Race to the Altar Finale: One Perfect Wedding

Last week on Race to the Altar, we watched the final three couples compete in three different challenges. First, they had to get as many photos as possible in front of wedding chapels in a limited amount of time. Next, they raced against each other on jet skis. Third, they had to stand under a shower of freezing cold water for as long as they could stand it. Finally, they completed a scavenger hunt to find something old, new, borrowed, and blue. Who won? We don't know, because the punks at NBC decided to leave it as a cliffhanger. Let's see what happened next. Just to remind everyone of what's going on, here are the three couples left:

• Tonya and Andree. Andree is incredibly strong, but Tonya is afraid of heights. Will his strength make up for her weakness?
• Susan and Coyt. These two have dominated the challenges so far, becoming the Power Couple about a billion times. They are strong competitors, but they tend to argue. Will they get along long enough to win?
• Carolyn and Ethan. They're not the strongest in challenges, but they have made powerful allies in the other two couples. It's obvious that they love and care about each other. And as soon as Ethan admitted to doing a naked dance that makes Carolyn amused rather than aroused, they became my favorite couple.

It's 2:00 in the morning at the Venetian and the three couples are getting ready for the final elimination ceremony. Susan is curled up in a fetal position on the couch worrying about the results. Coyt is also a nervous wreck and paces the floor. Tonya and Andree are also nervous. Tonya says it's tough because they have no idea how they did. Meanwhile, Ethan and Carolyn are not happy with their performance on the last leg of the race. Carolyn says, "I had a very, very strong feeling that we could be going home."

The couples gather at the altar, where Lisa will reveal the results. As we already know, Coyt and Susan won the "With this Ring" jet ski challenge. Next, in the wedding chapel photo challenge, Andree and Tonya are in third place with 14 pictures. Tonya is surprised, saying, "I thought we had the most." Ethan and Carolyn are in second place with 18 pictures. Much to my surprise, Coyt and Susan, who spent the first part of the challenge running around like maniacs looking for a cab, are in first place with 23 photos. Susan smiles and says, "We had a good cab driver."

For the "Bridal Shower" icy water in the desert challenge, Coyt and Susan are in last place, enduring the water for one minute, twenty-two seconds. Ethan and Carolyn are in second place with one minute, thirty-three seconds. Tonya and Andree blow them all away with a time of five minutes, thirty-three seconds. Susan is agape with the news. An equally shocked Carolyn says, "What?" Andree grins proudly. That guy is tough.

Finally, Lisa reveals the results of the scavenger hunt. Ethan and Carolyn came in third, which isn't much of a surprise. They had a hard time with that leg. Lisa points out that if Tonya and Andree won the challenge, they'd be tied with Coyt and Susan for first place. Turns out it won't be an issue - Coyt and Susan won. Lisa congratulates them on being the sole Power Couple and gives them a few minutes to decide the fate of the others. Coyt says, "God, this sucks," as he and Susan head off to deliberate.

Ethan says that he doesn't feel confident at all that he and Carolyn will stay. Tonya is very nervous. Andree is too, saying that Coyt and Susan may eliminate them because they are strong competitors. Coyt and Susan return with their decision. He says that it was a tough decision, especially because both couples were in the commitment with them. He and Susan had planned on eliminating whichever couple performed the worst, but it was hard for them to do. They compromised by flipping a coin. It came out the same, and Carolyn and Ethan are eliminated. Oh, no - they were my favorites! At this point, since Carolyn and Ethan can't win, I'm officially rooting for Coyt and Susan. They might not always be the nicest people in the world, but hey, they have won enough challenges to earn their right to be there. And when other couples had the chance to get rid of them, they were too dumb to do it. So as far as I'm concerned, Coyt and Susan deserve to win.

Back at the altar, Tonya doesn't look that thrilled to be going on, and she and Andree say an emotional goodbye to the eliminated couple. In an interview, Susan says that although their decision was random (and we actually see the coin toss), she's satisfied with the results. Ethan and Carolyn "have no fears," whereas Tonya's fear of heights might work to their advantage. Ethan and Carolyn tell Lisa that they are happy that they made it as far as they did. Carolyn says that the competition was "just a fun, extra thing to do." Ethan concurs and says they don't feel like failures for losing. They hug Coyt and Susan goodbye. Carolyn says that they won fair and square and that the winning couple should not feel bad. She says, "We're not unhappy about it." In a final interview, Ethan says that he loves Carolyn because she lets him be himself. Carolyn says that she and Ethan are better versions of themselves when they're together. They will be married on September 27, 2003. They're a great couple and I wish them the best.

It's 7:30 on the final day of the competition. Susan is thinking about what their wedding will be like if they don't win the race. As you may recall from previous episodes, Susan's parents are very religiously conservative and don't want their daughter to have a wedding with drinking or dancing. Susan says, "With no one else in our lives do we have to put on an act, but with my parents, we do. It's sad. They don't know me. I think my parents don't really care about what I would like to have for the wedding. It's more about what their friends are going to perceive." She says that her parents have told her, "If you want that [kind of wedding], you're paying for your own, and we won't even show up." She starts to cry at the idea of not having a first dance with her dad. Susan says that she knows Coyt's dad will be there for her, and will be happy to dance with her if her own dad won't.