January 2017
Kathy and Kayvon met working together in Culver City at an experiential marketing company called Sparks. Kathy was settling into her new life here in sunny Los Angeles since transferring from the Philadelphia office only four months before Kayvon started at the company.
They instantly hit it off, becoming good friends and working on several projects together. This image was the first work project and picture they took together. It wasn't until a couple of years later that the initial spark flourished into something more.
In the early phase of our friendship, a good amount of our co-workers thought we liked each other and should date. We regularly ensured them that was not the case, and we were just friends because it was the truth at the time! It wasn't until 2019 that we started hanging out with one another on a more regular basis; from Sunday volleyball, soccer games, group parties, music shows, and Coachella, our friendship slowly turned into something more.
Once we did actually start dating, we found it relatively easy to keep our relationship a secret at work. Since, years earlier, we had dispelled the idea of dating. Everyone assumed we were just good friends.
Kathy and Kayvon had completed working on a massive project together at Sparks and decided to take some time off post-show. They picked Tulum, Mexico, as their first vacation together. It was here that they announced to the world they were dating - or really, at least the selected few who still didn't know.
We fell in love with Mexico - the energy, people, and environment is so beautiful we had a blast! So much that we came back the following year to Riviera Maya. On that trip, we thought how amazing it would be to have all our close friends and family in one place for a destination wedding here.
Kathy and I had been dating for several years when I thought about the idea of proposing. I also was receiving Instagram DMs from her regarding ring sizes, so I knew it was time to act. It was the tail end of 2021 when I started planning and it really came together in a matter of days. I always thought about proposing to Kathy in her hometown of New Jersey. It's somewhere she doesn't get to go back as often as she'd like, especially with her mom now living in San Diego. Anyways, I always figured it would mean so much more to her given that her childhood friends and family are there, and me being from Los Angeles, meant we could celebrate whenever.
November 2021 - Kathy decided she was going to go visit her friends for a girl's weekend and luckily I was already in the process of getting the ring. With her trip booked it was time for me to get to planning. With the help of her best friends and one Michael Vetrano, we planned where I would ask her to marry me, the dinner, and her seeing all her friends. It was one of my happiest days and she was completely surprised. I wish I could tell you the rest but I pretty much blacked-out when asking her to marry me. Long story short...She said yes!
A couple of weeks before Halloween, I was face-timing with my bestie Rachael and her three children. Like the previous year, they asked if I was coming back to NJ and going trick-or-treating with them. I regretfully had to explain I would not be. Rach and I continued chatting about how it is sad I don't come back to the East Coast for the holidays anymore. We started plotting if there was a way I could sneak a quick trip in before the holidays!
After analyzing my calendar a bit, I noticed an opportunity to piggyback a long weekend back East after a work trip. I naturally debated this back and forth for weeks until I finally booked a flight super last minute. Typically when I get an opportunity to be back in NJ, I try to cram in as much as humanly possible. It's action-packed but at times can be stressful, so this time I decided to "go with the flow, no plans this trip." Little did I know my plans were essential for this trip, making this not easy for my friends helping Kayvon with the planning.
Coincidentally the weekend I picked to come home was also my friend Christine's birthday. I was under the impression all the girls were going out to celebrate. Cassandra, who was leading the charge in the surprise engagement, suggested we go to dinner early to grab a drink before everyone got there. After repeatedly making me change my outfit because it was not fancy enough, finally, she approved, and we got an Uber.
We arrived at the Asbury Park boardwalk perfectly in time for sunset. The sky was beautiful, so I beelined it to the boardwalk's edge to get a story for the gram. While playing with my phone, Cass asked me, "Who is that guy on the beach?" I replied, "He looks like Kayvon." "OMG, that's Kayvon!" I quickly rushed to the beach, and it was there he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. That entire night and the next couple of days felt like a dream. I couldn't believe all the planning that went into everything. I have never been so surprised. It was magical!