A little over a year into dating, DJ moved in with Emily in her tiny ranch. He always said he wanted to live with a partner for a year before proposing. Despite buying a ring after only about 8 months, he was true to his word and proposed (almost exactly) a year after moving in.

Of course, his plans were almost foiled by catching Covid 10 days before he planned on proposing (causing Emily to temporarily stay at her parent's place) and the friend he had lined up to capture the proposal on camera needing an emergency wisdom tooth extraction.

BUT, DJ was finally testing negative the day before Emily had a midday appointment in Patchogue to come back for. DJ frantically messaged his friends and found someone available on a random Wednesday afternoon to snap some photos. They took a walk down to Mascot Dock, where they had their first date, and DJ was completely distracted. While Emily knew a proposal was in the future, she was completely surprised! They're now enjoying a long(ish) engagement to make sure they can plan the perfect day.

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