I Do!: Emily Shyu and Andrew Sabia, of East Northport

Emily Shyu and Andrew Sabia met through a dating app in early 2021, during the pandemic. He was living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and she in Jackson Heights, Queens, but they came up as a “nearby” match. “I guess dating apps don’t account for water when determining distance,” Shyu said.

They both like to play Call of Duty, and they got to know each other through the online video game for several months before meeting in person in April 2021. Shyu jokes their first date was in Verdansk, the fictional city that is the setting for Call of Duty: Warzone.

“Our first real-life date we did a home brew together in Connecticut,” said Sabia, 40, of East Northport. “We’ve made a dozen batches since then.”

Shyu, 34, a transportation program manager, said they now game while sitting side by side, which strengthens their communication and ability to work together.

Sabia, an auditor, proposed Nov. 11, 2023, at a cliffside picnic in La Jolla, California, during a work trip to San Diego, on which Shyu accompanied him. 

“He told me he’d planned something special for my birthday, a picnic on the beach,” Shyu recalled. “The picnic setup was beautiful on the cliff with the waves in the background.” 

Shyu saw cameras pointed at them and said it seemed strange. Sabia told her just to enjoy the picnic.

“I finally relaxed and we took some selfies and he started his proposal. I was blindsided by it,” she said.

The ring, a custom-made “old cut” diamond, almost did not make the trip. “I packed everything but the ring and didn’t realize it until we got to Queens the night before, at 11,” Sabia said. “I told her I forgot some medicine and I’d run back to Connecticut to get it.”

During their wedding celebration on Feb. 16, their 135 guests learned that the couple were renewing their vows and had already married Nov. 11, 2024, in a small, private ceremony with six family members attending.

Shyu said they did that because her maid of honor was pregnant and wouldn’t be able to travel in November.

“We eloped!”