VALENTINE'S DAY

Love and leather at Harley-Davidson

Town helps couples renew wedding vows at Bellmore bike shop

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“What a great name for today!” Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray told Harley Nemzer, of Wantagh, on Feb. 13. Harley and his wife, Ellen, had just walked down a motorcycle-lined aisle at Harley-Davidson of Nassau County, in Bellmore, to renew their marriage vows.

Nemzer’s ties to motorcycles run deep. His grandfather biked religiously with his two brothers during the World War I era, and Nemzer has been riding for 50 years. After he met Ellen in 1977, riding became part of their relationship.

“We like to share everything,” he said. “It’s just another thing that we do together.”

The Nemzers were one of nine married couples who celebrated biking — and each other — at the “Biker Love” wedding-vow-renewal ceremony at the Harley-Davidson shop, at Newbridge Road and Sunrise Highway, the day before Valentine’s Day. Murray officiated.

Every year, the supervisor explained, town officials discuss how they can honor Valentine’s Day by celebrating local couples’ commitment to one another. She described marriage as a cornerstone of society.

Officials knew many former police officers and veterans who were interested in motorcycles, so they reached out to biking groups, and in no time they found several couples who wanted to renew their vows.

“It wasn’t very hard to find couples,” Murray said. “It’s all about fun –– the love of motorcycling, the open road and each other. But when you come down to it, it’s also a renewal of marriage and is really poignant.”

The celebration began at 11 a.m. at Newbridge Road Park, where some of the couples and their friends formed a motorcycle procession to Harley-Davidson. Bundled up in leather jackets, the bikers cruised north on Newbridge to Sunrise Highway on a frigid morning.

Once inside the shop, the couples found the Harley-Davidson dealership transformed into a chapel, featuring life-sized murals with photos of their wedding days and a white arbor festooned with pink and red balloons and floral arrangements by Wick’s Florist in Baldwin. Chili, hot dogs, corn chips, non-alcoholic beer and other “engine-revving refreshments,” provided by Stop & Shop of North Bellmore, were served at the reception. A Taste of Home Bakery of North Bellmore donated the cake.

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