Kate & Ryan in Santa Barbara, CA

Kate and Ryan would agree that late is definitely better than never. After striking up a conversation with Kate at a party, Ryan worked up the nerve to ask her for her phone number. “Ryan called me two days after our first meeting,” Kate says, “and I joyfully accepted his proposal for dinner in Boston.” The hour when Ryan was supposed to pick her up came and went, though, and Kate became superstitious. “I changed my pants and shirt thinking that would somehow make him arrive sooner,” she says. Luckily, Ryan called and explained that he was terribly lost, and after Kate gave him better directions he found his way and the rest of the evening went much more smoothly. “The conversation is really just a blur,” Kate says. The Bride Katherine (Kate) Miller, 28 The Groom Ryan Landers, 25 The Date July 14 The two began dating; just over two years later, Ryan proposed; and the two wed 14 months afterward with an intimate reception in Santa Barbara.