Much has been made on this season of "The Bachelorette" about how different Meredith's final two guys, Matt and Ian, are from one another. Matt, the born-and-bred Texan, shaves with a blade, shares his feelings easily and makes our girl feel as safe as she ever has. Ian, a worldly New Yorker who spent his childhood in Brazil and uses an electric razor, is more guarded but clearly lights Meredith up.

It'd be easier to pick sides if one of them were a jerk. But from what we've seen leading into Wednesday's (Feb. 25) finale, they're both pretty nice guys. Meredith probably isn't going to make a bad choice, but it will be a tough one.

Her mom, Sandy, crystallizes the situation when she says "As much as she likes Matt -- she adores him -- with Ian, it seems like he's sweeping her off her feet, and she's ... loving every minute of it."

In the end, she couldn't resist the sweep. And neither, it turns out, could Ian, who did something he promised his brother and the television audience he wouldn't do.

First, though, we have a whole show to get through, starting with each of the guys visiting the Phillips family in Portland, Ore.

Matt is first. After spending the afternoon on a boat, Meredith tells us that the Texan has exceeded all her expectations so far, "and that's huge for me."

The family seems to dig him too. Her brother, also named Matt, at first thinks he's just a "glamour boy," like the ones Living Colour used to sing about, but suitor Matt's down-to-earth demeanor wins over brother Matt. This is also huge for Meredith, who says her brother was the most skeptical of the process.

Meredith's father, Ed, plays at being the imperious dad, but it's clear he likes Matt as well. Watching his daughter fall for a guy, he says, is a "great experience," and he hasn't seen Meredith glow like this before.

After dinner, Meredith tells Matt she'd be "honored" if the show ended with him giving her a ring. Matt's all for it, telling the camera he can picture them at the grocery store together, driving around in his truck, all that everyday stuff that's not so bad when you're with the love of your life. Poor guy.

When Ian arrives in the Rose City (seriously, that's Portland's nickname), it first looks like she'll have trouble putting Matt out of her mind. But this is Ian, and that za za zu she feels for him soon returns.

Ian, for his part, is slowly coming around to letting himself admit that he's crazy about Meredith. He even admits he probably made a mistake in not inviting his folks to meet Meredith a couple of shows back.

Dad, maybe still enamored of Matt, lets loose with the tough questions right away. "I want to know why you're attracted to my daughter," he challenges Ian seemingly as soon as his coat is off. Ian handles it pretty well, though, and dinner proceeds without a hitch.

Afterward, Sandy can see that Meredith is wired when she's with Ian, and says she doesn't have to explain anything. Brother Matt is a little befuddled, but the women assure him it's okay.

"We have a connection I can't describe," Meredith tells the camera. "I guess maybe it's because I'm falling in love with him."

The family agrees that their girl has chosen wisely to this point. Which is great, but of no help to the matter at hand.

The Meredith-looks-at-rings segment is kept mercifully short, and we go right to the final dates at Meredith's house. Aside from a burned pizza crust on Ian's date, nothing much of note happens, and we proceed on to the big day. Meredith talks a lot about how torn she is, making it seem that whoever shows up first for the final ceremony will be going home.

Ian and Matt go look at engagement rings, each picking out a hefty rock. The salesman tells Ian that one particular ring "is fit for a princess." The guy used the same line on Meredith the previous day, and it sounds a lot like foreshadowing. Whatever it is, it's powerful enough to make Ian think about actually proposing if he's the one, something he promised himself, his brother and Meredith he wouldn't do.

Matt arrives first for the final ceremony, and although host Chris Harrison has taken his usual pain to say all the stuff about who shows up first doesn't matter, you figure the producers wouldn't mess with her by making her break up with a guy after she gets the one she wants.

Sure enough, Meredith starts off by saying how wonderful Matt is, then ticking off a long list of his fine qualities.

"But there's a but," she says after a long pause. "And the but is I feel more strongly with someone else, and that's it."

Matt is remarkably, almost scarily, composed in the face of that, and he says absolutely everything you would want to hear from someone in that situation, including "I'm blessed to have met you" and "Above all else, I want you to be happy." He even coaxes a smile out of Meredith before he leaves.

In the limo, he lets go a little, shaking his head a lot and asking the camera "Am I a fool to do what I've done?"

Ian arrives later, and from the way Meredith is smiling, she's sure she's making the right choice. "I don't ever want to be away from you," she tells him, promising to take care of him and that everything will be all right.

Ian tells her that he knew from the time he stepped out of the limo on the first night of taping. He's scared to do what he's about to, but he tells her he "has a little somethin-somethin" for her that he picked up while he was out shopping.

We'll excuse that bit of hamminess, as well as his near-fall when he kneels down and his incomplete question "Will you?," because they're both really happy that he's proposing. She practically screams "Yes" when he asks.

And Matt, buddy, we're sure you'll be fine. In fact, it wouldn't be any surprise at all to see you next fall on "The Bachelor."