Even though Kinyon and I were both born and raised in Kansas City, we actually met in 2022 in Panama City Beach, Florida! I was on vacation and he was there for work; a mutual acquaintance informed me that he was staying at the same hotel, and I thought it would be nice to connect with someone from my city while I was in town.

I was given Kinyon’s social media handle and I sent him a message, not knowing if/when he would see it. He responded pretty quickly, and we agreed to meet at the hotel bar that evening.

We introduced ourselves and clicked almost immediately, discovering that we had so many things in common that it was almost scary. One of the first things that Kinyon and I bonded over was our mutual love for classic Hip Hop; I decided to impress him by rapping the first verse of one of my favorites, “They Reminisce Over You” by Pete Rock and CL Smooth.

Our conversation continued to flow effortlessly until we realized that we’d lost track of time and were still sitting at the bar, well after it had closed. Kinyon had originally been scheduled to head back to Kansas City the next day, but he decided to change his flight; we walked along the beach that evening, met for an oceanside breakfast the next day, and spent the rest of the day together. Not long after we’d both returned home, we realized that we had fallen in love with each other, and the rest is history!

Kinyon and I had already agreed that marriage was in our future; he began planning a proposal that would include our closest family and friends. November is always a bittersweet month for because it marks the anniversary of my mom’s passing and then, five days later, my birthday. Unbeknownst to me, Kinyon chose to propose in November so that I would have happy memories associated with the month.

For several weeks leading up to the event, I’d experienced dreams of my mother and I; we appeared to be planning something and she told me that we needed to be ready by 11. I had NO idea that Kinyon was planning to propose on 11/11!
On that day, I entered a beautiful venue with our guests in coordinating colors; we enjoyed a catered meal and Kinyon even worked with the bartender to create a signature drink for the occasion: the “Bonita Applebum”...another nod to our love for Hip Hop.
He arranged a special song and performed a spoken word piece that he’d written. One of the the most memorable moments of the proposal was when Kinyon told me, “For so long, we’ve been hurt by what we thought was love...tonight, we get to be healed by what we KNOW is love.”
In true Hip Hop fashion, I responded to his proposal by quoting a line from one of our favorite Lauryn Hill songs: “If you’re asking, then I’m telling you it’s ‘Yes!’”

After many tears and photos with our loved ones, he whisked me away to a private dinner,and later, a beautiful hotel that overlooked the city.