Mari & Michael: A New Year's Eve Wedding in Scottsdale, AZ

Mari Winkfein was out with some girlfriends when a friend of hers first spotted Michael Corso. She ended up bringing Michael over to their table, where he met Mari. “When the night was over, my girlfriend gave him her number and asked him to call,” Mari remembers. “He called the next night to ask us to meet up with him and a friend for drinks.” Over time, Mari and Michael became friends, and a few months after that initial meeting, the two finally met up for a real date. They stayed up talking almost all night. “The next morning, I was not sorry when the alarm rang…even though I had to be at work at 6 a.m.!” Mari says. The Bride Mari Winkfein, 34, mortgage advisor The Groom Michael Corso, 35, quality director The Date December 31 The couple was traveling in Sicily with Michael’s grandparents, and were on their last night in Taormina, “the most beautiful city anyone could ever imagine,” Mari says. The two were admiring the view from an upstairs terrace and reminiscing about their trip, including all of the Italian words they’d learned. “Michael began to speak to me in Italian, and I couldn’t understand all of the words,” Mari recalls. “I asked him to repeat them, and when he did the second time, I got it!” Michael then got down on one knee and brought out a box containing his mother’s heirloom engagement ring.