I Do!: Grace Hall and Justin Edwards, of Mt. Sinai

Justin Edwards and Grace Hall met on Tinder in March 2018. But it wasn’t until about a year later that the two met in person for the first time and officially became a couple.

At the time, Edwards was stationed in Guam as a master-at-arms third class, and Hall was 8,000 miles away in New York. She called him her “Navy pen pal.”

“Neither of us expected to find anything serious,” said Hall, 30, a teacher. “I liked the flirty conversations ... ​​​He, I think, was more bored.”

It all changed when Edwards, 30, offered to help fix Hall’s sister’s car over Facetime. After hearing each other’s voices, the two realized that their relationship could be something more.

Separated by a 14-hour time difference, Hall and Edwards got to know each other through countless date “nights” over the phone, a favorite being virtual movie dates.

“Unless we were sleeping, we were pretty much talking, like 24/7, as much as we could,” she said. “It was just super easy to talk to him . . . everything just felt so natural.”

In March 2020, Edwards returned home to Mount Sinai, three years into his service.

Now a member of the Mount Sinai Fire Department, he proposed to Hall in September 17, 2022 at the local firehouse, surrounded by family and friends.

The couple married on June 22, 2024, at Infant Jesus R.C. Church in Port Jefferson, with their reception at The Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead.

Together, they crafted an evening that celebrated their union while embracing their individuality. The couple was greeted by rally towels, which was printed with an Islanders chant, for Justin’s favorite team, and Yankees colors, for Grace’s. The wedding also featured marriage advice from Grace’s sixth grade students and a custom-made card box modeled after the original Mount Sinai firehouse.

The couple are now preparing for another milestone: Hall is 12 weeks pregnant.

Nominate a couple who has gotten married in the past 12 months. Email your love story, in 250 words or less, to lilife@newsday.com, subject line I Do!