Love: Neha Sachdev & Jack Herrmann

Jack and Neha exercised at the same Center City CrossFit and knew each other by first name. Based on interactions during class, she thought he was "out there, loud, funny, and obviously very strong." He thought - so erroneously - that she was quiet and shy.

In July 2011, the class crew gathered socially to celebrate one trainer's 21st birthday, first at the gym, then at a bar around the corner. Neha and Jack started chatting, and had a lot of fun doing it. "I was so surprised by what her true personality is like," Jack remembered. "She's a big talker, a lot of fun, and she kept surprising me. I found her very intriguing."

What caught Neha's eye? "He was wearing a ridiculous outfit - his orange disco shirt." But once they were talking, "I felt very comfortable with him right away. And he made me laugh."

They exchanged numbers and hung out once or twice a week at coffee shops or bars.

"Then she cooked me dinner," Jack said, appreciatively.

"Not intentionally," Neha clarified. She had invited Jack, who lived in Fairmount, to her Washington Square West apartment to watch a movie. The timing was a bit off, and when he walked in, she was cooking chicken thighs in a sage mushroom sauce. "It would be rude for me to eat and not invite him to, so we ended up eating dinner, and he liked my food."

Their first formal date was dinner at Tria. Many more dates followed. But early on, Neha gave Jack a warning: "I've started my fourth year of medical school at Jefferson, and I'm moving at the end of the year. So I'm not looking for anything serious."

He moved first: To Morristown, N.J., to become a branch manager of a financial services firm. Neha matched at McGau Medical Center of Northwestern University's family medicine residency program, and moved to Chicago in 2012.

Contrary to her warning, things had gotten quite serious. Jack, who grew up in Glenside, flew to Chicago monthly to visit Neha, who is originally from Bethlehem. They talked and texted daily, and sometimes would get Japanese takeout in their respective cities for a sushi & Skype date.

In June 2013, Neha was finishing a tough OB-GYN rotation.

She made it to the second-to-last patient on her schedule when things got difficult. Her patient was pregnant, and Neha couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. The patient was understandably freaking out. Neha tried and tried, then got her supervising doctor and a bigger ultrasound until finally - there it was, healthy and strong.

The mom-to-be was relieved. Neha was really stressed. She'd been told her last patient was a 56-year-old woman with heart palpitations and sky-high blood pressure. When she realized she would be with the pregnant woman longer than anticipated, Neha asked her supervising doctor to please assign the last patient to someone else. "I'm really worried about her," Neha pleaded. "No. You have to see this patient," her supervisor said.

Neha was nearly panicked when she rushed to the last patient room, 40 minutes behind schedule. "And then I open the door, and there's Jack in a suit, smiling."

Her last patient was pure fiction.

"I told her how much I love her," Jack said. "I asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. And then I held out a Ring Pop."

As long as they'd been discussing marriage, Jack had joked about proposing with a Ring Pop - a plastic ring bearing a giant, candy gem. Neha always said she'd say yes to him even if he offered a jewel of sugar. And she did.

Her colleagues rushed in with hugs and congratulations. Jack had a second question: "Do you want to see your real ring?"

He presented her with a real ruby, and a diamond, set together in the French toi et moi style.

Neha, 31, is of Indian descent, and Jack, 33, of Irish. Both of their clans met and mingled for two days, beginning with a Friday rehearsal lunch his mother hosted at Parc, then an evening sangeet - an Indian tradition once just for women, but now often a friends-and-family mixer of dancing, singing, food, and fun. There were 250 people at the party at the Marriott that night.

Neha's grandmother and great aunts sang traditional Indian songs. A drummer played as each family member was introduced for a short solo dance. Neha and her a cappella group from Penn sang for Jack. And Jack and his groomsmen danced for her. Neha's parents and their friends performed a traditional Irish jig.

The wedding day began with a baraat - Jack rode a white horse around the city block where the Marriott sits, with about 150 friends and family members dancing in front of and beside him. Drummers let Neha know her groom would soon be there.

At the Marriott, Sri Suddhatma, one of the leaders at Neha's family's ashram, led a traditional Hindu ceremony, and Swamini Srividyananda, also from their ashram, gave a blessing. Then a nondenominational ceremony was performed by Marguerite Sexton, Jack's aunt and the retired founder of Journeys of the Heart.

Neha gave Jack an Irish claddagh ring the two designed.

Their reception for 400 was held at the National Constitution Center, which the couple found very cool and very Philadelphia.

"We love Philly, and that's why we're moving back," Neha said of their relocation in July to near Rittenhouse Square. Neha will be working as an attending physician at Virtua Health. Jack now works for Fidelity Investments.

During the ceremony, Jack and Neha wore traditional Indian clothing - Neha wore the sari her mother was married in. For the reception, "I fulfilled my dream of buying a dress at Saks. It's red, blue, and purple, an Oscar de la Renta from his last collection."

Neha's former harp teacher played during the cocktail hour, where the food stations provided a mix of American and Indian options. Dinner was Indian, served family style at tables named for the couple's favorite restaurants, from Tria to El Vez to Dunkin' Donuts.

Then it was again time to dance.

Jack will never forget hopping on that white horse with his cousin's young son and riding toward Neha with the joy and love of friends and family around him. "I was so excited and happy, and it hit me - we're actually finally getting married after all these years of being apart. "

Neha's mother helped her pin her sari and put on lots of jewelry before the ceremony. "I looked in the mirror, and thought, 'Wow. I'm an Indian bride! This is going to happen now.' Then walking down the aisle with my parents, I had the biggest smile the whole time. I was so very excited to get married."

A bargain: The couple's wedding favors were small baskets handmade by women from Rwanda, each containing a truffle made by a woman in Bethlehem. They supported both a Rwandan charity and a Pennsylvania business, at a cost of $2 to $3 each.

The splurge: Nearly 50 bonsai tree centerpieces, which guests took home.

Eight days in Provence and on the French Riviera.

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Officiants: Suddhatma of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, Pa.; Marguerite Sexton, retired founder of Journeys of the Heart, Jenkintown

Venues: Ceremony, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown; Reception, National Constitution Center, Philadelphia

Catering: 5ivechefs Caterers, Edison, N.J.

Photography: Dante Williams Photography, New York

Videography: Ambrosial Films, Easton

Music: Jay Dabhi Entertainment, New York

Planner: Rashi Shyam of Event Nirvana, NY/NJ/PA/DE

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