, but Paul's next gift. Paul had met with her parents and each of her five siblings separately to talk with them about his intentions. He took photos and wrote accounts of all the meetings, and presented Nichole with a journal.

Paul and Nichole used their wedding to launch a nonprofit called Stars Within Reach.

Each month, the nonprofit's Web site, www.starswithinreach.org, will feature a different cause - education, adoption, animals, affordable housing and others - and list volunteer opportunities and other ways that people can help organizations that work within each cause. Nichole and Paul will put their fundraising skills to use to raise money for the organizations featured. And Stars Within Reach will help any other couples who want to turn their weddings into charity fundraisers.

Paul and Nichole's original idea was merely to make a donation to charity instead of buying favors. Then they realized if they shaved expenses in other places, they could donate. Finally, Paul suggested this might be the time to realize Nichole's dream of starting a nonprofit.

They'd save about $100 per guest by having brunch instead of an evening reception. Paper invitations? Nice as they can be, Paul and Nichole knew most people would toss them. So they saved some trees and at least $600 by e-mailing invitations.

Nichole called David's Bridal and told them about Stars Within Reach. The company agreed to donate dresses for all five bridesmaids and the two flower girls, who in turn could donate the money they would have spent to the charity.

But shopping for her own wedding dress had become an emotional nightmare for Nichole. How could she spend so much money on a dress for one day - the very day she was starting a charity?

Then David's Bridal called back. They wanted to donate her dress, too - and a second sleek little number for the charity launch. Inspired, Nichole called the Men's Wearhouse, and that company followed suit with tuxes for the groom and six groomsmen.

Nichole donated the $2,000 cost of her dresses to Stars Within Reach, Paul donated the $100 tux rental fee, and their attendants did the same.

As other donations came in, the couple decided that a pre-wedding golf outing was a fundraising opportunity. And yes, they asked their guests for donations instead of gifts.

A few hours after their reception at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, the couple entertained 200-plus people at Fuel for the nonprofit's launch.

On their wedding day, Paul and Nichole raised roughly $10,000 for their new charity.

A bargain:

See the many listed above.

The splurge: Paul and Nichole spent several thousand dollars to rent the venue for the fundraiser launch event. They say it was worth the cost to set a chic, Hollywood kind of mood. "We wanted our guests to feel like they were part of something out of the ordinary," Nichole said.

Paul and Nichole had planned to follow the African-American tradition of jumping the broom at the end of the ceremony. But when the time came, no one could find the broom, which Nichole's mother, Juanita, had made.

By the end of the reception, the lost broom was found, and with their immediate families surrounding them, Paul and Nichole made the jump.

After the ceremony, Nichole and Paul had a few moments alone before the whirlwind of greeting guests and getting photos taken. Paul took both of her hands in his and looked right into her eyes. "We're going to have the best life," he said.

Nichole, who grew up in Merchantville, N.J., and Paul, who was born in Philly but moved to Blue Bell as a child, live in Blue Bell.

Eight nights in Hawaii.

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Photographer /

Videographer

MJS Photo Studios, Colmar

Music

Saxophonist Brian Lenair

DJ

The bride's brothers

Donors / Sponsors

Pine Hill Golf Club, Glaceau VitaminWater, Auto Toy Store, David's Bridal, the Men's Wearhouse, Park Hyatt Hotel at the Bellevue, Loews Hotel Philadelphia, Select Event Rentals Inc., Belvedere Vodka, Glaceau SmartWater, Taste the Difference Catering, Au Bon Pain, MJS Photo Studio / Rick Hickman, Jennifer Angelo Designs, Creative Computer Concepts Enterprises

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