Laura & Chris in Pfafftown, NC

Laura Epting can attest to the saying: You'll meet someone the minute you're not looking. When she tagged along on a weekend trip to visit her best friend's boyfriend, she had no expectations for romance of her own. But then she met Chris Pallavicini. THE BRIDE Laura Epting, director of a therapeutic horseback riding program THE GROOM Chris Pallavicini, a web designer THE DATE June 15 We both fell head over heels for each other the minute we met, says Laura. After three years of long-distance dating, the couple finally found themselves together in Winston-Salem. One Saturday night, Chris picked Laura up for dinner with a bouquet of roses and a giant hug. When they got to the car, Laura found three more roses on her seat. I thought that he was so sweet to realize what a long week it had been for me, remembers Laura. As we were leaving, I asked him to stop so I could check on one of the horses in the field. Chris told her to bring the three flowers and followed her. When they got to the crest of a hill, Chris took Laura's hand and, one by one, took the roses from her, describing them as symbols of their past, present, and future. He then got down on his knee with the ring, and asked her to marry him and be his best friend for life.