Nicola & John in Waltham, MA

Though living in sunny California has its merits, Nicola, found moving back home to Massachusetts to be much more beneficial -- especially when a friend hooked her up with a freelance job at a marketing agency. She shared a workspace with four people, one of whom was John. The two shared lunches, coffee breaks, and lots of instant messages before John finally asked Nicola on a date. For their first official outing, they met in the afternoon and had lunch, then went to the movies and took a walk around the Boston Public Gardens. The Bride Nicola Merlino, 32, associate director for an interactive marketing agency The Groom John Stowell, 28, vice president for a non-profit The Date September 1 Not ready for the day to end, they wound up having drinks, which turned into dinner. We ended up closing down the restaurant almost 12 hours after our date started, Nicola says. Three years later the couple met for dinner one night after work, and John suggested a walk through the Public Gardens on the way to the restaurant. There, next to the duck pond, he proposed.