In 8th grade, Joseph and Kaitlyn met at the Nassau County Medical Center. Both waiting to do last minute community service hours for school, they were suppose to play games with children at the hospital. However, there were no children around, so they played Trouble or Sorry (up for debate) and Candyland with their friend Michelle. After this a friendship developed and continued through 10th grade. Joseph would often walk Kaitlyn to class, and would spend his lunch period in the library with her. This should have been a sign, as everyone knows how important lunch is to Joseph. Finally on April 30, 2009, their friendship developed into something more. For the past nine years they have been lucky to have each other. They have grown up together and can’t wait to continue life’s journey by each other’s side.

As the months of dating started to turn into years, both Joseph and Kaitlyn realized how special their relationship was, talks of settling down started. At family gatherings the greeting started to become "when are you guys getting married", and Kaitlyn would respond with "I've been asking him the same question." Although Joseph knew he wanted to marry Kaitlyn he had no plan on how or when, in fact Joseph did not know the how or when to most events planned in his life and heavily relied on Kaitlyn to keep him on track. The question for Joseph became how to plan something without the planner knowing, and how to surprise her when she knew it was coming. He knew how important St. Raphael’s was to her. The two attended mass together every week, often with their families. After discussing his plan with both his parents and Kaitlyn’s parents, Joseph decided this was the perfect place to propose, surrounded by their faith and community. Kaitlyn was beyond surprised, it was worth the wait. Joseph even surprised her by ensuring that his sisters Gianna and Victoria, her brother Sal, and Maid of Honor Lauren and Best Man Anthony were there. It was the most magical day. Kaitlyn’s parents, Kathy and Sal continued the surprise by decorating the entire house to celebrate this momentous occasion.