I Do!: Julia Lafferty and Bryan Moritt of Westbury

Julia Lafferty said she was taken by Bryan Moritt from the first glance.

“He seemed like a happy, fun guy to be around,” said the special education teacher who was introduced to Moritt, a financial planner, by a friend. Moritt, likewise, was smitten with Lafferty from the start. “She caught my eye with a beautiful smile that could light up a room,” he said

After meeting in late 2019, the pair joined their friends for casual get-togethers, and were dating within months.

Moritt, a triathlete, planned to propose after an Ironman competition in Lake Placid on July 23, 2023. “Before the race, he sent me a picture of the body suit he was going to wear, so I kind of knew,” said Lafferty with a laugh, referring to a spandex “tuxedo-style” suit in which he planned to compete.

After finishing the grueling long-distance race, Moritt bent down on one knee with a ring in hand. But instead of popping the question, he collapsed with painful leg cramps.

“I helped him up . . . I was concerned about him,” Lafferty recalled. “Then he came up on one knee and asked me to marry him. I screamed ‘Yes!’ . . . and cried of happiness.”

The couple planned a wedding for 200 guests at the Fox Hollow in Woodbury on Jan. 10, with the ceremony officiated by Moritt’s uncle, a bishop from Virginia. They wrote their own vows.

“In my vows, I said all the things I love about Julia and what I want to do with her moving forward,” Moritt said.

The highlights of the reception included a late-night food truck and a “dancing cannoli guy,” said Lafferty, referring to a vendor who filled and served cannoli on the dance floor.

The couple said they are looking forward to a lifetime together.

“Married life is exactly what we expected, and we are happier, if that’s even possible,” Lafferty said. “We have been on cloud nine since the wedding.”

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!