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Nate Bagley, a single man from Utah, noticed that the majority of our national discourse on love and relationships falls into two categories: negative news (i.e. divorces and scandals) and unrealistic fairytales (we're looking at you, The Bachelor). But what about the normal, everyday couples who were building happy marriages and families — why was no one telling their story?

Fed up, he decided to do something about it: Find ordinary couples doing extraordinary things in the name of true love, all across the country, and talk to them in the hopes of learning what makes them tick. Bagley funded the project by using his life savings and raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign.

"I've interviewed gay couples, straight couples, rich couples, poor couples, religious couples, atheist couples, couples who have been together for a short time, and couples who have been together for over 70 years," he writes on Reddit.

(Photo Credit: Nate Badgley / Facebook)

Badgley plans on compiling all of the interviews into a documentary; in the meantime, he took to Reddit to share what he's learned so far:

When Rob Micallef decided to propose to his girlfriend of four years, Jessica Sammut, he knew he wanted to include her favorite dog — the French bulldog — in the proposal. The Brooklyn resident reached out to a Meetup group called "A Frenchie in Brooklyn" and coordinated this sweet proposal with the group's leader, Tiffany Nakamura.

While taking a stroll through Fort Greene Park on Saturday, the couple conveniently crossed paths with Nakamura, whose bulldog was wearing a heart-shaped balloon. Micallef suggested they follow the dog, which led them to a group of 14 more bulldogs wearing balloons as well! On Micallef's signal, the dog owners flipped over the poster boards they were carrying to reveal his message: "Marry me Jess."

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Shine

Americans will spend more than $36 billion on Valentine's Day this year, but one guy in Kansas is putting the rest of us to shame with his series of dreamy (and free) love notes to his wife. About a month ago, Jesse Hale started writing his wife, Holly, sweet nothings on sticky notes as part of a project called 100 Days of Valentines. This week, he released a video of his first 25 days, and it has us swooning:

And it seems Holly has Hale swooning, too. "My wife is super awesome and talented. I have liked her since the day I met her," Hale said in an email to Yahoo Shine. "The feeling wasn't mutual at the time. I eventually wore her down...I mean won her over," he added, joking.

Does it ever feel like everyone on your Facebook news feed announces their engagement or shares their gorgeous wedding photos around the same time? According to TIME's new app, there's a reason for that — your real-life social network often influences your feelings about marriage.

The tool predicts the age you'll tie the knot based on the median age of your Facebook friends who list their relationship status as married, engaged, in a domestic partnership, or in a civil union.

Obviously, it's not 100% accurate — it told me I should've gotten married two years later than I actually did (oops). But it's still fun to see how your age of marriage compares to that of your friends. Try it out, and let us know your results!

—Kristen Klein

Monica Nikchemny and Felix Komrash planned the wedding of their dreams at Crystal Plaza in Livingston, New Jersey. They hired Brooklyn-based videographers Visualaz to capture their fairy tale day.

But the couple claims their dreams turned into a nightmare when they received the edited film, which cost them $13,000. The bride compared it to a Seinfeld episode, alleging that it included sound effects and an applause track edited in — far from the production quality they expected based on the samples they'd seen. They also say that the videographers showed up with just a fraction of the equipment promised, missed key moments, and spliced together scenes in an order that made no sense.

"It was the worst thing in the world," the bride said. "I was really, absolutely hysterical and I almost had a nervous breakdown." She received the video while pregnant and claims she suffered medical issues due to stress.

Here's the controversial part: the couple is now suing their videographer for $122,000, presumably the cost of the entire wedding plus "damages," rather than just seeking a reimbursement for the $13,000 they paid.

Finding it difficult to fit daily exercise into your jam-packed schedule? This is a super easy workout that you can do every morning from now until the wedding. As part of your morning routine, use these easy fitness steps to work each letter:

Walk with high heels from the bed to the bathroom. This means you step out of bed into those heels instead of those comfy slippers. The height forces your instep, and you’ll be working those calves.

Exercise your legs while brushing your teeth; do three sets of side leg lifts, or keep alternating until your toothbrush timer runs out. Don't forget to do both legs!

Drink a glass of water. Water wakes up your metabolism and is always good for you.

Doorways should remind you to engage those abs — fix your posture every time you walk through one. Place your shoulders back and down; your chest should be slightly up, with your head held high. 

Isolate the abs. While you're waiting for your coffee to percolate or the water to heat up for tea, do side bends. Standing straight with your legs hip-width apart, place your hands behind your head and, without moving the bottom half of your body, bend from the waist on each side, alternating. Do at least 10 on each side.

Natural foods are what you want to eat, so if you can't pronounce one of the ingredients on the list or any of them say modified, don't eat it.

Planning a Valentine's Day celebration? We love this heart-style braid for the flower girl. Recently, I spoke with Cozy Friedman, the founder of Cuts for Kids in NYC a salon dedicated to the lil' ones, and she shared with me this adorable hairstyle. With love and hearts always a theme apropos for weddings, I thought I would share this darling look with you!

Heart How-To:

Step 1: Starting with damp hair, use a wide-tooth comb to detangle the hair. Then, using a fine-tooth comb, part the hair down the middle of the head. Clip one side up right above the ear.

Step 2: On the other side of the part, use the fine comb to gather a thin section of hair from the crown. This section should measure about two inches from the hairline to the top of the head.

Step 3: Divide this section into three, and begin a French braid starting at the crown and curving toward the temple, then toward the back of the head, like the top lobe of a heart. You will be lifting hair into the braid only from this side of the part. Leave no loose hair in front of the ear.

Step 4: When you reach the center part at the back of the head, secure the braid with a ponytail holder. If the hair is very long, end the braid about midear; the ends will hang down the back.

Step 5: Unclip the hair on the other side of the part and repeat the process. Secure with a pony tail holder.

Step 6: Join the two ends of the braids together in the back with a ponytail holder to form the bottom point of the heart.

Valentine's Day is all about celebrating love. In honor of the holiday, we pulled together some of the most romantic wedding photos we've ever seen. Which is your favorite?

Stunning Portraits

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Messina

Photo Credit: Isabel March Photography

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Messina

Since Arianna Dubovik planned on doing a first look before her and Ryan Pflederer’s wedding ceremony, she wanted to find some other way to surprise him as she walked down the aisle. When she remembered that her mom sang down the aisle when marrying Arianna's stepfather, she decided to carry on the family tradition.

Secretly, she practiced her grand entrance with the church's piano player, choosing Carrie Underwood's "Look at Me" after falling in love with the lyrics. When she started singing at the ceremony, She certainly got the reaction she was hoping for — her shocked groom was so touched that he couldn't hold back his tears! Watch the sweet video:

—Kristen Klein

Photo Credit: Mary Ellen Mathews/Disney

What do Miss Piggy and Carrie Bradshaw have in common? Both fashionable ladies chose to wear Vivienne Westwood for their big-screen weddings...which may or may not actually happen.

"Vivienne Westwood is fabulous—just like moi," she told WWD. "When I asked her to design this wedding dress for moi's new movie, Muppets Most Wanted, she was thrilled and I was thrilled. The only one a bit 'iffy' about it was the frog."

We'll have to wait until the movie's release on March 21 to see if Miss Piggy and Kermit actually make it down the aisle! Regardless, we're loving that the couture gown is also eco-friendly; it features corset detailing and paillettes made from recycled plastic bottles.

—Kristen Klein