Paterson, NJ
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Just Married! Bergen-Passaic Couple Met In Grad School Just Married! Bergen-Passaic Couple Met In Grad School
Just Married! Bergen-Passaic Couple Met In Grad School Sara Marie Brandsema and John David Handal were married March 2 at St. Aedan’s Church on the campus of St. Peter’s University in Jersey City.  Brandsema is from River Edge and Handal is from Totowa. The pair met at Rutgers University in Newark in 2011, from where Brandesma received a master’s degree in global affairs and the groom received a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in global affairs. The bride is 31 and works as a philanthropy and partnerships officer at the International Rescue Committee in New York City, generating resources to benefit refugees and displaced populations. S…

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by Cecilia Levine
New Rochelle, NY
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New Rochelle Wedding Ends At First Date Location -- 16 Handles New Rochelle Wedding Ends At First Date Location -- 16 Handles
New Rochelle Wedding Ends At First Date Location -- 16 Handles Four years after their first date at 16 Handles in New Rochelle, a couple decided to return to the place where it all began -- on their wedding day. Tiffany French and Anthony Goffe's sweet story resurfaced last week, when 16 Handles' corporate account posted it on social media. It was French's idea to have her first date with Goffe at 16 Handles. "Secretly I suggested it just in case this thing was a dud and I needed to get out quickly," she said.  "I didn’t want to have a whole meal to eat before I could leave." The pair ended up getting married down the street at t…

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by Cecilia Levine
West Milford, NJ
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NY Times Spotlight Same-Sex Army Captains Celebrating Marriage In Ringwood NY Times Spotlight Same-Sex Army Captains Celebrating Marriage In Ringwood
NY Times Spotlight Same-Sex Army Captains Celebrating Marriage In Ringwood RINGWOOD, N.J. – A pair of U.S. Army Captains -- believed to be the first same-sex active-duty military couple to say ‘I do’ at West Point’s Cadet Chapel – recently celebrated their wedding reception in Ringwood, NYTimes.com reports. Capt. Daniel Hall, 30, and Capt. Vincent Franchino, 26, both Apache helicopter pilots, were married on January 13, in front of about 150 guests, many in Army uniforms, the story says. The reception was held at Skylands Manor, described in the story as an “elegant … 44-room Tudor revival mansion perched high in the heavily wooded Ramapo Mountains along a stretch…

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by Lauren Kidd Ferguson
Ridgewood, NJ
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Couple Says ‘I Do’ At Valley Hospital Before Major Surgery Couple Says ‘I Do’ At Valley Hospital Before Major Surgery
Couple Says ‘I Do’ At Valley Hospital Before Major Surgery RIDGEWOOD, N.J. – The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood was recently transformed into a special wedding venue for one patient and his partner. “Mark DeBenedectis expressed to Cheel 4 Neuro Charge Nurse Michelle Bower, RN, his wish to marry his partner, Greg, before he was scheduled to have major surgery,” Valley Health System shared in a Facebook post. With DeBenedictis’ surgery just two days away, staff and volunteers transformed the hospital’s terrace into a wedding venue for the Emerson couple. Staff and volunteers thought of and coordinated all the details -- including decorations, flowers,…

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by Lauren Kidd Ferguson