ABOVE: Dominic (L) and Mike Costelli. Photo by Jamarcus Mosley.
When Dominic and Mike Costelli first met, they were both in other relationships and unaware that they had crossed paths with their future husband.
They were each part of a throuple at the time, and “our throuples happened to be friends,” Dominic said. “They introduced Mike and I.”
Sparks didn’t initially fly, though. They sometimes hung out with their group of friends and followed each other on social media. They rarely exchanged more than a “hi” and “how are you doing,” Mike adds.
Eventually, both of their relationships had ended. One day, Mike happened to share a picture on social media. After Dominic hit the “like” button on the photo, Mike messaged him, “See something you like?”
The duo hung out that day and never looked back, quickly making their relationship official by July 4, 2021.
“We have so much in common and didn’t have the chance to talk when we were in relationships,” Mike says. “Somebody would always get jealous. It was stupid to not just say, ‘Hey you. Want to start dating?’”
Dominic says that he was drawn to Mike’s big personality.
“He’s a very outgoing person and very blunt most of the time,” Dominic explains. “I could see that he had this big ol’ heart and wanted someone to understand him.”
Mike adds, “Dom’s the same way. He just wasn’t being taken care of properly.”
They were both on the same page about their relationship from the beginning.
“He and I are a lot similar,” Mike says. “We both always wanted to have that one person. I told him I had to kiss a lot of frogs to finally get my prince.”
The St. Petersburg couple got engaged on Dec. 31, 2021. With a degree in metal fabrication, Mike had three sets of personalized rings made for them. They’re both avid video gamer players and so the boxes the rings came in were inscribed with “Player 1 ready. Player 2 press start.”
As they were leaving for their New Year’s Eve plans in an Uber ride, he switched out a ring Dominic wore with one of the new rings. When Dominic realized what the ring meant, he started crying.
“I had a feeling it was coming. I just didn’t know when,” he recalls. “It just kind of shocked me.”
Originally, the couple planned to get married in early 2023. Then, they thought they might get married on July 4 of this year on their anniversary.
But as Dominic’s family planned a visit to the Tampa Bay area this spring, they decided to move up the date for their wedding so they could attend.
“We went from a year of planning to four months of planning to a month,” he says.
His family visited from April 5-10, so they got married April 8 in a small wedding at St. Petersburg’s Maximo Park. “We always knew we didn’t want anything big,” Dominic notes.
Mike adds, “Just something laidback and casual.”
The day was extra special because Dominic’s family was there. It was the first time Mike met his husband’s loved ones, including his mother, though they’d spoken via Facetime before.
“She fell in love with him instantly,” Dominic says. “I’m no longer the favorite.”
Engagement Date: Dec. 31, 2021
Wedding Date: April 8, 2022
Wedding Venue: Maximo Park, St. Petersburg
Wedding Song: “Always Be Loving You” by My Brothers and I
Florist: Personal flowers from Cami Burgess, a friend
Officiant: Michael Ealy
Photographer: Jamarcus Mosley
Wedding Colors: White, Silver, Black and Gold
