Hats off to our most romantic couples!

It was love at first sight.

Or maybe it was the result of a deep, abiding friendship that developed over the course of several years.

Maybe it happened on the deck of a ship or the top of a mountain. Or maybe it was on a crowded dance floor or on a stage surrounded by a live studio audience.

Sometimes there was cake, or even cookies; often there was champagne.

There were old rings and new rings, and even new rings designed to look like old rings.

One thing they all had in common was romance.

We asked our readers to share stories of their romantic proposals and we were wowed by the results.

It was hard to pick a winner. Some of the stories made us teary-eyed or gave us goose bumps, but our favorite comes from Tony Tessitore, formerly of Lansford, and Amanda Hadesty, formerly of Coaldale, whose story is told on today's front page. The couple won a $50 gift card for dinner at Roadie's Restaurant at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe.

Thank you to all the others who shared their wonderful stories. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.