Alaynne & Gardiner in St. Louis, MO

Once Gardiner Allen, a “big” college senior, discovered Alaynne Wallin, a “little” freshman, in geology lab, he continued to sit next to her for weeks. At first, Alaynne admits, she wanted nothing to do with Gardiner but slowly, a friendship began to develop. Then one day Alaynne realized Gardiner had something special to offer -- he was a computer science major and Alaynne was practically failing her computer science class. One night, Gardiner offered a private tutoring session, and, as Alaynne puts it, “things developed from there.” The Bride Alaynne Wallin, 25, graphic designer The Groom Gardiner Allen, 28, application architect The Date April 14 Four years later, just before Alaynne took off on a year-long trip to Japan to teach English, Gardiner surprised her with a romantic proposal on his rooftop overlooking downtown St. Louis.