I Do!: Celine Orosco and David Motel, of Oceanside

Celine Orosco and David Motel grew up just minutes apart — Orosco in Freeport and Motel in Baldwin — but it wasn’t until July 2021, when they both swiped right on Hinge, that their love story began.

“I was only on the apps for about three months and wasn’t really taking them seriously,” said Orosco, 28. “David was actually the first person I went out with.”

For Motel, 29, a sanitation worker, the connection felt different from the start. “I had been on dating apps for a few years with less success, but when I met Celine, something just clicked,” he said.

Their first date was a casual coffee meetup in Bayside, Queens, followed by a walk through Alley Pond Park, where they got lost, laughed and gave each other piggyback rides.

“We just flowed so well together,” said Orosco, a dental hygienist. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting something serious, but our connection was so strong, I could already see a future with him.”

In September 2021, Motel told Orosco he loved her. A few months later, on his birthday in November, he gave Orosco his Irish mother’s Claddagh ring — a traditional symbol of love and loyalty — as a promise ring.

“I knew she was the one,” Motel said. “And I wanted to show her that.”

On Oct. 22, 2023, Motel proposed at Old Westbury Gardens, one of their favorite spots. A friend secretly photographed Motel getting down on one knee.

“I had no idea at first,” Orosco said. “But then he kept checking his phone . . . and I started to get suspicious.”

“I called her parents in Tennessee the night before to ask for their blessing,” Motel said. “Her mom cried when she said yes.”

The couple wed on Nov. 22 at The Lannin in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, surrounded by 55 close family and friends. Guests traveled from Florida, Trinidad and Ireland to be there.

“We thought about eloping,” Motel admitted. “Weddings are expensive, but in the end, we realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have all our loved ones together.”

Orosco, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to the United States as a child, made sure her culture was part of the celebration. “We told the DJ we had to have soca music,” she said.

“Even people who weren’t Trinidadian were having a great time on the dance floor.”