I Do!: Jessica LoRe and Peter Varratos

Jessica LoRe and Peter Varratos never looked back after getting acquainted via the Bumble dating app.

“For me, you could say it was love at first sight,” LoRe said. “We have so much in common — we both love the beach, love listening to country music and we’re both Jets fans.

“I never had a question about where I stood with him,” said LoRe, 36. “It was just effortless and easy. We hung out three or four times a week.”

Varratos, 34, a cable service technician, agreed. “We jell, we click. She’s so easy to hang out with, and I love the way she opened herself to my son, Lukas.” His son, who is 14, was his best man at their March 8 wedding.

LoRe said she knew Varratos was “a keeper” when he stood by her when she “went through some medical stuff,” and supported her when her grandmother, Margaret Nelson, 88, of Baldwin, died in January 2022. “Not only myself but my family knew, too,” she said. "Peter got to meet her. We’re both big family people.

“We’re close with our parents and sisters — his sister is one of my best friends now, and he hangs out with my dad. We all get along.”

Varratos proposed on LoRe’s birthday in August 2023 at a party when both families were together in her parents’ backyard. While she didn’t intend to organize a wedding in just seven months, LoRe said they made it happen after they fell in love with the setting at Flowerfield in St. James. The venue had no dates available until November except for March 8, she said. “We’re older, and we know what we want. When we saw Flowerfield, that was it, we locked it in. Cocktail hour is magical, it’s almost like you’re in an outdoor garden.”

LoRe, a graphic designer, said she loved the visual aspects of the setting and the chance to create and lay out her vision. She also noted the “outstanding support” from Flowerfield event coordinator Pamela Winkler. Their ceremony and reception were held in the venue’s atrium.

“We didn’t want it to end,” she said.