There was one good thing that came out of the Y2K scare in 1999: Chenise Kanemoto and Joshua Magno found each other.

That year, Kanemoto was attending the University of Washington when her mom urged her to come home because of the millennium bug scare. She returned to O'ahu and enrolled at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

That December, Kanemoto went out with her college roommate to meet some of her friends to shoot pool.

That's when she first met Magno, a high school friend of her roommate.

Neither was looking for love.

"I was at that point in my life where I figured I wasn't going to meet anyone," said Kanemoto, 27, now an attorney at Lyle S. Hosoda & Associates LLC downtown. "I wanted to (get married), but I wasn't going to settle."

The group of friends hung out several times during the Christmas break. One night, they all went star-gazing and fishing at Barbers Point. Somehow, Kanemoto and Magno ended up in the same car.

"We talked the whole way," Kanemoto said.

That conversation piqued Kanemoto's interest in the laid-back Magno. She urged her college roommate to convince him to call her.

Magno did call. And on Jan. 4, 2000, the couple went to dinner at ScooZee's in Ward Centre, followed by a visit to the penguins at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

It was that post-dinner stop in Waikiki that left the biggest impression on Kanemoto.

"That reminded me of one of my parents' first dates," said Kanemoto, whose parents were high school sweethearts. "My dad took my mom to see the dolphins at the Kahala Hilton. That really struck a chord with me."

Magno felt comfortable with Kanemoto, as if they had known each other for years.

"The girls I had met were into clubbing and partying. But Chenise was someone I could talk to," said Magno, 27, a product management analyst at First Hawaiian Bank. "That's what really got to me. She appreciated the small stuff."

From that point on, they were inseparable, hanging out nearly every day. They'd study at Starbucks together or go to barbecues with their friends.

That summer, Kanemoto was heading back to Washington state to complete her senior year. She was worried the relationship wouldn't go the distance. But Magno didn't have any doubt.

"... It's just six months (until she comes back again)," he said. "And there's always Thanksgiving, spring break. Time would go by fast. It wasn't a big deal to me."

While they were separated, Kanemoto and Magno talked on the phone every day for hours, racking up hefty bills in the process.

After a year apart, Kanemoto came home, vowing never to do that again.

"It was hard," she said. "But I think we did grow from it. It forced us to communicate."

Kanemoto enrolled in the William S. Richardson School of Law, while Magno finished up his bachelor's degree.

Though they were finally back together, Kanemoto was focused on getting through that difficult first year of law school. They spent most of their time studying together.

"I didn't feel neglected. It actually kept me on track," Magno said, laughing. "My grades got better!"

By this time, the couple started talking about marriage. But they both wanted to finish school and get settled in their careers before taking that next big step in their relationship.

After Kanemoto graduated from law school in 2004, they decided to move in together. They rented a one-bedroom condo in Makiki.

Talk about marriage started to turn serious. The only thing holding them back: "Funding," Magno said.

In the beginning of 2005, the couple went shopping for rings. They decided to go ahead and design one together.

After ordering an engagement ring, Kanemoto knew Magno would propose soon. She just didn't know when.

On July 4, 2005, the couple went with her family to Ala Moana Center for dinner and to take in the entertainment celebrating the Fourth of July.

Since they do this every year, Kanemoto wasn't expecting anything special to happen, not even when Magno, out of the blue, suggested they walk to the beach to view the fireworks.

During the show Magno leaned into Kanemoto and asked her to marry him.

"I knew it was for real because I could hear it in his voice," Kanemoto said. "But I didn't expect it."

He wanted to propose then because her entire family would be part of the occasion. They walked back to the mall — Kanemoto ran part of the way — to share the news.

(Magno had already asked her parents for their blessing a month before.)

The couple wed on Aug. 27 at the Sheraton Waikiki in front of about 220 guests.

They both agree that marriage hasn't changed their lives much.

They still live in Makiki — though now in a two-bedroom condo — and carve out time to spend together.

The hardest part of marriage has been Kanemoto's decision to hyphenate her last name.

"I expected to be caught up in the marriage euphoria," Magno said. "But to me, nothing really significant has changed. There haven't been any surprises. The fact that I can spend the rest of my life with my best friend is pretty cool."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.