Boy Meets Girl

Source In Style Magazine

No one else comes close, thought Backstreet Boy BRIAN LITTRELL when he saw actress LEIGHANNE WALLACE at a video shoot--a sentiment he put into a song at their wedding

That noise you heard on September 2 was the sound of thousands of hearts breaking, when Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell wed Leighanne Wallace. "She knocked me off my feet the first time I saw her," says Littrell, 26, who met the actress in 1997 when the Boys were casting the video of "As Long As You Love Me." Leighanne got the part and, two years later, won a far more important role--that of Brian's wife. She planned a celebration befitting the Prince Charming of hip-pop and his Cinderella. "We wanted a fairy-tale wedding," explains Wallace, 31. The event isn't their only project together; both appear in the comedy Olive Juice opening this month. Still, it's their offscreen collaboration they cherish most. Says Brian: "I've always wanted what my parents have--a wonderful marriage."

the engagement: On Christmas night 1999, at Leighanne's family home in Marietta, Ga., Brian gave her a canary-yellow diamond ring made by Chris Vanoy and Jerry Brickman from Brian's design. the reception: After the ceremony at Atlanta's Peachtree Christian Church, the 300 guests left for a reception at the Four Seasons hotel that included a buffet dinner, dancing and Brian's surprise performance of a song he wrote for his bride called "You Are." (She cried.) the bride wore: Wallace chose an ivory silk faille dress by Vera Wang. "I wanted a dress with the feel of Dangerous Liaisons, and she made my dream come true," Leighanne says. When his bride walked down the aisle, Brian says, "I was speechless." -Honor Brodie

the couple take to the dance floor. "When we finally got to dance, the good times began," recalls Brian. "It was a monumental moment, joining families."