Rockland Jeweler Sells Ring Then Officiates At In-Store Wedding

NANUET, NY — Nanuet residents Linda and Louis Torrellas tied the knot at Clarkstown Coin & Jewelry Dec. 10, with owner Seth Spivak officiating and rose petals strewn everywhere.

Spivak was ordained years ago so he could officiate at a friend's wedding. "Sometimes when I sell a ring I half-heartedly joke about doing their wedding as well. Linda actually took me up on it," he told Patch.

The couple had gone into the Main Street jewelry store because Louis needed a wedding band, Linda Torrellas said. She was going to use her mother's ring. They had decided on an intimate affair — and Spivak's offer was a perfect fit.

What they didn't expect when they returned for the wedding was what Spivak and the staff had done.

"He gave us the most beautiful ceremony," she said. "When we got there he was playing beautiful music and there were white rose petals on the floor. The male staffers wore white tuxedo shirts, the woman had sparkles in her hair. He had chocolates and champagne on the counter for us."

It was a total surprise, she said. "He had said, 'I'm going to have something nice for you' but we never expected him to go to such lengths."

"After knowing their back-story, the whole thing was rewarding for me as well," Spivak said.

Linda, 70, and Louis, 76, had dated many years ago, Linda said. "It didn't work out and we parted ways. But I always thought of him. So 20 years later I looked him up on the computer and he was living in Florida. I wrote him a note and he called. The rest is history."

Now they're really looking forward to celebrating the holidays as a married couple.

"I was excited and happy to do it for them — kind of cool to be able to provide such an important service to local folks! After 50 years in business, I’d thought we’d done it all. Obviously not. Talk about one-stop shopping!" Spivak said. "At the end of the day, doing a kind thing for someone you hardly know feels really good."