How We Met: It was March 8th, 2013- Friday night! I was out with the girls for a night of dancing and drinks at one of our favorite, usual spots. This particular night there was a DJ we never heard of before, Prestig3. My friends and I maneuvered our way through the crowd to our favorite stage in the corner…perfect view of the DJ booth! I looked over and saw not 1 but 3 DJ’s! I remember thinking, “Wow, 3 of them?” They were good looking guys but my eyes stayed locked on one in particular. This one guy had a smile that lit up the entire club. His energy was infectious and I could tell how much he loved what he was doing. I shot him a smile across the room and I remember feeling all giddy inside when he returned the smile back. As the music grew louder in the club and my friends and I danced, all of a sudden a voice boomed out over the microphone, “I see you sexy girl in black.” I looked over at the DJ Booth and the cute DJ waved at me. I remember thinking, “IS HE TALKING TO ME?!” I looked down at my outfit (after 2 vodka clubs I kind of forgot what I was wearing)… and sure enough, I was in all black! I felt myself get all hot and then I remembered I had to play it cool. After a few minutes later, once again that microphone loudly spoke over the music saying, “KRISTEN come up to the DJ booth!” I remember looking at my friends like “ME?! IS THAT ME? (Like I had suddenly forgotten that my name was Kristen…this was just so crazy to me!) 
How did he know my name?? (It turned out he asked a friend who filled him in, but at that moment I did not know that!) And like a bolt of lightning, I was through that crowd and in that DJ booth smiling from ear to ear. I introduced myself to the cute DJ and his friends. They put the headphones on me, let me push the buttons and suddenly I was DJing! It was so much fun. I saw my friends looking up at me with “What the heck is going on?” expressions and I just remember thinking how funny but awesome this night was turning out to be. After a few minutes the guys had to get back to DJing themselves, but before I left that DJ booth I looked at Mr. Cute DJ guy and said “By the way, you’re getting my number by the end of the night.” (I was so suave right?) When the end of the night came, he made sure he pulled me over. We exchanged phone numbers and talked for awhile. That night his first text message to me was “hey beautiful.” I will never forget that. And now over 2 years later, I look back at that night and smile at how it all turned out. I fell in love with the DJ.
how they asked: It was December 20th, the day after my birthday. Arturo told me we were going out to dinner but first he had some DJ business to attend to with his partners at the restaurant. The place we were going to was where he would be DJing with his partners on New Years Eve (just a few days away). Thinking nothing of it, I went along for the “meeting” excited for the post-birthday dinner we would be having afterwards. The restaurant was one I had never been to before- beautiful, right on the Hudson River. We pulled up to valet parking, waiting for his friends to arrive. I was ready to go through the front doors of the restaurant but Arturo said we were meeting the manager in the back of the restaurant. I remember thinking, “Hmm that’s funny, the back? Outside? It’s freezing out here.” But I went along with it, because that’s just me. (And he’s lucky I am gullible!) So behind the restaurant we went- Arturo, me and his 2 partners/best friends. The view was beautiful- you can see the entire New York City skyline and the Hudson River is right there. We stood there for a few seconds waiting for the manager to come out and then his friend suggested I go stand in the gazebo for a picture. At first I didn’t want to go. I thought standing out in the open with the skyline would make for a better picture. Somehow they convinced me to go in the gazebo but then I asked Arturo to come in as well to be in the picture with me. When he wouldn’t come inside the gazebo, suddenly I was confused.
At that moment I saw a shadowy figure in the dark a few feet away. I looked at the person for a minute but then back at Arturo who was putting his cell phone down on the side of the gazebo. Suddenly, Bruno Mars “Marry You” started playing. Then the shadowy figure came out of the darkness and started snapping pictures of us as Arturo got down on one knee and put his hand out for me to come to him. His best friend began video taping as well!! That is when everything at once clicked in my brain and the “Oh my god’s” started coming out of my mouth. I remember I couldn’t stop shaking and I was just in shock! He completely fooled me and he even had his best friends in on it who are like brothers to me. Arturo said the most beautiful words to me and after I freaked out for a few minutes more and saw the beautiful ring he put on my finger, I said yes when he asked if I would marry him!
It was the best moment of my life!
Photography by Carlo Maucione