Pompicci 2013!

The wedding of Dante Paul Ricci and Audra Jo Pompeani will take place on May 25th, 2013 at Richmond Hall in the Port Richmond district of Philadelphia, PA. The groom, Dante Ricci, is the eldest son of Daniel and Pamela Ricci of Baltimore, MD. The bride, Audra Pompeani, is the elder daughter of Ronald and Mary Jo Pompeani of Aliquippa, PA. Dante and Audra met in 2005 at Princeton University.

The Couple
In the Spring of 2005, prior to his decision to attend Princeton for graduate school, Dante found Audra's student profile on the Department of Molecular Biology website and thought she was "the prettiest girl he had ever seen." He and Audra met later that year during a departmental retreat in Avalon, NJ while playing a heated game of Flip cup with other Princeton faculty and students (including esteemed Nobel laureate, Eric Wieschaus). Dante went on to join the laboratory of Thomas Silhavy, which was just down the hall from Audra's bench in Bonnie Bassler's laboratory. The couple became close friends, bonding over music, softball, Tiger Noodles, beer, Steve Carrell movies, pets, halloween costumes and obviously, bacteria. Their first friend-date was to see The Format perform at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on August 22, 2007. About a month later, they went on their first "real" date to Mezzaluna in Princeton.

In August, 2009, Audra moved to Philadelphia to begin veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania. Two years later, Dante followed her to Philly. The couple currently reside with their 3 cats in University City.

Engagement
On September 1, 2012, Dante convinced a somewhat reluctant Audra to go to brunch at Sabrina's Cafe on Powelton in West Philly. When he was done eating, Dante excused himself, only to return with his guitar, an accompanying trombonist, and a troupe of waitstaff eager to watch what was about to happen. With the crowd's help, Dante sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli, then took a knee and asked Audra to marry him. Fortunately for Dante, she said yes.

Dante's proposal was recorded by one of Sabrina's waitresses and later viewed over 13,000 times on YouTube after being featured on the The Huffington Post. It was also nationally broadcast on Inside Edition and appeared on several blogs over the following week.

Incidentally, the portions at Sabrina's are enormous, and the couple enjoyed their leftovers the following day. Dante strongly recommends the "Barking Chihuahua" breakfast burrito, while Audra can't resist the apple and cheddar omelet.

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Wedding Details
The ceremony will be officiated by Nate Rigel, Ph.D., a friend of the couple and one hell of a good guy.

The groom has asked his college roommate, Matthew Catalano, to serve as his best man, while the bride has chosen her sister, Aly, to be the best girl.

The ceremony and reception will both be held at Richmond Hall in Port Richmond, a neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia. Dante and Audra have reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express on Columbus Boulevard in Philadelphia. There will be valet parking at Richmond Hall and a shuttle will also be provided between there and the hotel.

Honeymoon
Following their wedding weekend, Dante and Audra will travel to Italy for a Mediterranean cruise and a stay in a cottage on the Tuscan coast. Many pictures will be taken.

Gift Registry
Dante and Audra are registered at Macy's (also accessible through MyRegistry) and at Honeyfund!

Tourism
While in Philadelphia, guests are encouraged to enjoy all that the City of Brotherly Love has to offer. Dante and Audra suggest the following attractions:


 * Independence Hall
 * Liberty Bell
 * The Philadelphia Zoo
 * Museum of Art (and Rocky steps)
 * Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Course
 * Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
 * Mutter Museum of Medical History
 * Yards Brewing Company (Brewery tours available Saturdays and Sundays between 12-4pm)
 * South Street District
 * Sundrop Music and Arts Festival (5/24-26)
 * 2 Live Crew at the Trocadero (Friday, 5/24)
 * Pat's authentic Philly cheesesteaks
 * Geno's authentic (and famously politically incorrect) Philly cheesesteaks
 * Tony Luke's authentic (and featured on Food Network) Philly cheesesteaks

Fun Facts
Dante and Audra are making the move to San Francisco, CA in June. Audra will begin a veterinary internship at the Pet Emergency & Specialty Center of Marin and Dante will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Philadelphia is home to the nation's first museum, library, mint, zoo, and depending on who you ask, the first U.S. university.

[[Media:audra_bronze.jpg|Audra won Olympic bronze]] in 2008, the very same year that Dante took home the medal in [[Media:dante_bronze.jpg|Men's Unilateral Sweating]].

Cats sleep up to 18 hours a day.

Contact Us
Need to get in touch? You can reach us by e-mailing dantericci [at] gmail.com!