I Do!: Kelsey Colberg and John Coacci, formerly of Massapequa and Plainview

Kelsey Colberg and John Coacci met in college at SUNY Geneseo in 2013 when both joined a co-ed service fraternity and were friends for years before reconnecting when they both moved back to Long Island in 2019.

Colberg was getting her master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology at Hofstra University in Hempstead, and Coacci, 31, from Massapequa, was in medical school at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury.

“It was a gradual thing,” said Colberg, 31, of Plainview. “We started hanging out together in the middle of 2019, and we steadily built on that friendship.”

Fast forward to 2025. They bought their rings and booked their wedding date at Flowerfield in St. James in February, before the proposal, hoping to use the outdoor island gazebo for their June 5 wedding. “It was crazy, things were booked a year in advance,” Colberg said.

“He was in his residency so there weren’t many days off,” Colberg said. “We picked them [Flowerfield] because of their beautiful indoor setting in case the weather was bad.”

Coacci proposed March 15, 2025, while the couple were visiting the North Fork, and he looped in the bed and breakfast where they were staying so they could help set the stage. They later met family and friends at a winery and ended celebrations in Greenport. “I kind of knew it would be that day, but didn’t know where,” Colberg said.

They married with 178 guests attending at Flowerfield, where the weather cooperated so they could use the gazebo. Their golden retriever puppy, Koda, was ring bearer, although the actual rings were safe in the best man’s pocket. Coacci’s 7-month-old niece Sophia Unruh was flower girl, with her mom Alexandra Unruh’s assistance, and Koda played cleanup, eating the flower petals as he followed along. “He eats everything,” Colberg said.

“The ceremony was so peaceful,” Coacci said. “It was a beautiful wedding. Everyone felt relaxed and it was a moment to unwind -- we were so go, go, go before.”The wedding band, which featured dueling pianos and played requests, was a highlight for Coacci. “It was my favorite part, they were fantastic,” he said. For Colberg, a highlight was getting ready beforehand in Flowerfield’s Rose Cottage with her grandmother, Jean Muldoon, in attendance. “I loved that,” she said.

Instead of tossing the bridal bouquet, Colberg and Coacci did a T-shirt toss for 20 lucky guests, with just a small misstep involving some fairy lights above the dance floor on one throw, Colberg said. They also published a wedding newspaper and asked guests to sign their cooler guestbook so “we could bring a piece of tonight to every summer BBQ.”

 Their specialty drink, Koda’s Catch, featured a yellow rubber duck in the drink, similar to one they saw at a restaurant in Disney Springs, Florida, she said.

They are living in Charlotte, North Carolina, for at least another year while Coacci finishes a fellowship in medical toxicology.

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!