I Do!: Caroline Criscuola and Vincent Pellegrino

Even in high school, Caroline Criscuola was confident she would one day marry Vincent Pellegrino.

“I wore a white dress to prom. I always knew,” said Criscuola, 28.

Pellegrino, 27, moved to Merrick from Staten Island in eighth grade and the two met during their sophomore year at Sanford H. Calhoun High School in the hamlet. The couple said they started dating as seniors.

Both attended college locally — Criscuola, a special education teacher, at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx and Pellegrino, a waiter, at SUNY Old Westbury.

“I played soccer in college, and he was able to come to all my games,” she said.

Pellegrino proposed on April 11, 2023, while the couple was vacationing in Jamaica. “It was the first time I left the country, and I wanted to make it extra memorable,” he said.

They were set to dine on the beach, and Pellegrino planned to propose by the water. But it rained that day, and Criscuola said the hotel moved their dinner to a small gazebo.

“He was pacing while I was getting ready . . . We’ve been together for nine years, and I just had a feeling he was going to propose,” she said. Then on the ride to the beach, she saw a bump in his pocket from the ring box.

The weather eventually cleared up and the evening wound up being gorgeous, Criscuola recalled. “It was perfect, he did a really good job,” she said.

The couple married July 12 at The Mansion at Oyster Bay in Woodbury, with 142 guests in attendance.

It poured the morning of the wedding, just like on their engagement day, Criscuola noted. But, “By the time of the afternoon ceremony it was sunny, and people were complaining about the heat.”

For their wedding cake, which they ordered from Francesco‘s Bakery in Hicksville, she said they decided to serve millefoglie, which includes layers of custard sandwiched between thin strips of puff pastry and topped with fresh fruit and powdered sugar. It was partially assembled beforehand, without the top fruit layer so it didn‘t get soggy. Then when it was time to serve the cake, the couple added the fruit and powdered sugar topping.

“Everyone got to watch us assemble it,“ Criscuola said. “I like that it was different. It was so fun.“

They also incorporated their “island dogs“ Phin and Roo into the festivities with signature drinks named after them — a margarita called the “Phinartia“ and a mojito called “Roojito.“ Both dogs, with shots completed before traveling to the United States, were adopted from the Caribbean, she said — Phin from the Bahamas and Roo from Aruba.

The couple are avid New York Yankees fans, so Criscuola had matching jerseys made up with the name Pellegrino and the number 24 — for their wedding year — on the back. The newlyweds donned them at the reception.

“Everything went perfectly,” Criscuola said. “It was the best day of our lives.”