Student pharmacist marries on Empire State Building roof on Valentine's Day

 

By Cristina Merrill
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Monday, February 14th 2011, 4:00 AM

 

 

 

B. Smith for News

 

 

Fourteen blushing brides will be married Monday at the Empire State Building, offering the city's best backdrop view on the most romantic day of the year.

The brides and grooms, who hail from eight states and posed for prewedding photos on Sunday, won a contest through TheKnot.com. The winners submitted their love stories and photos for the chance to say "I do" in New York City's iconic building.

 

One lucky couple, Patrick Davenport and Jennifer Herring, of Nashville, got engaged on the 86th floor in 2009.

 

The surprise was almost spoiled when the ring set off the alarm in the security line. Davenport discreetly showed the guard the ring and whispered a warning: "I haven't asked her yet."

 

Taryn Shauna Tasco, 33, first met her fiancé when they were 13. They were friends through high school in Shelton, Conn., but went their separate ways. Years later, Tasco was helping a friend set up a Match.com profile when she came across Charlie's photo. She thought, "That is my Charlie" and quickly found him on Facebook.

 

"When we did reunite on Facebook we were kids again," she said.

 

Karin Kirch, 38, from Holbrook, L.I., met her fiancé online. She was unable to see his photo at first, but "something kept drawing me to his profile."

 

When they met, she thought she had hit the jackpot. They came from similar backgrounds and each have a son.

 

"He really is just a good person," Kirch said. "We had a chemistry like I've never imagined."

 

Dana Acevedo, 24, a nursing student from Staten Island, did not even know that getting married in the Empire State Building was possible until she saw the online ad for the contest. Acevedo, a big fan of rooftop views, decided to go for it.

 

"It's so surreal," she said.