Amanda Jones thought her boyfriend’s best friend proposed to his girlfriend when in reality it was all for her

• Collin McKenna proposed to Amanda Jones on September 27 in Colorado

• The groom-to-be sneakily tricked Jones into wearing all white by convincing her she was going to his best friend’s white-themed proposal and afterparty.

• The couple started dating seven years ago after meeting at a school graduation party

A make-believe party was the perfect cover for a man’s surprise proposal.

When Collin McKenna, 30, popped the question to Amanda Jones, 28, he enlisted the help of his friends to trick her. Phase one of the plan required traveling to Colorado, but Jones had no idea why she was really going there.

“Collin had been planning this trip for a while even though I had only known about it up until a week before,” Jones tells PEOPLE. “He had his best friend from kindergarten, Trent Moskowitz, FaceTime us and tell us that he was going to propose to his girlfriend, Brianna Mcree, and that he really wanted us to help orchestrate the proposal for the engagement party, which was themed as an all-white party.”

Jones shared a giddy video on TikTok of herself showing off her all-white outfit, which she filmed just half an hour before she thought she was at McKenna’s best friend’s engagement. “I aka the most gullible person ever 30 minutes before I got proposed to,” Jones wrote in his video.

The California-based bride-to-be says she really had no idea it was all for her. She even helped decorate her own hotel room, thinking it was for Moskowitz and Mcree.

“I love love so I was totally on board from the start and almost felt like flying to Vail because this engagement was my idea!” says Jones. “I even bought little decorations to set up their hotel room, which became our hotel room, for after the release.”

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As McKenna and Jones walked outside The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch on Sept. 27, they were close to making it in time for the proposal, which was scheduled for sunset.

“Trent had asked if we could meet the photographer early to bring a bottle of champagne that they could use for photos,” Jones explains to PEOPLE. “When we met the photographer he asked if we wanted pictures to which I said ‘no’ because it wasn’t my moment but Collin seemed really interested in taking some.”

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She continues, “We took a few pictures and then he got down on one knee! I’ve never been so surprised in my life and truly so excited to start planning our dream wedding!”

The newly engaged couple, who celebrated seven years together on October 1, met in 2017 at Jones’ brother’s graduation party. McKenna and Jones’ brother, Michael, became friends during their time at the University of San Diego. But Michael had never introduced McKenna to his sister. When the groom-to-be approached Jones for the first time at the party, “everything felt different.”

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The couple’s relationship was long-distance for a year until McKenna moved to be with Jones in Santa Monica. Together they build a better-for-you hard seltzer company called LIQUOR.

“Since we met so young, it’s really felt like we’ve grown up together in a way,” says Jones. “I feel like our twenties are the years of figuring out life, who we are and what we want. This year has been my favorite so far because we’ve had so many exciting things going on! Now we’re in the early stages of planning a wedding so stay tuned to find out where we have it!”