I Do!: Rita Sylvester and Vincent Nardone

When Rita Sylvester moved back to Long Island after several years living in New York City, she swore she would never date anyone from her hometown.

“I just was trying to stay away from people from high school,” Sylvester, who grew up in Locust Valley, said.

That didn’t deter Vincent Nardone, a friend of her sister’s who would message her on Facebook about meeting up.

“I was just persistent with getting her to hang out,” Nardone, now 30, said.

Sylvester, 31, said she avoided him for several months, but he was so charming that she eventually relented.

They spent their first date, in April 2017, getting takeout pizza. “I looked in his eyes and I was hooked,” Sylvester said. “He was just very caring, and he did want commitment, which is very hard [to find] in New York.”

By June, they were officially a couple. They soon were living together in Bayville, where Nardone grew up.

“I’m the wild one. . . . He’s the introvert,” Sylvester said. “He just sort of leveled me right away.”

Fast forward to October 2021. The two were at the Electric Daisy Carnival, a music festival in Las Vegas. Sylvester said she had broached the idea of marriage with Nardone and, unbeknownst to her, he had asked her parents’ permission to propose. Then, on the last night of the festival, with her friends watching, Nardone asked her to marry him during an “incredible” fireworks show, Sylvester said.

“Even though I told him exactly what to do, it was a total surprise!” she said.

The two married on Oct. 5 of this year. Their daughter, Celeste, who recently turned 1, was their flower girl, Sylvester said.