Allyson & David in Jensen Beach, FL

It was New Year's Day, 1999, and Allyson Blumenthal allowed herself to be coaxed into going to see a band in New York's Greenwich Village. I was sort of hung over, says the freelance photography coordinator, and meeting guys could not have been further from my mind. We're talking no makeup and a big, baggy sweater.... But at the club, her eye was drawn to the cute guy across the room. I became fixated, she admits. David Fortney Jr.'s friends alerted him to the attractive young woman who was staring at him, and their eyes met. We had no choice but to say hello, says Ally, and it was the strangest thing. In ten minutes he had his arm around me, and we felt like we had known each other forever. We decided to leave our friends and spend time together. We literally stayed up all night, talking -- it was completely innocent. THE BRIDE Allyson Blumenthal, 30, freelance photography coordinator THE GROOM David Fortney Jr., 30, salesman for family's appliance business THE DATE February 17 The day after the couple met, Dave left to go home to Florida, and Allyson was left to wonder, Did this really happen? She had sent Dave off with a Polaroid picture of herself, with her phone number written below. He called a few days later. A long-distance relationship ensued. The couple sent over 300 email letters back and forth, all of which Allyson has saved. Three weeks later she visited him in Florida, and in a matter of months the New York girl was living in the Sunshine State. David proposed on the beach exactly one year from the date they first met, and Allyson was so excited she didn't let him finish talking before she said, Yes!