04/06/2003

Gina Milazzo and James Collins

Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, North Providence

2.14.03

Alexander Collins has a lot on his mind today, especially for a five-year-old. He will have to walk down a long aisle, carrying the rings that his mother and father -- Gina Milazzo and James Collins -- will slip onto each other's fingers.

For now though, he's eager for the limousine to pull up in front of his grandmother's North Providence home. It's a stretch Navigator, "the one choice Jimmy had in planning the whole wedding," says Milazzo. "And we just bought one of those big Expeditions -- it's a guy thing!"

Milazzo, 23, works for the North Providence School Department as a teaching assistant. She is also a certified nursing assistant, only six classes shy of an RN, but has gone back to school to get a degree in elementary education. "I'll probably complete the RN program too since I'm so close."

Collins, 28, originally from Johnston, is an independent contractor; his specialty is installing and refinishing hardwood floors.

When asked how she met Collins, Milazzo says: "Oh, we've known each other forever -- Jimmy was always good friends with my older brother. But with the five-year age difference, we didn't realize that we were interested in each other until we grew up." At the beginning of her senior year at North Providence High School, the romance began.

Collins was working as a DJ at a place where Milazzo and her friends hung out. "We really noticed each other," says Milazzo. "We kept it a secret from my brother for a long time, and when we finally told him, he was angry. His best friend, his little sister, that whole thing. But he got over it, and now they're like brothers again." In fact, the big brother, Armand Milazzo III, is Collins's best man today.

Toward the end of her senior year, Milazzo found herself pregnant. "My parents were not happy at all. But I graduated; and I'm still going to college (first to Salve Regina, now, to CCRI). I've been going forever!"

Today, Valentine's Day, Milazzo has a surprise for Collins. "Jimmy saw a gown he loved in a bride magazine. I looked everywhere and couldn't find it, so I bought something else. Then, I saw the dress at a little shop in Attleboro. I had to have it. I had to do some fighting to return the other one, but it worked out. Anyway, James doesn't know that I found the dress so he'll be surprised when he sees me walking down the aisle. It's unusual: there's red in it."

The "stretch Navigator" has arrived. One of the bridesmaids hands Gina a little white valentine candy heart: It says "marry me." Gina tucks it in her bra. "I'm going to give it to Jimmy at the altar."

In the wedding program, Milazzo and Collins express thanks to their parents. "Everyone has been so generous with their time and energy, especially with Alex," says Milazzo. They also thank Alexander for all the joy he has brought them. "Now he's the spoiled grandchild -- the only one on either side."