Melissa & Hayden in Darien, CT

Melissa Mears was going about her business one summer, waitressing at a local restaurant, when love arrived in the form of Hayden Lindsay. The Bride Melissa Mears, 28, an interior designer The Groom Hayden Lindsay, 26, a builder The Date August 13 “He walked in with his uncle to the bar, and among 50-something- year-old men, he completely stood out!” Melissa remembers. Hayden happened to be on a three-month holiday, direct from New Zealand. It was his first time in the States, and he hadn’t planned on a return visit, until he met Melissa. Once the two started talking to one another, they couldn’t stop. Appropriately, their first date was to see Whale Rider, a New Zealand film. And after a brief stint in British Columbia, Hayden followed his heart back to the U.S. and asked Melissa to marry him just four months later.