Newlyweds And . . .

Wedding bells must have been tolling nonstop at Queens Borough Hall, as dozens of love-struck couples tied the knot on Valentine’s Day.
Some traveled from as far as Brooklyn and as close as Rego Park — brides dressed in jeans, suits and at least one wore a bejeweled satin gown. Several would-be wives sported diamond engagement rings, and others carried only the necessary check or money order for $35, as they filed into line on Thursday, February 14.
“Everybody wants to get married on Valentine’s Day,” one clerk joked as she ushered in beaming brides and grooms.
Fredy Llerena, 39, and Fany Brito, 29, toted their two-year-old son Nestor; their other child, four-year-old Fred, was stuck in school.
“It’s a special day, a big day,” said soft-spoken Llerena as the couple waited for the crowd to lessen so they could head inside.
Llerena and Brito said that they had met in their hometown of Gualaquiza, Ecuador, reunited in New York and now live in Ridgewood.
After getting married, they planned to go out for a nice dinner with family.
Ozone Park residents Frankie DiGioia, 29, and Jeanine Laffey, 32, also expected to have an evening out after their marriage ceremony.
The pair remembered running into each other on 101st Avenue and 77th Street in 2005, when DiGioia asked Laffey out on a date.
“We saw each other four times before I asked her out,” DiGioia said, explaining that it was his soon-to-be bride’s eyes that first caught his notice.
Three years later, they chose Valentine’s Day because of the holiday’s romantic feeling - and because DiGioia’s daughter was born on the 14th day of June.
Plus with all of the V-Day hype, how could any hubby forget an anniversary, said another groom, 34-year-old Jackson Heights resident Craig Buska, who said that he and wife-to-be, 36-year-old Malena, had planned to marry in March but spontaneously switched the date.
The couple, dating for one year, met at work - both are in banking — and Craig said he first noticed his fianc/e’s foxy looks and cheery demeanor.
“It just happened so fast,” Craig said of their whirlwind courtship.
Soon-to-be husband and wife Rob and Alicia Dare, who also hoped to make it official on Valentine’s Day, said that they had gotten together exactly one year earlier, meeting through a mutual friend.
“What I like about him? He possesses many of the qualities that my father did. He is kind, caring and devoted,” Alicia, 25, said.
“She tells me the truth. She keeps me in line. She is always willing to compromise,” Rob, 27, said.