I Do!: Rachel Siford and Anthony Sande

Anthony Sande and Rachel Siford met in court — but it’s not what you might think.

Sande, 33, and Siford, 28, were journalists covering an arraignment at Southold Town Justice Court on July 12, 2017. At the time, Sande was a photojournalist with News 12 Long Island and Siford was a reporter for the Times-Review Media Group, whose publications cover the East End.

As they and other journalists waited for the court hearing to begin, the two started chatting. At one point, Sande recalled, the other reporters walked away and he seized the opportunity to ask for Siford’s number.

Siford remembers the moment a little differently. In her telling, she sensed what he was planning to do and got ahead of him: “You should put your number in my phone,” she remembers saying.

However it happened, what the two do agree on is that they had their first date on July 21, 2017, at The All Star bowling alley in Riverhead and have been together ever since.

“She’s super smart. . . . We just really hit it off,” said Sande, who grew up in Wading River.

And the pair share a similar sense of humor: “In the first year or so of dating, my mom said, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’ve never heard Rachel laugh so hard,’ ” said Siford, who grew up in Smithtown.

The couple now live in Tampa, Florida, where Sande works for a local television station. As part of his job, he said one of his assignments was at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where guests can take photos with rescued dolphins.

That gave Sande an idea. In September 2021, Sande took Siford to the aquarium and suggested they go on a tour. “She knew I was up to something,” Sande said.

And he was — The “tour guide” was actually a professional photographer, and when they reached the dolphin tank, Sande proposed.

“It worked out so perfectly,” he said.

The couple were married June 17, 2023, at The Vineyard at East Wind Long Island in Wading River.

Back home in Florida, Siford reflected on how their relationship has progressed over the past seven years. They now own a home and have a dog, and she said Sande has embraced his new responsibilities.

“It’s been really fun to see him step into the role of taking care of us,” she said.