We're getting married!

It all started with a camping trip to Pinicon Ridge on my (Kyle's) 22nd birthday. Before then, Mackenzie and I had just been acquaintances as we attended the same high school. We spent a vast majority of that summer together even though we were not "Facebook official." Once the summer ended we went our separate ways out of circumstance. It was not until 3 years later that our love story continued. Our families shared a vacation spot in Siesta Key, FL, and this was the first year that Mackenzie and I were actually there together. It wasn't long before the connection we had rekindled. The first night to be exact, when I professed my love for her. Some might have found this move to be a GIANT red flag, but I will be forever grateful that she was able to look past my desperation.

I (Kyle) am really a romantic at heart and wanted the proposal to be something to remember. At the same time I wanted expectations to be extremely low. For that reason, I told Mackenzie that I had planned a weekend trip to Wasserbahn indoor water park (no offense to the fine people running this establishment). In reality, I took us to a spa in Wisconsin by recommendation from my mom. We arrived with champagne and were having a lovely time sitting in front of the fireplace. I made the mistake of letting her know the weekend we would be getting engaged so there was no backing out and with each minute that passed, the weight on my shoulders grew heavier. A while later, we were listening to music and dancing inside the oversized jacuzzi in our room. The song "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs came on and it just felt right to me. I will be honest, we both kind of blacked out at this point by the sheer enormity of the moment. I thought about and rehearsed what I wanted to say for a long time, but no amount of preparation would suffice. In the end, I stated what my heart felt and she said yes before I was even able to finish.