I Do!: Ashley Dumeng and Christian Jahkhah of Islip

Ashley Dumeng and Christian Jahkhah lived about 7 minutes apart for most of their lives. Their first jobs were both at Tanger Outlets in Deer Park, and Jahkhah even mowed one of her neighbor’s yards, but they didn’t know each other.

After years of unknown proximity and having mutual friend circles, the two finally met after he reached out to her via Instagram in April 2019.

They talked for two weeks before meeting for dinner at Whalers in Bay Shore. Jahkhah said the “click” was instant.

“It’s my invisible-string theory,” Dumeng said. “We were around each other the whole time, it just wasn’t our time to meet. We weren’t the people we had to be.”

Both are beach fans who like to travel. The Islip couple had booked a trip to Antigua that kept getting delayed because of the pandemic, Dumeng said, but they finally made it in August 2022. On their second day, they scheduled a private sunset beach dinner. Jahkhah hired a photographer through the resort who had them visit different spots — though the photographer’s manager didn’t tell him there would be a proposal.

The photographer pointed to a walkway out to the water and said, “People who kiss under there end up getting engaged,” they said.

“I didn’t know that he didn’t know,” Jahkhah said. “I thought this guy blew my cover — I had the ring box in my back pocket.”

But all was well when Jahkhah got down on one knee and the photographer started to roll.

“He took a video of us right in the moment,” he said.

Dumeng, 30, a nurse, and Jahkhah, 29, a Long Island Rail Road employee, married Aug. 22, 2024, at Giorgio’s Baiting Hollow with 150 guests, six attendants each and flower girls.

They also celebrated family and their shared values. A Generations of Love table displayed photos of family, Dumeng noted. “All that we are and we learned are from our families” she said.

Nominate a Long Island 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!