Amanda & Mark in Washington, DC

Amanda was relatively new to Washington, DC, when she met Mark. On their first date they shared tapas and cocktails, followed by a walking tour of some of the DC monuments. After a bit of late-night sightseeing, the pair wound up sitting and talking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial until the sun came up. The Bride Amanda Healy, 31, staff architect The Groom Mark Cantarella, 35, general manager of a restaurant The Date June 23 Five years later, after finding out that the cathedral where they worship had a June date available, Amanda and Mark began planning their wedding -- though they still had not made their engagement official. A month later, Mark surprised Amanda with tickets to visit the Washington Monument, the inside of which she’d still never seen. At the top of the monument, facing out toward the Lincoln Memorial -- the site of their memorable first date -- Mark asked Amanda to marry him.