B.I.O.: Lost: Sweater, Found: Love

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IN JANUARY 2005, Thomaz Alvares de Azevedo e Almeida arrived in cold D.C. from sunny Rio. He planned to take English classes while crashing in an apartment his brother shared with Ellen Lau. Within a week, the Brazilian traveler and the University of Maryland linguistics student were palling around. Thomaz even joined Ellen at her salsa class at Habana Village in Adams Morgan. She recalls, "He kept alarming the other newbies by ignoring the instructor and 'going rogue.'" After the lesson, they continued to dance. That night, says Ellen, "Thomaz kissed me and swept me off the dance floor toward the exit." She knew her black cardigan was on the coat rack but couldn't bear to ruin the moment. She left it there, and their romance was born.

Thomaz proposed on Dec. 7, 2008, at the top of the Washington Monument, and Ellen lost her gloves. "I lose personal items at major turning points in our relationship," she says.

The couple will be married Feb. 21 at the All Souls Church, Unitarian in D.C.