Diana and Radu Sirbu
In 2015, Astoria resident Radu Sirbu
was at the Bohemian Beer Hall when he
spotted Diana, who was a few tables away
sitting with her family. Radu approached
her and it was love at first sight.
“After exchanging a few minutes of
chit-chat with Radu at Bohemian Beer
Garden, I just knew he was the one. I
even told my brother and mother since
16 FEBRUARY 2 0 2 0
they were there with me that day. My
brother sarcastically put a note on his
phone, quoting me. To this day he sends
it to us on our anniversary,” Diana said.
Radu proposed to Diana on Christmas
in 2016 when she was pregnant with their
daughter Lorelai. In March of 2017, they got
married at City Hall, but they celebrated in
Diana’s hometown in Cluj, Romania. And as it
turns out, Radu is also from Romania.
“We’ve made a tradition of celebrating
our anniversary at Bohemian Beer Garden,
where we met. In 2017 and 2018 we were
also joined by our daughter, Lorelei, and in
2019 by our son, Luca. We do it every year,
and we take pictures, we tell our kids when
and how we met. That’s probably the best
moment of the year,” Radu said.
Speaking of celebrating, Diana plans to
surprise Radu with their feature for Valentine’s
Day. He was told the interview was
for a survey. Surprise and Happy Valentine’s
Day, Radu!
VALENTINE’S DAY
Photos by Simion Sebastian Photography
Photos by Zsaknor Powe and Cristal Jefferson
Photo courtesy of Diana Sirbu
Dimitri
Vassilakopoulos
and Julie Sosa
No moment went forgotten during
the September 2019 engagement of
Astoria couple Dimitri Vassilakopoulos
and Julie Sosa, as Vassilakopoulos
planned a surprise videotaping and
editing of the whole experience.
“I still can’t believe he put such an
elaborate plan together for me. When
I first watched it, I did tear up a bit. It
was such a happy moment,” Sosa said.
One of the first shots of the video is of
the St. Catherine Greek Church, which
is especially symbolic for Vassilakopoulos
because his parents were married
there. The video also shows the couple
walking around the neighborhood
holding hands and talking about each
other’s lovable qualities. Vassilakopoulos
then sat Sosa in a chair in front of a
wall of pastel flowers, pulled out a ring
and popped the question.
The duo matched on Bumble in the
summer of 2016, and got to know each
other in Astoria — mostly through coffee
and strolling through the neighborhood.
“Some of my fondest memories with him
are our long walks on Sundays. We would
walk most of the neighborhood with coffee
in hand and just chat,” Sosa said.
“Yeah, we established a routine where
we’d take a walk around the neighborhood,
hit the local small shops like
Astoria Bookshop and talk about life,”
Vassilakopoulos added.
The couple hopes to get married in
the spring of 2021.
FAVORITE LOCAL DATE SPOTS:
STAMATIS
IL BAMBINO
NINO’S AQ
GOSSIP
TO LAIKO