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Congratulations to Laureen Stephens and Stephen Rice, winners of our Bride of the Year 2004 contest! This couple was determined to beat the odds and uncover true love.

Five months, box loads of entries, and one agonizing choice later Bridal Guide was finally ready to introduce the Most Romantic Couple of 2004. In the September/October issue, we met Stephen Rice and Laureen Stephens, the couple we playfully tagged Goldfinger after their James Bond-style jobs.

But it wasn’t their work as State Department Diplomatic Security Service special agents that gave them their winning edge. It was the impressive amount of strength and creativity they exhibited to protect their love from the unrelenting pressures of work and distance that won us over.

Of their relationship, Laureen wrote: “Determination was our friend and after 100 long distance telephone calls, 345 lonely nights, 320 e-mail transmissions, a million tears and 2 visits to Berlin during the course of one year, we discovered that beating the odds was more than just a possibility.”

Hooked? So were we. Their story perfectly fused the elements of love, commitment, patience, respect, determination and devotion we found in so many of the wonderful entries sent in (we shared just a few other standouts in the September/October issue as well).