‘It Was Not Love at First Sight’

Some people know instantly when they meet “the one.” But when Samantha Rose Weinstein met Philip Joseph Della Noce, “It was not love at first sight,” she said. “We weren’t too fond of each other at the beginning.”

The two met Aug. 26, 2010 at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y., on their first day of freshmen orientation.

“It was definitely a slow burn,” Ms. Weinstein, 30, said. “When you first meet me, I’m very loud, and he’s very soft-spoken. So, I was probably too much for him.” Indeed, Mr. Della Noce said he found her “a little intimidating.” They gravitated toward different social groups, and saw each other in classes and theater activities, but it wasn’t until junior year that the two became friends.

“We took a trip to Amsterdam with school,” Ms. Weinstein said. “The whole group became closer, including us. And by our senior year we were very close.”