NEW YORK (RNS) Elke Thompson and Sam Quinn got engaged the old-fashioned way: their parents arranged it.

Quinn, 23, a quiet engineering student from Springfield, Mo., wanted to settle down, and asked his parents to play matchmaker. Through church friends, they found Thompson, an apple-cheeked 17-year-old from Manhattan, Kan.

“We spent one day together, and then his dad said, `Yes or no? We’re leaving tonight with...