Life long Throggs Neck resident Amanda Parisi attended the St. Patricks Day Parade with her family and friends this past Sunday, just like she does every year, but this one she’ll never forget.
Little did she know, this time it would change her life.
Amanda was in the crowd with her own family as well as her long term boyfriend, Kevin Donovan’s family, enjoying the parade and waiting for Kevin to march by with the FDNY – he serves with Squad 61 in Westchester Square.
As Kevin walked by, Amanda was shocked to be pulled from the sidelines by her beau, while being gently pushed by her family who knew what was about to happen next, and let through the barricades by the police who were also in on the surprise.
“I was taking pictures and then the parade just stopped, and he walked up to me,” recalled Amanda.
As bagpipes and drums played in the background, Donovan got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, as she stood on the giant shamrock painted on the street in front of Wicked Wolf on East Tremont Avenue.
At the moment Kevin knelt down, the crowd got so loud Amanda couldn’t even make out what he was saying.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all, I’m still in shock,” said an elated Amanda, “I honestly can’t believe it happened, I feel like it’s a dream.”
Even though the couple has been together for years, Amanda never expected her boyfriend, who tends to be shy, to propose in front of so many people.
“It really brought tears to my eyes,” said Lisa Skiko, a Throggs Neck resident who watched the whole proposal, “The crowd was incredibly loud, it was very sweeet.”
For Amanda, the big moment was everything she had always wanted it to be. “It was perfect seeing my family and friends, and being in the center of the Shamrock,” she said, “It was amazing.”
Will the two be married by the next year’s parade? We’ll have to wait and see, as they did not divulge their wdding plans yet. Good luck!
