56 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 15, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Newlyweds celebrate their ‘puptials’ with
their fur babies at Glen Oaks dog park
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e Glen Oaks Village Enchanted
Forest Dog Park has been the site of birthday
parties and Halloween contests since
its inception in 2012. But Dee Philips and
James Forrester turned it up a notch and
decided to have their wedding photoshoot
at the private dog run on Friday, April 9.
Th e four-legged wedding party included
Philips’ two fur babies Chloe and
Sunday, Forrester’s dog Bailey, and three
of their puppy friends.
It wasn’t an easy task to get the dog pack
to pose for the wedding photos. However,
bribing the pooches, wearing fashionable
dog wedding attire with treats seemed to
do the trick and the canines eventually
settled down.
Th e bride, who works as a bid administrator
for Tully Construction, told QNS
that the couple met 30 years ago at Rikers
Island during a construction project.
Forrester, who was the plumber for
the construction company, walked into
Philips’ trailer and asked if he could use
the fax machine. Philips said she responded
by saying, “I’m not your mother, lover
or your friend.”
Th ey reconnected while working at
Ground Zero. Th e friendship developed
over the years, and they grew closer, especially
during the pandemic.
Dee was the one who initiated the nuptials
about a month ago.
“I’m like, ‘Well, you want to do it?’ And
then he’s like, ‘Yeah,’” the beaming bride said.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the
couple tied the knot in a virtual ceremony
earlier in the day at their home and will
have a small celebration with their closest
friends — most are already vaccinated —
at Tavern 18.
Asked by QNS why they decided to
have their wedding photos taken at the
picturesque dog park, which sits on a gentle
slope and is covered with special K9
artifi cial turf, Philips cited the connection
the couple has with their furry friends.
“Our dogs helped us through a lot of
things during this pandemic, you know,”
she said. “Th ere are our babies. We are
both 56, we are not going to have
any kids, and they are our
kids.”
“We are always
here,” she added. “We
have pool parties here for the dogs; they
have Halloween costume parties where
everybody dresses up. It’s safe, everybody’s
vaccinated, everybody’s neutered,
and they cleaned it up for us today.”
“It’s our home away from home,”
James added.
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
Dee Philips and James Forrester celebrated their union at the Glen Oaks Village Enchanted Forest Dog Park on Friday, April 9, 2021.
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
