Elizabeth Wuestman and Richard Jones of Greenlawn

Elizabeth Wuestman and Richard Jones have been a team for nearly a decade, building a life together in Greenlawn with their two children and a dog. On Feb. 14, they officially became husband and wife in a heartfelt ceremony at Huntington Hall — a few blocks away from where the couple’s love story began.

Wuestman and Jones met in 2014 at the Huntington Holiday Parade, where both volunteered with their respective first-aid squads and fire department. After the parade, they joined friends at Finley’s of Greene Street, where Jones bought Wuestman a drink.

“We just clicked,” Jones recalled. “It was effortless.” The couple, both 34, remember their first official date a few weeks later at the Jones Beach Light show. “We never got tired of each other,” Wuestman said.

When they were preparing to welcome their son, who was born in 2020, their priority became securing a home. By the end of 2019, they had found the perfect place in Greenlawn. Their daughter arrived in 2023. Amid parenting and careers — Wuestman as a professional paramedic and clinical educator, and Jones as a water treatment operator — they often spoke about getting married but found themselves daunted by the task of planning a big wedding. “We knew it would be at least 200 people,” Wuestman said. “Finally, we decided — we’re done talking. Let’s just get married.”

The couple got the last available spot in Huntington’s Valentine’s Day Marriage Ceremony, officiated by Town Clerk Andrew Raia, and wed with 18 family members and friends as witnesses.

“Both of our kids joined us up there as we said our vows to one another. It so perfectly represented our everyday life together with our beautiful family,” the couple shared with Newsday shortly after the ceremony. “We spent so long worrying about the when, how, where and who, at the end of the day, all that mattered was that we were taking the next step into our forever together."

Nominate a 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!