LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT On a steamy November day in 2012, University of Missouri — St. Louis Honors College recruiter Ashley Budde, 29, was so focused on the heat that she didn’t notice UMSL psychology professor Matt Taylor, 42, gazing at her from across the room...
It was college move-in day, and Melissa Bradford was starving. She moved her boxes into her room, met the girl that she was going to have to live with in a 12x12 room for the remainder of the year and said goodbye to her parents—all...
THE STOLEN PROPOSAL Brittany Plufka and Ryan Atkinson had known each other for seven years before Ryan proposed in December 2014. They were high school sweethearts turned college couple turned lifelong friends. After Brittany and Ryan’s wedding, they went to Forest Park on an innocent mission...
Mark Blechle had planned his proposal perfectly. He had picked the perfect ring, the perfect location and, most importantly, the perfect girl. Mark had set his sights on forever with Danielle Hughes, and nothing was going to stop him. There was just one problem. The ring...
“I’m a ruiner,” Kate Gilliam said of her engagement story. While that might be a harsh summation, her well-meaning fiancé, Eric Pogue, did try to propose several times before he finally succeeded in popping the question. Before the couple’s getaway to Atlanta earlier this spring, Kate...
COME RAIN OR SHINE Every bride’s nightmare: it was raining on the day of Brad and Erin Whitcomb’s outdoor wedding. The backyard outdoor wedding turned into an indoors affair. The weather waffled between rain and sunshine, but when it came time to walk from the...
THE DRESS “I almost cried,” Alex Taylor told me. There was a long pause. Finally, he admitted it. “...
DOWNHILL FAST “It’s kind of an embarrassing story for him,” Sara Hahn said, describing the story of her first date with her now-fiancé Logan Duncan. It all started out well enough. They were college freshmen and classes were canceled for snow—the perfect opportunity for Logan to...