Thank you to all who shared and entered the giveaway!  We’ve received such an overwhelming response that we just could not choose the winning couple! So, we have decided to open voting to the public. With the help of Random.org, three couples have been selected to be voted as People’s Choice! 


Voting starts today and ends next Thursday September  29 at 11:59pm CST.  The winning couple will be announced on Friday September 30.  The winning couple will be determined by the amount of “likes” given to their photo on our Facebook Fan Page.

Taken on one of Tiffany+Erik’s 1st dates during the light rail pub-crawl 3+ yrs. ago!

“Our love story began with a phone call from one of my best friends notifying me that she had just met my future husband! (Her only basis at the time was that we both liked The Bloodhound Gang…).  After 3 phone calls from her harassing me to come out that evening to meet him or threatening them coming over to greet me in my pjs, I looked Erik up on Facebook (naturally).  There was my future husband, in a thong no less, standing oddly close to two other guys in thongs.  I was intrigued, got ready for the evening and made my way to The Drink, Uptown where she said they would be waiting on the rooftop.  Once I arrived and saw the guy, I went up to him and said, “You’re my future husband huh?”   I wasn’t a hundred percent impressed at first, but we started chatting and dancing and having drinks (he was such a goofball), and I thought I’d give it a go if he wanted to ask me out.  After getting my number, he called me the next day and asked if I would go on a date with him the following Saturday.  He picked me up in his big, old Bronco at 3pm and first took me go cart racing, let me win, followed by a spicy burrito at a local Mexican restaurant, then on to mini golfing and a stroll through the Sculpture Garden.  It was perfect.  That was three and a half years ago.  We’ve barely separated since.”

“Every year around anniversary time we have been on vacation on a little island called Bonaire.  It’s off the coast of Venezuela and I have family there.  May 2010 we went to Dinner at a restaurant on the island called Richards.  Erik got sooooo sick, but carried on with barely a hint to me.  We went to a few local watering holes on the water and strolled the downtown area.  It was really sweet to know that he put aside feeling ill just so I could have a great time.  I of course felt terrible when I found out later that evening!” 

Dan + Mariko’s life-changing engagement photo!

“Photos are important to Mariko and me because it was a photo that brought us together.  Mariko was working as an actor out in Ashland, Oregon, while I was in St. Louis Park doing my second year of my medical residency.  There was no way the two of us would have ever crossed paths if it was not been for a photo.  We both were on a dating website, but were too strapped for cash to pay for a full membership.  We could see each other’s profile but we weren’t able to communicate.  I sent Mariko a message, but she couldn’t respond because she didn’t have a membership.  So, Mariko, being the resourceful person she is, became a spy.  The week before, my mom had been inducted into my high school athletic club hall of fame for her volunteer work.  I had posted a photo of my whole family together with my mom holding the plaque she had won.  Without intending to do so this photograph made it possible for Mariko and I to connect from 2,000 miles away!  As fate would have it if you looked very closely at the photo you could read my mom’s last name on the award.  Mariko was able to piece together my first name and the college I attended from my profile along with my mom’s last name written in tiny letters on the plaque in the photo. Armed with this information, Mariko was able to find me on Facebook! Ultimately, that photo changed my life. I knew the first time we ever spoke on the phone that she was the woman I was going to marry.  I even called my mom after to tell her I had finally met my wife.  Mariko is bubbly, outgoing, thoughtful and clearly resourceful! The next time I gave Mariko a photo it changed our lives.”

“On our first anniversary, I asked Mariko to marry me using photography. Mariko is now at Yale University getting her masters in New Haven.  I am working in Fargo, North Dakota as a family doctor.  I know that having a wedding coordinator would make planning a wedding half way across the country from each other a whole lot easier.”

Sarah + Ryan at the Apple Festival!

“ Ryan and I went to high school together, yet never talked during those years. I am two years younger than him and that makes a huge difference at that age. I have three brothers, all who were very active in our high school’s wrestling team and I worked as the team’s manager starting as a sophomore and continuing throughout my senior year.  Ryan also happened to be on the team and was adored by the entire school because he was a really skilled athlete, going to the state championship every year.  Of course, this made him the most sought-after boyfriend candidate and I was one of his many followers.  Ryan graduated when I was a sophomore and went on to wrestle at the collegiate level in Iowa. And after high school graduation for me, I went on to St. Ben’s for four years.”  After college graduation, I started working in downtown Minneapolis at a PR and advertising agency as an intern.  To help supplement a lowly intern’s salary, I worked part-time at Gasthof’s in Northeast as a bartender.  October is always a crazy month as the bar hosts its annual Oktoberfest. While working, I ran into someone with a Luther College Wrestling t-shirt on and randomly asked if he knew Ryan as I knew he had went to school there.  Little did I know it was one of his best friends!  Later that night, Ryan came and found me. We chatted for what seemed like quite a while and before he left, he asked for my phone number. The rest is history!”

“Ryan surprised me on our one year anniversary by taking me up to Bayfield, Wisconsin for the weekend.  Since our anniversary is in October, we visited during the time the annual Apple Festival is going on. We spent all weekend visiting apple orchards and wineries, going for a tourist ride on mopeds and taking the ferry back and forth between the islands and mainland. It was so much fun and the fall background provided the perfect backdrop for the weekend. We both love the fall season so much that we’ve planned for an October 2012 wedding!