Love is in the air atop the Empire State Building

A little more than 21/2 years ago, Joseph DeBellis, 34, says he was feeling depressed and "in a very negative state."

He had just retired on disability from his job as a New York City police officer because of a painful back injury.

One month later on a blind date he met Anne Vu, 35, who, in time, "pulled me out of it with her optimism," he said. "I am so thankful for meeting her."

With a ring "burning a hole in my pocket," he said, he proposed in August 2008 on an overcast day on Jones Beach. And Saturday afternoon, in a ceremony that was as much about hope as it was love, DeBellis, who grew up in Oceanside, and Vu, born in Vietnam, exchanged marriage vows on the 61st floor of the Empire State Building.

"She is his hope," said Kelly Lemons, the civil celebrant who performed the ceremony.

Indeed, it was because of Vu's desire to further lift his spirits that they found themselves marrying at one of the world's most recognized romantic landmarks.

She entered the 16th annual Valentine's Day wedding contest sponsored by the Empire State Building and TheKnot .com wedding-planning site.

As part of their story she told of her fiance's having to leave his job and the physical pain he endures. "Where his lower spine used to be now lay metal rods that keep him together and mobile," she wrote. "He's trying to find a silver lining to his dark cloud."

Vu, an executive secretary, also told how uplifting it would be to exchange vows overlooking the city to which "he has devoted his life and career."

They ended up being one of 13 couples to exchange or renew vows on Valentine's weekend, the only time the Empire State Building allows weddings.

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Actually, this was the second time in three months that the Flushing couple tied the knot. When the contest winner notification date came and went, the they decided to elope to Las Vegas, marrying Dec. 15 at a chapel with no friends or family in attendance. Shortly after they returned, they got word they were one of the winning couples.

Still DeBellis said this second ceremony, to be witnessed by loved ones, "feels really exciting. It feels new again."