FEBRUARY 2021 I BOROMAG.COM 17
Photos courtesy of Kelsey Rauber
Photos by Taylor Szabo Photos courtesy of Karen Bridges
Dani and Kelsey Rauber
Sunnyside couple Dani and Kelsey
Rauber found each other on OkCupid
in 2014. They had their first date
at Il Bambino in Astoria, which was
near Dani’s apartment at the time.
“It’s silly, but I immediately knew
we'd connect when I saw that
Kelsey's OkCupid username was
‘30Rockefeller,’ an ode to ‘30Rock,’ a
favorite show of mine at the time. I
don't know if I believe in ‘love at first
sight,’ necessarily, but I will say that
when I met Kelsey in person on our
first date it felt like my heart was smiling.
She was so warm and kind, and I
felt very comfortable being with her,”
Dani said.
The pair went for a few drinks at
Break Bar and Billiards, then parted
ways. They reconvened after just a
few hours apart and spent a total
of 36 hours together. Six months
later, the couple moved into an
apartment in Sunnyside. They got
engaged in 2016.
After nearly four years of being
engaged, the couple made a spurof
the-moment decision to tie the
knot in fall 2020.
“In a couple week’s time, we
planned an intimate (and COVID
safe) wedding where we exchanged
vows in a small ceremony
in the back garden of one of our
favorite neighborhood restaurants,
Sotto Le Stelle. It was lovely, magical,
and filled us with a much-needed
bright and hopeful outlook,”
Dani said.
Morgan Smelter
and Mike Dellolio
High school sweethearts Morgan
Smelter and Mike Dellolio started their
relationship in 2010 after meeting in
Spanish class. Ten years later, they got
engaged under the Hell Gate Bridge in
Astoria Park.
“Mike was a bit fidgety that day, asking
me to finish work a bit early so we
could catch sunset at the park — he’s not
a romantic, so this had me on high alert.
Once we left the apartment, and I didn't
think he had a ring box in his pocket, I
didn't think it was going to happen. As
we walked along the river through the
park and under the Hell Gate, Mike suddenly
stopped and almost knocked me
down with him. At that point, I couldn't
believe it was happening and was
speechless,” Smelter said.
The couple moved to the area in 2017,
when Dellolio scored a job as an engineer
for the reconstruction of the N/W
subway stops in Astoria. They believed
that the neighborhood feel and proximity
to the job site couldn’t be beat. They
hope to get married in June of 2022 in
Queens.
FAVORITE DATE SPOTS:
TAVERNA KYCLADES
JACK JONES
HAMIDO SEAFOOD
JUDY & PUNCH
SOUVLAKI LADY
FAVORITE DATE SPOTS:
IDA’S NEARABOUT
ZIO LUIGI
SOTTO LE STELLE
THE SKILLMAN
MAD FOR CHICKEN
Stephanie Moy
Gonzalez
and Daniel
Gonzalez
Astorians Stephanie
Moy Gonzalez and Daniel
Gonzalez met in 2008
while they both worked
at Banana Republic in
San Francisco. Coincidentally,
Moy Gonzalez
found her future husband
“infuriating” at first.
“We were both assigned
to the cash wrap,
but he would constantly
disappear to help customers
like he was a
personal shopper. All of
a sudden, I would have
a long line of customers
forming with Daniel
nowhere to be found,
but we quickly became
friends. It took us a whole
year to finally get together
at a mutual friend’s
party,” Moy Gonzalez
said.
The couple moved to
Brooklyn in 2010 and
held their 2015 wedding
at The Foundry in LIC.
Not long after the celebration
overlooking the
Queensboro Bridge, the
Gonzalezes decided to
make Astoria their home
with their daughter, Grey,
in early 2016.
“We scheduled a viewing
and immediately fell
in love with the neighborhood.
It had everything
we were looking
for: good eats, trendy
nightlife, nice shops, an
easy work commute. It
seemed like a wonderful
place to start a family,”
Moy Gonzalez said.
FAVORITE DATE
SPOTS:
REGAL MOVIE
THEATER
MUSEUM OF THE
MOVING IMAGE
COMFORTLAND
BAREBURGER
ASTORIA PARK
Photos courtesy of Morgan Smelter
Photos by Ryan Scott Welsh @ryanscottwelsh
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