scott + kenzie // los angeles proposal

kenzie has been one of my closest friends from the time we met–five years ago, during the first few weeks of our freshman year of college. for nearly as long as i’ve known and loved her, she has known and loved scott. our little freshman year foursome of friends has had the opportunity to see the two of them have crushes on one another, the first few nervous dates and late night dorm hang outs, watch them fall in love, the struggles of long distance during our time studying abroad together, watching them find the balance between friendships and relationships, and mature into the incredible partnership that they are today. scott has gone from the random freshman boy that kenz had a major crush on, to somebody that would (sometimes annoyingly ;)) check in constantly as kenzie and i drove up to seattle in the middle of the night a few years ago, to somebody i have such immense respect and admiration for, and truly value as a lifelong friend. we are constantly talking about what a stand-up man that scott is, and how much we enjoy how he has embraced us as friends. there are no words for the person and friend kenzie has been to myself–all of us–through the years. she is the definition of somebody who shows up for others–i cannot count the amount of times she has shown up for me, understood me, and cared for me without question or qualification. it is one of the biggest blessings in my life to know and be known by her.

a few months ago scott texted kjersten and i about the proposal. knowing that there was only one date that worked for kenzie’s family to fly in (which was also a date that i was already booked for a wedding) we began to formulate a sunrise proposal plan. after weeks of logistics and secret group messages, it was friday night. olivia, kjersten, kenzie and i sat in a booth at la tolteca, one of our favorite restaruants near our alma mater. unbeknownst to kenz, we were all nervously conversing, being sure not to ask about scott, and trying to sneakily convince her to take a spur of the moment trip into the canyon the next morning to watch the sunrise (something we all did together often in college). meanwhile, kenzie’s family and best friend, kacie, were flying in and preparing for the morning. another friend, lexi, was driving through the night, staying at our place, and bringing all the decor we had been crafting all week. scott was coordinating family members and preparing to propose. kenzie eagerly agreed to a coffee-sunrise drive through the canyon, we all made huge excited eyes at eachother everytime she left the room, and we all snuggled on her living room floor and fell asleep. a few hours later, we awoke and kenzie ran to the front door and squealed about how foggy and dreamy it looked in the mountains outside. we filled our coffee cups, got into the car (where kenz, unknowingly, got right into the exact seat we hoped she would), and kjersten pressed play on the playlist she had so carefully curated with all of kenzie’s favorite songs.

we drove about fifteen minutes into the canyon (kjersten and i not making eye contact, because i knew i would immediately begin to cry), until kjersten put on the earlier-designated song by james vincent mcmorrow to signify that we were close. kjersten reached into her console and told kenzie that we had something for her. we handed her the note scott had written two days before, saying that he would see her soon. before it was even possible to sink in, we pulled up to scott standing at a pull-off, waiting for kenzie: