Picture this: A handsome couple stand on a rooftop in Fez, Morocco, as the sun sets. Wine glasses in hand, they toast the blazing colors of the sky. Exotic music wafts up from the open door of a casbah.

He puts his hand into his pocket and pulls out a little box. As he presents her with the perfect diamond ring, she shouts with joy and tosses her wineglass over the side of the building. Luckily, it lands in a bush rather than on someone's turban.

How romantic!

The proposal was meticulously planned and executed by Logan White, a consummate woodworker, of Tantalus. His bride, Melissa May, an environmental planner and member of The Advertiser's fashion forum, had longed for the moment, but wasn't really sure it would ever come about.

It wasn't easy at first.

As is often true with true love, timing was critical. May first met White in 2001 at a reggae concert just two months after she arrived in Honolulu. She was immediately attracted to him but didn't ask to be introduced because she had learned that he was just getting over a relationship.

With many mutual friends, May and White continued to see each other in large groups, going to concerts and dinner parties. Recognizing that their tastes and temperaments were uncannily similar, she waited patiently — two years, in fact — as their friendship grew deeper.

While he wasn't quite ready to commit, White appreciated many of May's qualities.

"What set her apart was her lovability, generosity, manners and enthusiasm, and how she goes all out for what she believes in," White said.

"He could always tell I really loved him," May said as White quickly added: "She fulfilled the ideal of what love is about."

They began dating in 2003.

"I was happier than I had ever been," May said with a grin like the Cheshire cat's.

White's reluctance to enter a serious relationship, as well as his ideas about marriage, changed when his brother, Makena, got married.

"He made me optimistic and gave me a good feeling," White explained.

When they decided to vacation in Morocco, May still thought White might need more time. White knew he was going to ask May to marry him, but he just wanted to find the perfect moment — which presented itself on that rooftop in Fez.

"I was knocked off my feet," said May. "He said so many things that were so sincere. And he cried before I did."

"Hey, it's nerve-racking," said White in mock defense. "I just wanted it to be the right thing to do, in the right way,"

Their wedding was also the stuff of dreams. Inspired by the many Bogart and Bacall movies they had watched together, they decided on a vintage 1930s theme. A true fashionista who remade her own vintage gown, May said: "I really wanted people to get dressed up and put some effort into it."

They did. Friends and family logged on to the couple's wedding Web site and learned lots about the attire of the period. They shopped on eBay and in vintage stores for the real thing. The women turned up in svelte movie-star bias-cut gowns, slinky flapper cocktail dresses and sassy hats while the men wore everything from vintage tweed golf ensembles to zoot suits and spats.

May hired her fashion forum friends, vocalists/entertainers Willow Chang and Sherry Shaoling, to put on a fabulous 1930s-style cabaret that wowed the 200 guests at the wedding reception held at Oahu Country Club.

While every minute of the wedding was like a dream come true for the loving couple, their favorite moments were spent riding from the ceremony at Central Union Church to the reception in a 1929 Ford touring car.

Reach Paula Rath at prath@honoluluadvertiser.com.