By Emily Drooby
In August of 2020, Barbara and Mario Belluomo recreated a photo they took on their wedding day, 40 years prior.
They did this while they retraced their wedding day steps on their anniversary.
“We grew up in Brooklyn, we did so many things in Brooklyn,” Mario explained. “Nostalgia keeps you alive.”
The couple were married on Aug. 23 1980, after meeting five years before that, at a disco in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
“It was her first big night out,” Mario said.
“It was my first big night out ever,” Barbara added, “and I met him there.”
Mario was immediately drawn to her. “I noticed her sweetness. She was so shy and pleasant and calm. She just drew to me,” he said.
Forty years later and the married couple have been through a lot together: trips, graduations, children and grandchildren.
The couple says adventures and doing things together are their secret for success. So for their anniversary adventure, they decided to go back and recreate one of their happiest days.
Starting at Our Lady of Angels Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where they were married. The couple took a trip down memory lane and the aisle.
It’s the church where Barbara was baptized and where her parents were married, too.
Next, the couple stopped by their catering hall and Marcy’s Photo Studio where they had their wedding photos taken. Both businesses have since been replaced, but that didn’t ruin the happy day.
“Even though things change and neighborhoods change, it makes you feel good,” Mario added. “It’s just nice, it’s nice to remember those moments as to who you were.”
For this strong couple — this strong team — they’ll always have the memories, and they’ll always have each other.