Congrats MEGAN & TED!

It was a very tight race, and all of the stories were fantastic! My deepest thanks to all of the couples for sharing their wonderful stories... and the voters for helping to make a choice that I would have found impossible to make! After crunching the numbers, Megan and Ted came out ahead and will get an engagement session and custom photo guest book. Based on the comments from their friends, I am super excited about photographing them. According to one voter, Megan and Ted are the next Brangelina, and people will soon be paying them for their photos!

Thanks again to the rest of the couples - and congratulations on your upcoming weddings. After seeing the great comments about each of you from your friends and families, I know you will all have beautiful marriages.

The polls are closed

All right... voting is officially closed... the remaining votes will be posted in a bit, and the winner will be announced tomorrow! Thanks to all the voters!

Engagement contest - Vote for the winners!

The entries are in! Here are the couples who want to win an engagement portrait package with an outdoor session and photo guest book... who do you think it should be? Read their stories, check out the photos provided by each couple, and vote by leaving a comment below. Votes will be accepted all week, (until Sunday 11/16 at 9pm).

The lucky couple will be announced next Monday morning. Enjoy the stories!

Couple One: Megan and Ted
Megan and Ted shared the story of the way they met and fell in love... and included photos of them now (along with pup Buddy!) as well as at their high school prom. Here's what Megan wrote-

"Ted and I met when he was just 16 years old and I was 14. He was entering his junior year of high school and I was an incoming freshman. We both loved to run - Ted had been on the cross country team for the past two years, and I was just starting my first season as a cross country runner. We saw each other across the parking lot at our first day of practice, and - I know it's very cliche - literally our eyes locked and I felt the weirdest feeling I had ever felt. I had never looked into the eyes of another person and felt so shaken up inside - I was only 14! I told my mother when I got home from practice that I had met the "cutest boy ever" and that I had a funny feeling I would marry him. We love to tell this story, and I swear it's true - my mother laughed and said "you never know!" We spent the entire season flirting with each other - we never "hung out," as they say in high school, because Ted had a long distance girlfriend at the time. We both always went out of the way to be with each other, though. Ted even decorated the entire bus himself, got me a present and signed the entire teams name on the card when there was a cross country meet on the day of my birthday. There were a number of times that I would be near him and would have the strangest, most unsettling flash of knowledge that I just had to be with this person forever, that we were literally made to fit with each other.

When the cross country season ended, we thought our contact would fade away - it did not! We had many flirtatious encounters in the hallways of our high school, and Ted was often late for class because he would walk me to class. One quarter he had 35 tardies! Our classmates would joke around with us and ask when we were planning to get married. Since we weren't even dating, I'm sure these comments really shook Ted up! We started spending time together outside of school - it started innocently with "group" dates that - strangely- no one else would show up at. It's not that strange when Ted tells you that he planned it that way every time - he never wanted to share me! Finally, he asked me if he could hold my hand and I said I only held hands with boyfriends... a girl must always play hard to get, I guess! He, very seriously, turned to me and said... "Megan, will you go out with me? You know, be my girlfriend?" It was as romantic as a proposal! And we both acted like it was one - I said "YES!" and we jumped around, excited. It was March 7th, 2000.

We have never broken up since that day - although we have been long distances apart, our hearts and lives have always been joined. We were so secure in our love from the beginning that we truly believed we each had to have our own college experiences - we went to separate colleges, we each studied abroad - but we always supported each other. There have been many difficult times - when I realized that boys have friends who are girls in college (seems so "high school" now!) - when Ted spent a year in England - when Ted's parents divorced - by the deaths of close friends and relatives - but through it all we have persevered. It should be no surprise that Ted asked me many times during high school to "someday, marry me." I always said yes. And finally, on February 16th, 2008, Ted asked me to marry him with a gorgeous ring at a fantastic dinner he planned for me. With our long history there were a lot of phone calls to make - Ted had warned everyone we loved to be by their phones and we got to talk to both of our families and all our friends. He even brought tissues for me to wipe up any tears of happiness. We're planning a June 12th, 2009 wedding on the beach we loved to play on when we were in high school (Ogunquit beach). When we are married, we will have been dating over 9 years, and known each other for almost a decade."

***Megan & Ted***
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Couple Two: Heather and Steven
Heather wrote to tell me about a romantic moment, and included a photo taken at her brother's wedding in 2005. Here's their story-

"Steven (my fiancé) and I met while in college. I was his resident advisor, and it was "frowned upon" to be dating a resident! But I held off until…well…close to the end of the year to try and stick to the rules! He spoiled me from the start, and continues to do so to this day! However, the most romantic moment in our relationship was something simple. It was the first summer we were dating, and we were young and in love! Ok, well we were young…and lived 14 hours away from one another! I decided to take the long (emphasis on the long) train ride to go visit him to rekindle our young relationship. However upon arriving, Steven had to continue working his minimum wage job at Dunkin Donuts – working 6am until 2pm! Not exactly the "vacation" I was hoping for, but at least I was able to see him every day! As my trip was coming to a close, he came home one day with a box behind his back. He handed me the box and said those simple words – "I love you!" I opened the box to find six donuts, each individually decorated with flowers and hearts. It was a simple gesture, but the perfect way to let me know how he felt. It was in this moment that I truly felt like he was someone that would do anything for me – even live through the humiliation provided by coworkers for doing something so "mushy!" And he doesn't even like donuts!

4.5 years later and here we are. The picture I included is a photo taken at my brother's wedding on July 3, 2005 at Promises to Keep – the day I started bugging Steven about when he would propose! And where is our wedding? At Promises to Keep on July 3, 2009! You may also ask "why are you including a picture that is so old?" Well, it's because we don't have many pictures of ourselves! Engagement session, here we come!!!"

***Heather & Steven***
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Couple Three: Gabrielle and Eugene

Gabrielle sent in the story of how Eugene proposed, along with a visual aid! Check it out-

"Eugene loves to surprise me. His proposal was no different. It was Eugene's birthday and he e-mailed me at work saying that there was a surprise waiting for me at home. I love surprises and wanted to rush home but I made myself go to the gym because we had dinner reservations and I wanted to be able to eat whatever I wanted. Well, I got home from the gym and saw something on our front door. I did not think much of it. I assumed it was a "Sorry we missed you" tag from UPS. I got up to the door carrying every bag imaginable to see that it was not a "Sorry we missed you tag". It was a letter addressed to Santa in "little kid" penmanship. Confused, I opened the note and read the following:

December 5, 1988

Dear Santa,

I want a diamond ring and I want a kitten.

Love,

Gabrielle

I stood there, shocked and thought to myself no way. I opened the door (arms still full) to find my Eugene standing before me with a ring box resting on his palms. I immediately began to shake as I put my bags down. He opened the box and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes. After hugging, kissing, crying, and placing the ring on my finger, I looked over his shoulder and saw that he had set up our tripod and taped the entire thing!
(Yes, this was a REAL letter to Santa that I wrote when I was 6 years old. My Mom gave Eugene the letter on Easter - having no idea that Eugene was planning on proposing only 3 weeks later)."

***Gabrielle & Eugene ***
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Couple Four: Jeni and Bao
Jeni was living in Michigan and Bao in Boston when they met online. After discovering their relatives lived near each other in Vietnam, it seemed the perfect place to meet. Here's how it happened-

"It began with an online message. He found me through my personal website. We connected quickly, but because we lived 700+ miles apart, we wrote emails & letters (and not to mention long AOL Instant messenger chats!) for over a year. We finally met in person in Vietnam at a famous market place (Cho Ben Thanh),where the four entrance paths connect in the middle. I was 15 minutes late. He was 45 minutes late. He blames his cousin-- who was also his means of transportation. Nevertheless, I waited around until he finally arrived! We have been since been together for a decade and will marry in July 2009."
The photo is from their recent vacation to NYC.

***Jeni & Bao***
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Couple Five: Amanda and Brandyn
Brandyn surprised Amanda with a unique proposal. Here's how it happened-

"My fiancé and I attend college together as seniors, and it is where we met. He worked at school over the summer, meaning he was a 2-hour car ride away, and I barely got to see him. I one Saturday off from work, and even though he had visited me the weekend before, he asked if I could come visit. I went upon a Friday after work and when I got there, we went out to a new restaurant. During dinner, he said he had a “date night” planned. (Friday is traditionally date night when we are at school.) The only thing he would tell me about it was that we were going to take a trip down “memory lane.” After dinner went back to his apartment and he said that the date was a scavenger hunt in addition to a trip down “memory lane.”

He then showed me 8 envelopes that he had in his hand, and each one had a red heart cut out on it. He told me they were clues and that I had to give him a kiss to get the first one. Once I got clue, I opened it to read it and he explained to me that each card was from a specific event in our first year together and would lead to a specific place on campus. The cards not only had a rhyme/riddle hinting to a place, but also a cute rhyme (or funny on others) about the two of us. For instance one was, “We all know I want to fight crime, but I will love you till the end of time.”

The first clue led to our first residence hall where we first met, and there was a big red heart on the front door. From each place, I would get the red heart, and give him a kiss and then he would give me the next clue. Each clue led to some place that held were good memories, I didn't have to think to hard about any of them. They were all places where we had “dates” or just sat and talked into the night when we began dating.

The second to last clue led to the pond on campus, specifically a bench where have sat and had many a conversation, and even an argument, so it has a lot of meaning to us. I opened the last card and in it was every loving/funny rhyme that was on all of the other cards, and a new one at the bottom saying, “We all know I like to surprise, now close your eyes.” I had no clue what the surprise could be, and as I was about to close my eyes when a slightly drunken and very loud group of alumni (it was alumni weekend) passed through the parking lot directly behind us. We sat and waited until we couldn’t hear them anymore and I wasn’t getting antsy wondering what the surprise was (I had no clue!). Then as I went to close my eyes, a second time a kid came out of nowhere and started walking on the trail by the pond, so we waited for him to pass as well. Finally, I got to close my eyes and after a few seconds my Fiancé told me to open them.

To my surprise and delight he was in front of me and down on one knee. Before I could say anything he said, “Will you marry me Amanda?” as he opened a ring box and held it out to me. I was so overwhelmed with excitement and shock that I didn't even look at the ring, and just screamed “yes!” as I grabbed him to kiss him. However, he pulled away exclaiming, “Nooo I have to put the ring on first so it’s all official!” I laughed and let him do it, as I actually looked at the ring I realized that it was exactly what I wanted in an engagement ring, just a simple gold solitaire. Once I had the ring on, I lunged towards him off the bench and almost knocked him over. I got my kiss and my hug, and I didn’t let go. We sat on the bench for a good half an hour in pure excitement and bliss. It was perfect because it brought back all the wonderful memories, and happened where we began. (The pictures are on the bench!)"

***Amanda & Brandyn***

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Couple Six: Lauren and Jeff

Lauren shared the story of Jeff's proposal... which made him a "Cosmo statistic"!

"For years, my friends and I have joked that Cosmopolitan magazine has the answer to all of life's questions, and now I have a story to prove that this is true! Back in June, I was reading Cosmo (the one with Carrie Underwood on the cover) and saw a little quote in one of the front-ish pages that said that the median time for a couple to get engaged is 3 years, 6 months, and 20 days. It occurred to me that my boyfriend, Jeff, and I had been together for about three and a half years, so just for fun, I figured out what that date would be for us- August 1. I brushed this off, and went on with my life.

A few weeks later, Jeff suggested we go away for the weekend of August 1, and said he wanted to surprise me. Again, the thought that he might propose popped up in my head, but logically it didn't make sense- we are buying a house and have no extra money, and most importantly, for three and a half years he hasn't wanted to talk about marriage at all. I thought eventually we'd go down to City Hall to make it official, but this was not something we talked about, and were happy with the understanding that we'd be together as we were, "joint tenants" on the sale agreement for the house!

Well, on August 1, we got in the car, and drove up to the Grey Fox Inn in Stow, Vermont. The first weekend trip we ever took was to Stowe, and it was on a bike path behind the Grey Fox inn that we had taken a walk late at night that spring, crunching through the frost on the grass to look at the stars, and, overwhelmed with the moment, I said "I love you" for the first time. (To which he replied the same). I asked if we were staying in the same room, and Jeff brushed it off as if he hadn't even thought of it (we weren't). We had a great day biking around, and went out to a very fancy dinner all dressed up.

We drove back to the hotel, and in the silence after he parked the car and we got out, I had a quick thought that went something like "well obviously Cosmo was wrong, how silly of me to even think he'd propose, perhaps I should tell him this and we can laugh about it." Luckily that moment passed before I could open my big mouth. Jeff suggested we go up to our room (which, it turns out, he had chosen because it had a view of the spot he would propose) and change into jeans to go down the street to a bar, and on the way out, I pointed out that we should walk on the bike path now that it was dark. He didn't want to (supposedly!) since it had just rained and the ground was soaking wet, but he gave in. We took a walk, looked at the stars, and when I suggested we head back to the hotel, he turned me around and said "Three years ago, you said something first that we both knew was true, and now it's my turn," got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I fell to both my knees in front of him and said "of course!"

When he asked me later if I had any idea, I had to honestly say that I wouldn't have if I hadn't read Cosmo the month before! To which he replied, "I'm a Cosmo statistic?!" But really, what a statistic to be!"

***Lauren & Jeff***
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Couple Eight: Natalia and Jason
Natalia thought she was going out to celebrate one life event - and ended up celebrating another milestone! Here's what happened-

"My family had asked me if Jason and I would go out for dinner with them to Church
Landing in Meredith. The day we were supposed to go, Jason got strep throat and we had to postpone the dinner for 2 days. We dropped Samantha off (our newborn daughter) with Jason's Mother, and just the two of us headed over to meet my parents at the restaurant. We were all seated and we had ordered champagne to "celebrate the birth of our daughter" or so I thought. Jason had excused him self from the table and I saw my dad pull his video camera out, I thought it was strange for him to be video taping but I let him do it anyway. I then looked over and saw Jason was coming back to the table and a single file line of waiters and waitresses with the champagne and all the accessories. Jason had a vase of beautiful tiger print roses with a yellow and red rose in the center. At first I asked myself, "Why does he have flowers in his hand?," and that's when the shock set in!!! He asked for my hand and I was still confused (it wasn't valentines day and my birthday was last month) what was going on??? That was when he got down on one knee and said " Natalia, for the past two years you have made me the happiest man in the
world, and now I'm going to make you the happiest woman, will you marry me?" I said YES!!! Everyone in the restaurant started clapping and tearing up, and when I finally realized what had happened I looked into the center the bouquet and saw my beautiful engagement ring sitting in the middle of a rose!!! It was such a surprise and so romantic, and I have a video thanks to my dad, ha ha, so I can relive the moment over and over again."

***Natalia & Jason***
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Leave a comment below to vote for your pick!

VOTE!

The day is here. It's time to pick your next president... not to mention senators, representatives, and the rest of the gang! In the spirit of election day, I've selected some of my favorite red, white, and blue wedding details from the past couple of years. If you still have ballot fever after making the big decisions, feel free to have a fun vote for your favorite detail by leaving a comment!