I Do!: Brianne Miller & Seamus Wharton, of Baiting Hollow

Brianne Miller and Seamus Wharton made it official April 26, 2025, formalizing a romance that began when they were high school juniors in Riverhead.

Miller and Wharton, both 25, got engaged on July 17, 2023, while vacationing in Aruba with extended family. It was Miller’s first visit to Aruba, so Wharton and his sister, Courtney, took her to a local landmark, a fofoti tree growing on Eagle Beach in Oranjestad.

“While my sister was showing her pictures she’d taken of the tree, I got down on my knee and proposed when she turned around,” Wharton said.

Miller was the only one surprised. “All my friends and family knew,” she said.

Wharton said he had some pre-trip anxiety when the engagement ring arrived late after a change to the order, but it finally made it to Aruba safely tucked away by his father.

Ten groomsmen and six bridesmaids helped the couple celebrate their wedding. They were the first of the cousins and their extended friends’ group to marry, Miller said, and they celebrated with 250 guests.

They had lots of time to plan the event, Miller noted, which was good because she did the planning while teaching and pursuing a master’s degree in literacy education. Wharton works for the Brookhaven Town Highway Department in Miller Place.

After marrying at St. Isidore’s Church in Riverhead, Miller said they stopped at the Peconic River Herb Farm in Calverton for photos to take advantage of its rustic background and a clear greenhouse that offered a covered space in case of rain. That proved wise when showers arrived.

“I was carried off the bus into the greenhouse, so my dress and heels didn’t get muddy,” Miller said. “The guys got pics in front of the river, but for a white dress it wouldn’t have been good.”