An online connection across a decade brought Petey and Tony together.
They first met online in 2001 when they belonged to the same online dating service. They corresponded a bit but never met in person. Then, in 2011, they reconnected—again, online—and ended up chatting, texting and talking on the phone. A month later, they met in real life.
Five years later, Petey and Tony married in a dusk ceremony in front of 150 guests.
While on a cruise with their two daughters, Tony proposed to Petey on the balcony of their stateroom as they sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. “It was a total surprise for me,” says Petey. “The period that followed was pure joy and excitement of wedding planning.”
A September wedding was perfect since both grooms have the same September birthday and it’s their anniversary month. Their fall color scheme included gold, chocolate brown, cream and orange.
They chose their venue, Old Sugar Mill, for its rustic charm and architecture.
The grooms were styled to perfection! Inspired by floral suits they saw in a magazine ad, the grooms decided to have their attire custom tailored. “My suit was a white jacket with floral trousers,” says Petey. “Tony’s was a floral jacket with white trousers. We wanted our suit to complement its counterpart like we complement each other in life.”
Petey’s parents, who live in Thailand, couldn’t make it to the wedding, so Tony’s mother walked Petey down the aisle, along with the couple’s three-year-old daughter; while Tony’s father walked him down the aisle along with the couple’s 13-year-old daughter.
When Tony first saw his groom, “I felt validated that it’s the best decision I was making,” he says, explaining that he surprised himself by keeping his emotions in check during the procession. “I did all my crying at the rehearsal.”
Petey felt invincible. “With Tony’s love, I can do anything,” he says.
The couple’s officiant and friend, Reverend Arthur Lillicropp, was the former chaplain at the hospital where Petey worked. Reverend Art also baptized the couple’s younger daughter. “Reverend Art guided us and our guests through the ceremony with love, humor and sanctity,” says Petey. “It was perfect.”
Both grooms danced with Tony’s mother for the mother-son dance. They also danced with their daughters for a group dance at the end of the first dance.
Their first dance song, “I Knew I Loved You” by Savage Garden, “symbolizes how we believed the other person was out there all along, and how fate made us wait 10 years before finding each other,” says Petey.
Their Champagne cake, which was decorated with autumn colored leaves and black bowties, featured a cake topper with true-to-life figurines of the grooms.
The best part of the wedding?
“Having our daughters there with us,” says Petey. “Tony and I became husbands and all four of us became a family on that special day.”
—Kristen Castillo
