Cutest Couple Contest: Vote For Your Favorite Love Birds!

"Our first walk down the aisle was a memorable one," says Denise Johansen, of West Hempstead. "It was Halloween 1963, I was in kindergarten at  and the costume my mother bought for me was Jackie Kennedy, although I probably didn’t know who that was at the time." 

When it came time for all the students to parade around the hallway in front of the other classes, one of the teachers noticed that a first grade boy was wearing a John F. Kennedy costume and paired him up with Denise.  "Sure enough, they made us walk hand-in-hand up and down the hallway," Johansen says. "I’m glad I at least had on a plastic mask so that no one could see how embarrassed I was."

Fourteen years later, she would be dating the boy in the JFK costume. (His name was Pete.)  "On one of our first dates, he asked me what I was for Halloween when I was in Kindergarten.  I had no idea so I went home and asked my Mom," Johansen recalls.  "She said, 'Oh, you were Jackie Kennedy,' and that's when Pete recounted the story of our walk together down the aisle at Chestnut Street School." 

The pair took the real walk down the aisle in 1980, and they never looked back, she told Patch, adding, "Still, in West Hempstead after all these years, we are blessed with four beautiful children and a multitude of family and friends.

Are Denise and Pete Johansen the cutest couple in Malverne and West Hempstead? We'll let you decide. Scroll through our photo gallery above to meet each of the couples who have entered so far, vote your favorite by writing their name in the comment space below (Only one vote per person.) and spread the love on Facebook and Twitter.

Want to enter you and your hubby into the competition or another great pair you know? Just send an email with a photo, the couple's names and any other information you care to share to Tara.Conry@Patch.com. (Or you can take matters into your own hands and just upload it to our gallery above.)

Polls close at 5 p.m. Feb. 13 and the winner will be announced on Valentine's Day on Patch, which will be sending them some cash to enjoy a night on the town.