vows by alison nichols gr ay
LINDSAY LING FONG & PETER FRANCIS KOZAK 1
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ing and Pete’s love story seems like it’s straight out of a rom-com. Pete was playing with his band, FiKus, at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Ling was there with her friends, dancing the night away, and noticed a cute guy onstage. When the show was over, a girl grabbed Pete and said, “My friend wants to take a picture with you.” After the photo, Ling told Pete, “I think you should take my number.” He did. Five years later, Pete joined Ling and her family on their annual trip to the Saratoga Jazz Festival. Keeping with the musical theme in their life, he decided it was the perfect place to propose. After a romantic dinner, they took a walk through a nearby park, and Pete suggested they sit on a bench near a pond. After initiating a conversation about their future, Pete got down on bended knee and asked Ling to marry him. Every year since, they have returned to the festival to celebrate the occasion. Nick Carriero officiated the ceremony at The Capitol Theatre, where the reception followed. The most magical moment of the evening was when the groom’s band, FiKus, reunited for the first time in five years to sing a few songs for the guests. At one point, Pete called Ling up on stage, and the pair danced and sang together. The love story had come full circle. The bride, daughter of Eddie Fong and Shannon Kennedy of Greenwich, graduated from Greenwich High School. Ling is the Vice President of Operations at Kennedy Security in Greenwich. The groom, son of Gary and Bernadette Kozak of New Jersey, graduated from Pascack Valley High School, William Paterson University and the University of Cincinnati. Pete is a behavioral therapist, founder of Especially Everyone and co-owner of Something Electric Productions in Princeton and Greenwich. The newlyweds live in Greenwich.
1 Ling and Pete under the mezzanine at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester 2 Giancarlo Aspesi, Angel Arce, Nick Niven, Torre Hahn, Alex Clark, Karina Jaramillo, Stephanie Smario, Lindsay Ling Fong, Jill Schwabe, Amanda Smith, Nick Carriero, Ryan Curcuruto, John Morelli, Chris Rosa 3 The band that played at the reception: Ryan Liatsis, Pete Kozak, Dan Rappaport, Travis Paparoski, Natasha DiMarco, Brad Pfeifer, Scott Hogan, Jon Schmarak 4 The newlyweds take the stage 5 The bride and groom with Eddie Fong and Shannon Kennedy 6 Jon Schmarak, the groom, Travis Paparoski 7 The couple exchanging vows, while Nick Carriero looks on.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMANTHA JUNE
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MARCH 2022 GREENWICH
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2/9/22 10:15 AM
