Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘He proposed to me in front of my whole friends and family, which is everything I could have ever wanted.’

Kaitlyn Parnahay, Valley Stream

“We met freshman year of college through one of my best friends, Sarah. So, she gets all the credit for this because she introduced us to each other. She was like, ‘Oh, I have a friend named Peter.’ I was like, ‘OK, cool, I guess?’ And then he walked in the room, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, Peter!’ That was the first time we met. Then about a year later, maybe more — I think sophomore year — we started dating officially.

“A lot of random things happen in between, but we were just talking to each other a lot and then we ended up together. Thank you, Sarah. We went to different colleges, but that was not an issue. We were still able to see each other. He grew up in Glen Cove, and I grew up in Valley Stream. So he was always coming over to me, and we hung out ’til like 4 a.m. every single night we were together.

He proposed to me in front of my whole friends and family, which is everything I could have ever wanted because he knows how much they all mean to me.

“Fast-forward to more recent times; he proposed to me in front of my whole friends and family, which is everything I could have ever wanted because he knows how much they all mean to me. So it was perfect. Somehow, they saw the ring, but I had no idea. I guess I am just that oblivious. I had literally no idea what was happening. I cried a lot.

“We are getting married next August at Sea Cliff Manor. We have a date. We are trying to do all the things for that. It is a really great time. It is super fun. We have our bridal and groom wedding parties. We are planning on living with each other this year. We kind of have a house; are basically renovating now in Wantagh.

“We definitely want children one day, just maybe before 30. We want a lot of pets. We both have pretty cool jobs, so those will hopefully be in our future for a long time. We are probably going to stay in Long Island forever because we were born and raised here, especially with all the boat stuff and water activities we do. Overall, we’re definitely excited for the future.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

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