16 SEPTEMBER 2 0 2 0
Photos by Upasana Mainali
The couple incorporated local vendors
in their COVID-friendly wedding;
they shared a pizza from Milkflower
and indulged in doughnuts from
Doughnut Plant in lieu of cake.
“My advice to other couples is to
embrace the chaos and remember
that the story you'll be able to tell will
be uniquely yours, and that's pretty
cool,” Sarah Constantino said. “It
wasn’t the wedding we dreamed of,
but it was the wedding of our dreams.”
Like the Constantinos, Astoria newlyweds
Ariel Diaz and Kyrstin Bonilla
had to revise their wedding plans due
to the pandemic. They had intended
to have a destination wedding in Mallorca,
Spain, but instead decided
to hold their
ceremony in Bonilla’s mother’s backyard
in Hollis Hills, Queens.
Within six weeks of deciding to alter
their plans, Diaz and Bonilla had locked
down vendors across western Queens
such as Los Tacos City Habaneros, Petals
and Roots, and Cake by Nerwan. All vendors
were required to wear masks and
gloves and were to disclose if any staff
members were recently sick.
“It was truly an amazing undertaking.
But with social media, there is so much
research that can be done right from your
couch. We also called a lot of businesses
to see if they were willing to work with us
given the current situation, and as long as
we followed some guidelines, everyone
was extremely supportive and thankful to
have some business,” Diaz said.
WEDDINGS
Ariel Diaz and Kyrstin Bonilla